My City: Prote-J Blows Up Daytona Beach

His name might be Prote-J, but when it comes to the studio, this young Daytona Beach resident is quickly becoming a master. Thanks to the release of his new mixtape "Good Hip-Hop Meets Radio", Prote-J's slowly but surely working his way into the national spotlight, so I thought we'd spend some time getting to know the man so we can say we knew him when. In this edition of our My City series, Prote-J talks about Daytona's music scene (or lack thereof), how the church helped shape his musical career and explains that if you're really looking for him, just find the nearest Wal-Mart.

RefinedHype: Most people think of Daytona Beach as more of a vacation spot than a musical destination. Is there a thriving hip-hop scene in Daytona Beach?

Prote-J: Unless you're an eskimo and you just want to go somewhere near a beach, I don't recommend Daytona as a vacation spot, haha. It can be good during times like Spring Break and Bike Week, but the city gets old pretty quick. As far as the hip-hop scene, I wouldn't describe it as "thriving." There's a few artists out here that are doing their thing, but not much is really going on. As soon as my lease is up, I'm moving to Orlando, since that's where I spend most of my time now. It's a bigger market and there's more people out there doing something hip-hop related.

RefinedHype: In addition to rapping, you also play a number of instruments. Did you grow up in a musical household?

Prote-J:Yeah, I've always been around music. My mom plays the guitar, and I was a part of the music team for my uncle's church. He's a pastor, and I spent a lot of my time at church learning how to play the different instruments.

RefinedHype: If I didn't know you were from Florida, would something in your music tip me off?

Prote-J:I hint towards it in one of my songs, but generally speaking, you probably wouldn't be able to tell by just listening to my music. I moved here when I was 12, but until then I lived in Papua New Guinea (north of Australia). I haven't really adopted too many "southern ways," whatever that means, simply because all my family is from up north (Maryland, DC, New York), and so are most of my friends. But even though the city itself isn't anything to brag about, the people here are great and that's all that really matters. That being said, it feels good to call Florida my home away from home.

RefinedHype: If I'm rolling through Daytona Beach, where can I find you?

Prote-J:At the studio or Wal-Mart. If you want to find anybody, just go to Wal-Mart, haha.

RefinedHype: Last words?

Prote-J: Big shouts to all my people in Daytona and Orlando. My mixtape "Good Hip Hop Meets Radio" just dropped, and the feedback has been crazy so far so make sure you check it out! You can download it free at www.Prote-J.com and I promise you won't skip a song!