Rapper Dre’Shawn Jones, better known as J-SHWA, was originally born in Fort Wayne, IN. As a toddler, the absence of his father, along with his mother’s drug usage, forced Jones to stay in foster care for nearly a decade, with him and his mother never to reunite again, until he was 22 years old. Learning to survive with a lack of guidance present, Jones lived a street lifestyle, having to steal food for his siblings’ pre-foster care. In 2003, gun violence landed him in jail as a young adult. However, the young rapper wanted out. In 2010, he and his friends put up money to buy a recording studio in North Dakota, which initiated Jones’ rap pursuits under the moniker J-SHWA.