Jordyn
Singer, rapper, songwriter, and producer Jordyn has just revealed his latest single “Happening”.
With the help of Anna Schulze, the Nashville-based artist created a feel-good song, offering a message of hope to anyone struggling through life. It’s definitely an uplifting and catchy record.
His music brings a lot of versatility; he explores different genres on his upcoming debut album Innersections, to be released on April 5th.
From what I’ve heard so far, I can definitely say that Jordyn has some of the best records ever and his music is probably going to be remembered for a long time. He’s amazing at what he does and we can hear that through every song he released thus far. Only quality songs. Jordyn is one of my favorite artists ever featured, that’s for sure.
Go stream ”Happening”, out now.
Photo credit: Kevin Ray Orange
Hi jordyn, how are you?
I’m doing well! A little brain fried from a 4 session week plus video editing, a lot of looking at a screen but I’m looking forward to an unplug & go outside day tomorrow.
What’s your artist story?
My parents divorced when I was pretty young & home life got chaotic so my CD player became my escape of choice. I think the seed was planted that I could pursue it as a career when I watched “The Temptations” biopic. Seeing a group of guys go from singing songs on a street corner in high school to getting signed to Motown made me think my journey could be that idealistic, (laughs). I started writing songs at age 7 & I formed a group called LBO (Little But Outstanding) at 8. It was me & a couple friends from school, one who I’d just have do parts that I wrote, & another who was a singer/songwriter herself. We’d rehearse at recess & lunch, & our career high was the one school talent show we did. I was hoping that maybe Berry Gordy would show up to my school & sign me. That unfortunately didn’t happen, but I did go on to work with Berry Gordy about 11 years later, & he did in fact offer me a deal. There's a lot in between & after, but that's where it all started.
What did you grow up listening to?
I always say I grew up listening to everything from “The Carpenters” to “The Chronic.” My parents loved old sappy & folky music. My big sisters listened to a lot of Sublime. My big brother loved Hip Hop & R&B. All of it influenced me. Once I watched “The Temptations” movie though, that's all I listened to for a couple of years. Following that, I had a similar obsession with Michael Jackson, & he’s all I listened to for more than a couple years. All the while though, I loved and absorbed a lot of the popular music on the radio. My favorite modern artists were, in no particular order, Usher, Ludacris, Eminem, Outkast, Lauryn Hill, India Arie, Ne-Yo & Chris Brown.
When did you know you had to be an artist & release your original music?
I had my first recording session when I was 10. I was Hop Hop dancing with a crew called Alpha Omega & my dance instructor found out I was into music. He was a singer as well, & his uncle had a Pro-Tools set up at his apartment. He took me there one day to record a song I wrote, & once I heard my voice on a CD for the first time, it was a wrap! A couple years later, I found out the Boys & Girls Club down the street from my school opened a Teen Center with a recording studio in it. I caught wind of that & spent every day for the following 6 years really sharpening my writing, recording & vocal producing skills there. I think it was about age 14 where I wrote a song that I actually thought was good, & I think that’s when I really felt I had a shot.
Who was the first person to ever believe in you professionally?
The first person to believe in me professionally was definitely my dance instructor, his name was Prince. He would actually go on to be my manager in the following years. He really taught me to tap into whatever resources I had to make my dreams a reality.
What biggest lessons have you learned since the beginning of your career?
The biggest lesson I learned is that my gift, character & integrity are enough. I spent so much of my early career thinking I had to contort myself for whatever opportunities presented themselves, even if something felt off. While that was a necessary part of my journey, maturity taught me that remaining grounded on the journey is crucial to your sanity.
What’s the inspiration/story behind “Happening”?
I was watching an interview, I’m almost sure it was India Arie who was the interviewee. I’m paraphrasing but they were talking about the ebs & flows of life & how everything is just life happening. That really stuck with me. In my mid twenties, I really adopted the philosophy that most of our struggle comes from the judgements we place on our circumstances, not the circumstances themselves. I use this philosophy sparingly because there are people experiencing real trauma in the world & I don’t believe in spiritual bypassing our way through all of life’s issues. But some of the day to day struggles we face can definitely become trivial when we really put them into perspective. I think about all of the things that absolutely tormented me when I was 21 years old that I have difficulty trying to recall now, at 30. I can use that as a reference point when I’m going through the inevitable ups & downs of life. I hope that someone else who's struggling can hear this song & maybe borrow some of my confidence in life working out until they discover their own.
Describe the songwriting/production process for this song.
The producer & co-writer on this song is actually one of my frequent collaborators, Anna Schulze, & she is one of the dopest creatives & humans I know. We had already started working on my project & I knew that vintage-soul was the direction, but at that point I only had slow records. I really wanted to start focusing on songs with more energy to give the project some more dynamics. This was the first one with some tempo. Our process is pretty simple. We get in the studio, discuss direction & intention, she goes into producer mode & starts building out the track, I go into writer mode & start fleshing out lyrics & melody, she’ll check in on the google doc here & there and spout out ideas if she has any, I record leads, we’ll likely take a break & order some HomeState tacos & margaritas, & if the HomeState margarita didn’t impair my ability to sing on pitch (they’re ultra strong, laughs), then I’ll record background vocals. Worst case, we schedule a day 2 for BGV’s. Then she mixes, I send her mix revisions, & we have ourselves a song.
When did you know “Happening” had to be a single?
I knew it had to be a single when I knew what the rollout was gonna be. We knew that single number 3 was going to come out around spring, & I really wanted something to usher in that spring energy. ‘Happening’ to me just has a really feel good, refreshing energy to it & spring is all about blooming & new beginnings.
What message do you want to deliver through the song?
I want people to really sense & feel that they’re okay, or that they’re going to be okay. Sometimes we’re just so close to our problems that it takes someone jumping in & introducing some new perspective to help shift the focus a bit. I want this song to let people know that life gets messy, & it’s normal, & it’ll get cleaned up, & then it’ll get messy again, but no one particular season can define the entirety of your life.
What can you tell us about Innersections? What are the different topics on the record?
Innersections for me is about being at a crossroads in my life where I can ride the surface & remain comfortable, or dig a little bit deeper. I’m not necessarily digging deeper lyrically, because that’s actually comfortable for me. On this project I dug a little deeper in terms of genre’s & style’s I had in me as a writer but didn’t always feel comfortable exploring as the front facing artist. What would happen if I tapped in to some of that folky energy that my parents gave me? What would happen if I pulled a little page from that “Temptations” chapter of my life? This is the first time I’m straying from my usual contemporary Hip Hop/R&B/Pop lane & revealing more of the creative layers of my artistry. As far as topics, I’m talking love & life lessons on this project.
What are your thoughts on today’s music industry? If you could change one thing, what would it be?
I think there’s no better time than today to be bold and explore your artistry, because with social media you can really find & access an audience for it. I think we’ve done a pretty good job at dismantling the traditional blueprint of copy pasting whatever’s popular on whatever artist you’re trying to exploit at the time. I think now, more than ever, people want authenticity from artists. On the other side of that same coin, which also brings me to the “what would I change” question, the internet is so saturated that quality control is an issue. I don’t know exactly how or if I’d change it because like I said, there are upsides, but it can be frustrating as an artist who really loves & honors the craft of creating music, to be competing with people who maybe don’t have the same gifting or reverence for the craft but understand how to manipulate the apps & software.
Photo credit: Kevin Ray Orange
What is the proudest moment of your career so far?
I’d say the proudest season of my career thus far is the one I’m in right now. I’m making a living doing what I love with people that I really love & respect. After many highs & lows in this industry, I feel my energy & inspiration being restored in a much deeper & more soulful way. It’s like the passion of teenage me undergirded with a little more life experience & wisdom.
What advice would you give to young artists on the come-up?
I would say the gift will make room for you. In other words, focus at becoming really good at the thing you love & that will guide you to your next step. Life has a way of giving you what you’re ready for, just keep taking the next step & mastering each version of you on each level. Build from the inside out to create a life & career tailor made for you & your unique gift.
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