Justin Wiggins Wants to Be R&B and Hip-Hop's Next Superstar Producer

In the past few years, the R&B genre has experienced a revival of sorts in South Florida, with a crop of exciting acts emerging from the region, such as Cedric Brazle, Zya, Savannah Cristina, and Kayland Arnold, to name a few.

In the midst of its resurgence is Justin Wiggins (AKA J Wiggs), who has played a pivotal role in shaping the distinctive sounds coming out of the Sunshine State. He's the humble composer behind many of the contemporary acts not just within the region but beyond.

In 2023, Wiggins crossed many goals off his bucket list, from executive producing two albums for Canadian singer and rapper Jahkoy (Healing Phase and Pretty Conversation), landing placements on Netflix's They Cloned Tyrone and Issa Rae's Rap Sh!t with fellow South Florida native Twelve'len, while also working with Denzel Curry on "Lady Draco," and joining forces with Lyfe Harris and Ye Ali on "Crazy Things," featuring Jvck James. Wiggins shows no signs of slowing down. With unwavering determination, he's focused on leaving his stamp on the music industry.

"I honestly haven't sat back and reflected on 2023 until probably about a week ago," the 28-year-old tells New Times. "When you see the analytics, stats, and everything else, it's like, 'Oh man, it really was a great year!' So my focus now is 2024, just continuing to grow, keep working, and getting better."

Wiggins' sound takes cues from late-'90s and early-2000s R&B and hip-hop. Melodies are coated in nostalgia, with piano notes and chord progression that evoke passion. Drums have a crunch and patterns with a powerful presence. His collaboration with Cedric Brazle on "Sexy Lady" is alluring, while his production on Zya's "Conflicted," featuring DRAM, is packed with intimacy. Influenced by legendary producers such as Pharrell Williams, Jermaine Dupri, and Timbaland, Wiggins aspires to be the next producer to create impactful bodies of work.

If you mention any of the aforementioned names in conversation, Wiggins will immediately beam with excitement. He goes on a tangent, vividly painting what makes their production and songwriting so phenomenal.

"My biggest musical influences are the Neptunes. They always did all genres, and that's what I loved about Chad and Pharrell."

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"My biggest musical influences are the Neptunes. They always did all genres, and that's what I loved about Chad and Pharrell," he explains. "Pharrell with the unorthodox style, unorthodox drums, and the different chord patterns, and bridges. From the textured drums and how the chords make you feel everything. With Jermaine Dupri, it's the simplicity. It's the organicness and the quickness of it, and that's what draws me in."

On a calm Sunday evening, Wiggins speaks over Zoom from a room illuminated by sparkling red lights and surrounded by various keyboards and musical relics. A picture of Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo peaks through in the background alongside a wall of classic vinyl records. It's the sanctuary from which he continues to refine his artistry and produced tracks like "Healing Phase" and "Loving Game" with Jahkoy.

Music has always been an essential part of Wiggins' life. As a young kid, his Cuban mother introduced him to the vibrant and dynamic sounds of Latin music and '80s R&B through acts like Marc Anthony, Toni Braxton, Luther Vandross, Anita Baker, and Phyllis Hyman. At the same time, his father immersed him in the world of jazz and neo-soul, while his older brother filled the air with late-'90s and early-2000s R&B and hip-hop, like Destiny's Child, Monica, Brandy, and Mary J. Blige. His cousin exposed him to the energetic and grittiness of Southern hip-hop from Lil Wayne, Hot Boys, Ludacris, and Outkast.

Despite his musical upbringing, diving into music production wasn't always his dream. "When I was a kid, I always knew I was going to be in music, but I never knew it was really possible because I didn't sing or rap," Wiggins says. "I always loved all the producers, but did I ever think of myself actually learning how to do the things I know now, having all these keyboards, making records, songwriting, and all that? No. I wanted to be an executive producer. I wanted to be a boss, CEO."
In 2016, in the middle of his freshman year at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia, Wiggins finally decided to go for it, quitting school shortly thereafter. "One day, I had an epiphany that I wanted to do music," he says.

Despite his parents' disapproval, he moved back to Miami to pursue his dream. With little knowledge of music production, not to mention the music industry, Wiggins enrolled in what he calls "YouTube University," spending countless hours watching interviews, studying music labels such as TDE, Dreamville, and Roc-A-Fella; and tapping into the people who were pulling the strings behind the scenes in the industry. "I would study interviews and all my favorite people. I would watch people I didn't know in the hip-hop space. I would hear them say certain words, and I'll be like, 'Let me Google that,'" he adds.

Fast-forward to 2020, Wiggins got onboard with TheNuMiami amid the pandemic, joining forces with Akeem Brownlee. Together, they are paving the way for R&B in South Florida. TheNuMiami has opened many doors for Wiggins, allowing him to collaborate with artists such as Savannah Cristina, Twelve'len, and Pouya.

Similar to Usher working with Jermaine Dupri to make Confessions and Missy Elliot coming together with Timbaland for Supa Dupa Fly, Wiggins' work with Jahkoy on Healing Phase and Pretty Conversations, both released in 2023, shows that magic that can be created when the artist and producer work in harmony.

"We loved the same music, the early- and mid-2000s R&B. We loved everyone from Omarion, Craig David, and B2K."

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Wiggins and Jahkoy first met in Toronto through a mutual friend, R&B singer Pisceze. Their first encounter didn't illicit any immediate creative sparks, save for a still-unreleased track the trio worked on together. However, a few months later, Jahkoy reached out, wanting to collaborate again.

"It was instant chemistry," he says of this second session. "We were just talking about some life stuff, talking about relationships, relationships that failed, the music that we were into. We loved the same music, the early- and mid-2000s R&B. We loved everyone from Omarion, Craig David, and B2K. We made two songs that day, and one of the initial ideas of a song was 'King of the Crop.'"

Wiggins sees every collaboration as helping him go from a simple beat-maker to a full-fledged music producer.

"Twelve'len pushed me to think differently, think more outside the box. Jahkoy has taught me patience. Cedric has taught me background vocals, harmonies, stacks, and layers — honestly, vocal production. He's taught me a whole different element as far as the art of music. Vocals are instruments, so if you have a perfect vocal and an 'eh' beat, the song can be incredible because of its decoration."

Even with the success he saw in 2023, Wiggins describes it as his "rookie year," expressing excitement for what the future holds. He's got collaborations with Reggie Becton, Dinah Jane from Fifth Harmony, and R&B singer Jordyn Simone happening. He also hints about a project he's working on for Issa Rae.

"We're going to be expecting some Billboard-charting records," he says of the future. "It's going to be a lot of music for the soul."