Little Johnny, left, with JDub artist Sagol 59

At just 16, Israeli music producer Little Johnny (aka Yonatan Goldstein) has already worked with tons of his country’s most popular musicians. He recently took time away from his busy schedule to tell one of our JVibe Teen Advisory Board members how he got into the industry, his professional influences, what he’s working on now and what he’s got on his own iPod. Little Johnny shows us he’s just a teen who’s doing whatever he can to chase down his dream.

First of all, what’s it like to be in such a large industry at such a young age? Do other, more experienced producers and musicians intimidate you?
It’s fun. It makes you different than others, and being unique is usually an advantage, especially in art. Today people don’t regard my age as an issue. They’ve gotten used to it and seen that age has nothing to do with ability and performance—and if it does, it only works for me. I really don’t feel intimidated [by producers]. On the contrary; I think I bring something else to the music in Israel, and especially to the realm of production in Israel, so I don’t have anyone to compete [with].

How did you get involved in producing music? What was your motivation?
It started when I was 11, when I was working on my debut album with producer David Klemes, keyboard player for hip-hop band Hadag Nachash. During the work on the album, which I ended up not releasing, I got very interested in everything David was doing, and in addition to the work with him, I started working at home on beats. I started buying gear and building a studio. Then work started coming in, like Sagol 59's album, Hadara Levin-Areddy and many others. I also started working on a collaboration album, in which I’m hosting the greatest artists in Israel, which will be released in August.

What’s it like working with a hip-hop veteran like Sagol 59?
Pure pleasure. First of all, Sagol is a great guy. He has so much love for what he’s doing. The age thing wasn’t an issue. We both support each other and lead each other to new places we never knew before. I was always joking that he was “old school,” and he was always saying that I consider everything recorded before 2000 “old school!”

Who influenced you on your way to where you are now? What music do you listen to?
Well, of course there’s David Klemes, a lot of Dr. Dre, The Neptunes and, of course, Timbaland. But apart from hip hop I’ve always been surrounded by music. My dad always listened to jazz and classical music at the house, and my brother always listened to everything that was hot at the moment. My iPod starts with Timbaland, goes through Radiohead, visits Estelle and somehow reaches Bach.

What has helped you get where you are now?
I think it’s a combination of several things: great motivation that I’ve always had and the good people I was with. Without David and Sha’anan Streett, also of Hadag, I don’t know if any of this would’ve happened. They’ve always helped me without asking for anything.

Where do you get the topics for your songs, and where do your lyrics come from?
The lyrics I really love are those that come from weak points—pain, anger. Music is, many times, a way to offload your heart.

Have you been involved with Corner Profits, a Palestinian-Israeli “peace through hip hop” initiative?
Of course. I went twice [so far], one time as a participant and another as an audience member. I think it is a noble initiative and it must go on.

Do you get involved in Middle East political affairs?
When you sit at home reading in the paper about civilians killed in Gaza by Israel Defense Forces’ bombings, and at the same time watching on television that the “red code” bomb alert was sounded in Sderot, you can’t stay uninvolved in local politics. It’s part of our bread since we were born. I went to elementary school at Neve Shalom. It’s an Arabic-Jewish school teaching that you can live in peace in this country.

What’s Israel’s hip-hop scene like? How is it different from the U.S.?
The hip-hop scene in Israel is very interesting, but the overall music scene is even more. Israel is such a small place that really every musician knows all the others. There’s some family warmth here between everyone; it’s an amazing thing. We all know each other, we’re all broke and we all go to the same parties. Everything is small here. If you want to collaborate with another artist, you don’t need to fly across the country, you just need to meet up at the nearest café.

What has been your biggest challenge on your way to becoming a producer and musician?
I think my biggest challenge so far was doing this collaboration and producer’s album. Everybody I’ve dreamt of working with is in the album: Sagol, Hadag Nachash, Mooki, Rami Fortis, Shlomi Shaban, Sabbo and Kuti, to name a few. Both doing the work and daring to work with these artists was a great challenge.

What advice would you give to other young aspiring producers and musicians?
First of all, work hard and think big. Believe in what you do, open your mind up to all kinds of art, think out of the box and always try to think about what you bring that hasn’t been done before.

For more info about Little Johnny, visit his MySpace page, and look for his producer’s album coming in August. In the meantime, you can enter to win one of five copies of Sagol 59's soon-to-be-released album, Make Room, by clicking here.

Caleb Sherman is a junior in high school from Plymouth, Minn. He’s always loved music and listens to it non-stop. He’s an active USY member and also part of the JVibe Teen Advisory Board.