Los Angeles' Jon Wayne, known as Jonwayne, kicked off his career as an underground beatmaker and became a rapper out of necessity. A prolific run of self-released digital download releases began in 2008. An alliance with Stones Throw began in 2012 with the instrumental album Oodles of Doodles. His first release for the label as an MC came in 2013 when he dropped Rap Album One, which won BBC DJ Gilles Peterson's Worldwide Winners Album of the Year. After additional releases for Stones Throw, Street Corner Music, and his own Authors label, Wayne self-released Rap Album Two, a deeply and sometimes darkly introspective set, in 2017. ~ David Jeffries & Neil Z. Yeung