Jessica Marie Courts (J Jig Cicero), 2015-2016 Ohio Hip Hop Award winning Best Female Artist was born Jan 11th in Cincinnati, Ohio and was reared in both Cleveland and Dayton, Ohio. Jig is a talented multidimensional songwriter and explosive performer of several different musical genres specializing in rap/hip hop. She is also a songwriter and performer of r&b, neo soul, and poetry. One might say that Jigs vast array of musical genus and story telling styles is attributed to the many pathways of life in which a child from a broken home is forced to travel. Exposure to many of life’s positive and not so positive experiences birthed who we now know to be J Jig Cicero. Growing up in several homes over her childhood left her in peril. In search of answers, she found sex, drugs and alcohol at a very young age. Indulging in all those things broadened her perception of life. She extracted from those experiences several tools for survival and later learned to channel the negative energy into positive energy, finding the passion used to bring her art form to life in the studio and on stage. Church choirs, school cafeterias, and dope houses all became home to J Jig Cicero as she traversed through life. They all became playgrounds in which she would learn to translate joy and pain into equivalent wordplay. This is where she learned to sharpen her sword and learn to wield it. That sword today is a microphone. Jig is gifted at painting lyrical collages of relevant experiences most often seen through the eyes of an inner city native. Not only is she a prolific narrator with a forthright and aggressive ear catching delivery, but also she puts on a dynamic stage performance that most anyone would feel fortunate to witness. An unyielding J. Jig has attempted to gain acclaim in her musical career before and missed the mark. Because of her newly transformed liberated frame of mind, she now understands that failure can be one’s best teacher. Jig has stated, “I just wasn’t ready, I didn’t know nor understand many things about the art form and about life as a whole that I understand today”. She holds herself totally responsible for past failure, she states, “ Immaturity, inconsistency, and lack of guidance are the reasons why I feel I didn’t fully get off the ground in the past”. As of recent years J Jig has earned title of Best Female Artist in the state of Ohio two consecutive years in a row. This talent is truly one to keep an eye out for as she narrates about love, life, gains and losses and the societal state as a young adult in the global community.

     Today she is a transmitter of positive thought and understands that dedication is the key to life’s successes. She has been reinvented; mind, body, and soul and has bravely taken the journey from once 400 pounds to now less than half of that and none of the negative baggage that it carried, “I want to be an inspiration to all who aspire to be more than what is expected of them. I want to be a catalyst for a positive change now and into the future. I want to grow to be a better person, writer, and entertainer and take the necessary actions to see that these things manifest. I believe in myself and I believe in our youth and the music is a medium that can help make that change.” Jig could very well be a vital link into a positive transition in the lives of the American youth. J. Jig is the voice of change and catalyst for new direction in our culture. Talented, Confident, and aggressive, this is one artist who will not wait in line. This artist will pave a new path and make a lane of her very own. Keep your eyes and ears open; this is surely one you won’t want to miss.