Jason Christopher Watson (born June 22, 1981), who goes by the stage name Json, is an American

Christian hip hop Christian hip hop (originally gospel rap, also known as Christian rap, gospel hip hop or holy hip hop) is a subgenre of contemporary Christian music and hip hop music. It emerged from urban contemporary music and Christian media in the United ...

musician. He was a member of Christian hip hop collective,

116 Clique The 116, formerly 116 Clique (pronounced one-one-six click), is an American Southern Christian hip hop collective originally from Dallas, Texas signed to the Atlanta-based Reach Records. The group performs a wide variety of contemporary hip ho ...

Early life

Json was born Jason Christopher Watson, in

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

on June 22, 1981. When he was three years old his father died. His mother Barbara moved the family to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

, California, where she became a crack-cocaine addict and was arrested, separating herself from her son because she was forced to move back to St. Louis. Json would soon follow her back to the Midwest city, became a drug abuser, and was incarcerated.

Personal life

Json married his longtime girlfriend Lawanda Nicole "Nikki" Watson (née, Childress), after they both stopped abusing drugs, and converted to Christianity. They reside with their children in

Iowa City, Iowa Iowa City, offically the City of Iowa City is a city in Johnson County, Iowa, United States. It is the home of the University of Iowa and county seat of Johnson County, at the center of the Iowa City Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the ti ...

. They are the co-directors of The Spot Outreach Ministry of Parkview Church.

Music career

Json was a member in the Christian hip hop collective

. He released ''The Seasoning'' in 2005, ''Life on Life'' in 2008, ''

City Lights ''City Lights'' is a 1931 American silent romantic comedy film written, produced, directed by, and starring Charlie Chaplin. The story follows the misadventures of Chaplin's Tramp as he falls in love with a blind girl ( Virginia Cherrill) an ...

'' in 2010, ''

Growing Pains ''Growing Pains'' is an American television sitcom created by Neal Marlens that aired on ABC from September 24, 1985, to April 25, 1992. The show ran for seven seasons, consisting of 166 episodes. The series followed the misadventures of the ...

'' in 2012, and ''

Braille Braille (Pronounced: ) is a tactile writing system used by people who are visually impaired, including people who are blind, deafblind or who have low vision. It can be read either on embossed paper or by using refreshable braille display ...

'' in 2013. The last three of those albums charted on various ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' charts. The rapper plans to release his sixth studio album, '' No Filter'', on March 10, 2015 through Lamp Mode Recordings.

Discography

Studio albums

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Json 1981 births Living people African-American rappers African-American Christians Midwest hip hop musicians Performers of Christian hip hop music Rappers from Iowa Rappers from St. Louis 21st-century American rappers 21st-century African-American musicians 20th-century African-American people