**Jom Rapstar** (born **Joseph Keith Grahame Miller** on April 21, 1985) is an underground indie hip-hop artist based in Portland, Oregon. Also known by aliases such as T-Jo, Notorious J.O.E., and Passion Jo, he has built a dedicated local following by using his music as a raw, unfiltered outlet to process a turbulent life and share stories of survival.
Here is a breakdown of his life and musical career:
### **Early Life and Personal Struggles**
Jom Rapstar was born at OHSU Hospital in Portland, Oregon. His childhood was marked by severe hardship and instability. After his parents separated, he was raised briefly by his mother and a great-aunt before his father relocated him and his brother to Everett, Washington, when Jom was eight years old.
Jom has been remarkably candid with his audience about surviving intense childhood trauma, including experiencing physical and sexual abuse from his father (who was subsequently imprisoned) and enduring further mistreatment while living with his step-grandparents. Additionally, Jom is on the autism spectrum (specifically diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome), which he notes has profoundly shaped his highly intelligent but often challenging perspective on the world.
### **Musical Beginnings**
Music became his refuge during his teenage years. He discovered a deep passion for hip-hop around 2001 after his brother played Eminem's *The Marshall Mathers LP*. Despite living in a household that forbade him from listening to rap, he began writing and practicing his flow in secret when he was 16.
In early 2003, he took a Greyhound bus back to his hometown of Portland to escape his abusive environment. There, he was finally able to pursue music openly while completing his education, eventually graduating from John Marshall High School in 2004.
### **Career and Artistic Style**
Heavily influenced by '90s and 2000s rap titans like Eminem, 2Pac, Dr. Dre, Wu-Tang Clan, and The Notorious B.I.G., Jom's style is aggressive, vulnerable, and deeply authentic.
* **The Portland Scene:** Jom cut his teeth in the Portland underground scene by performing at hundreds of local open mics over the years. He became a familiar face at venues like Ladd's Inn, the Hawthorne Theatre, Airplay Cafe, and Alberta St. Pub.
* **Discography:** He evolved from recording rough tracks on microcassettes to producing digital music over professional beats. He has released multiple albums, with early standout projects including *Autobiography of Joseph Keith Graham Miller*, *Jo Miller Xposed*, and *Finding Inner Peace*.
* **Themes:** Tracks like "The Destroyer" showcase his signature style: heavily distorted, calculated, and relentless. He doesn't just rap about hip-hop tropes; his lyrics are deeply autobiographical, focusing on themes of reality, strength, courage, and confronting inner darkness.
Today, Jom Rapstar is recognized in the underground circuit as an artist who favors substance over spectacle, using his microphone to turn his personal trials into powerful, cathartic storytelling.