Born in Harvey, Illinois and raised around the South suburbs of Chicago and Northwest Indiana, Joshua Gatlin picked up his passion for music from his mother by listening to the mass amount of cds and tapes in her collection.  Over the years, Joshua taught himself how to write his own poems, and eventually rapping by the age of seven. After changing his rap name from J.G. Da Prophet to J.G. S.W.A.Y.Z.E. at 14, he began teaching himself piano and how to produce his own songs and soon after entered college at 17 to pursue engineering to further enhance his sonic musical sound. S.W.A.Y.Z.E. draws influences from artists such as Thelonious Monk, Beethovon, Future, Nas, Lupe Fiasco, and Kanye West and blends jazz, electronic, hip-hop, and soul music into his art. After graduating in 2015 with a B.S. in Electrical Engineering, S.W.A.Y.Z.E. began professionally releasing music with his long time collaborator and childhood friend Carter G. Rich ("Sould World" and "The Code") until he subsequently founded the label Swayz-Land in 2018 with CEO Thomas Boatner. The current SWAYZ-LAND roster consists of J.G. S.W.A.Y.Z.E., Jah Jiggy, Beno, D.J. Mally Mal. The first release from the label is “SWAYZ-GOD" by J.G. S.W.A.Y.Z.E.