The Formula: AJ Brown

UNDRGRND Magazine | Dec 4, 2021 | by Andrew Mason

AJ Brown, now 19 years old, describes the person he was in Fall 2017.

“A young little kid, I wasn't doing much. Hanging out with the wrong group, you know what I mean?”

The San Luis Obispo native was 17 and had begun his freshman year at Paso Robles High School. He had shown some interest in videography in recent years, 

mostly from filming and editing his friends’ skate tapes.

“I was just looking for something to put my energy into,” he says. 

Brown enrolled in PRHS’s Introduction to Multimedia Journalism class, taught by John Rucker. According to Rucker, his intro class isn’t for everyone and can be intimidating. Rucker jokingly admitted that he may “come off as a jerk, especially to freshmen.”

Despite this self-analysis, it was Rucker’s mentorship that Brown credits for kicking off his film production career. 

“I took this class, and Mr. Rucker was super inspiring, taught me a bunch about video making,” Brown says. “I just fell in love with making videos.”

Brown had found a place to let his creative angst loose. As the school year went on, Rucker began taking note of his highly-motivated new student. Rucker told UNDRGRND he remembers Brown being “full of energy and spunk,” calling him a “sponge, but also a digitally-native teen.” 

“For the first year I was tough on him, I didn’t want to fill his head,” says Rucker, who worked at PRHS for six years before relocating to New Mexico with his family a year before the pandemic. “AJ was just a little different — he was always looking beyond, thinking, ‘How can this be applied in a cooler way?’”

Halfway through his freshman year, Brown capitalized on his newly toned skills and relationships. Building from what had originally begun as one of Rucker’s class assignments, Brown conceptualized the business model and logo for Grateful Minds, a production company designed to provide hip-hop music videos to Northern 805 artists.

Around the same time, Brown had been introduced to San Luis Obispo-born rapper Niko Cochi$e.    

“I met AJ through his friend at the Kennedy Club in Paso Robles,” says Cochi$e, who is well connected with the UNDRGRND community and has music with BOBBYBEENFRESH, KaceyFamily, Joro, and more. ”I was playing my music and his friend thought it was dope, so he introduced me to AJ to do a video.”

That video became “Stay Woke,” the first ever music video published through Grateful Minds. Released on Jan. 5, 2019, the video made modest but impressive traction for a brand new YouTube channel. The video now has over 2,000 views and boasts a lopsided 120-1 like-to-dislike ratio.

“Once my first music video came out, that's when it started getting some traction,” Brown says.

Fast forward to the end of 2021, and Brown’s Grateful Minds has dropped 14 music videos, collaborating with notable Central Coast artists such as D Banks, Ieatasswhatsup, $horty DuWop, and Fr.Deja Vu.

Brown and Cochi$e still maintain a close relationship. The two released another video together for “Cockpit,” in Sept. 2020. Brown has also accompanied Cochi$e on music-related trips to Los Angeles, filming vlogs and documenting Cochi$e’s career closely. 

“AJ has been this successful so far because he values building relationships more than getting videos to film,” says Cochi$e, 24. “He will work with you to help bring your vision to light.”

As for 2022, Brown tells UNDRGRND he has plans to travel the country to shoot videos in cities like Atlanta and Chicago for out-of-state clients who he’s met online. 

He also aims to further diversify his artistic portfolio. Brown teases the upcoming release of his long awaited, “Charlatan Angels.” The passion project has no official release date, but is rumored to be multimedia in nature and influenced heavily from the Central Coast’s local rap scene.

“I'm kind of straying away a little from the ‘camera guy look,’ and just showing I got a lot more to offer than just videos,” Brown says. “I'm investing a lot into this.”

At just 19, Brown is setting himself up to not only be an important figure in the 805’s hip-hop landscape, but beyond its borders too. While many aspiring directors his age are in college or working internships, Brown is grinding on his own production company. 

With his success so far, he is evidence that the Central Coast’s rap world is wide enough for even non rappers to make an impact. 

“[Brown] had a funny way of listening and paying attention, but keeping his own direction, which I think earned him well,” says Rucker, who still keeps in touch with Brown regarding filmmaking. “If you aren’t careful, a teacher can detour you from genuine inspiration—and that hasn’t happened here.”

Photos by @christopherbrownphotos, @bruhitskris, and @Justin.coria.