In the cutthroat world of music, the pleasantries of business are rarely a family affair. But when the going gets rough, Janelle and Jessica Martinez find comfort and strength in each other.
Collectively, these first cousins are known as Prima J. And while the duo's name hides their individual personas, their differences make quite a dynamic duo.
In 2007, Prima J made their debut on the Bratz Motion Picture Soundtrack with "Rock Star." The single was prominently featured in the film and a music video was commissioned for promotional purposes. Word of mouth created instant buzz for the duo and "Rock Star" eventually garnered six million views on YouTube — less than one year after its release.
On June 17, 2008, Prima J released their self-titled debut with Geffen Records. Upon review of Prima J, Janelle and Jessica Martinez managed to squeeze some time out of their busy schedule and settle down for an interview with Clayton Perry — reflecting on life, music and "chilosa!"
When performing as a duo, I imagine that it is difficult to showcase your individual personalities at times. How would you describe each other?
Janelle: Jessica – she has a very big heart. She’s always on time. And she just loves to have fun.
Jessica: Janelle – she is crazy. She loves to bungee-jump and all that crazy stuff. She is never afraid to be herself. And she always looks super-pretty because she takes forever to get ready.
Collectively, you are known as Prima J. How did you come up with the name?
Janelle: In Spanish, “prima” means “cousin.” And the letter J is the first letter of our names - Janelle and Jessica. So that’s how we became Prima J.
As first cousins, every day happens to be a family reunion. Do you ever find it difficult to get along?
Jessica: We’re like sisters. When we fight, we fight. And then when we look at each other and we start laughing - that’s how we make up. Then we’re all good for, like, a month. And then we fight again.
Janelle: Yeah, it’s all good. Besides, it’s nice to have family on the road.
How did you get your start?
Jessica: Not too long ago, we used to work as backup dancers. And one day, we got a meeting with Stefanie Ridel, who was a former group member of Wild Orchid. She helped us develop as artists and songwriters and taught us about the industry. After some time, she met with us and said, “Tomorrow, you have a meeting with Ron Fair.” We were totally not ready for that. We had one demo, and we didn’t know what to do. We went in and played him our demo. Then, we sang him a song that we had just written, and he basically said, “Congratulations!” on the spot. We’re really lucky and really blessed. That was two years ago. We’ve been working hard ever since and, now, our album is finally coming out. It’s crazy.
Article comments
1 - Jessica Camacho
Hey Primas,I just wanted to say how talented you girls are.You might think Im spanish too because of my last name but Im chummorru. Some chamorru last names are the same as spanish. But anyway you guys rock.
2 - jannelys
you guys are the best.
3 - jannelys cruz
prima j i love all the songs you sing but the one that i like is you are not alone bye you guys are the best las quiero mucho.
4 - mikaela
whens a new album comin out???