R& B Artist Jalen Chords Is A One Stop Shop – Interview
“Warm, Layered, Expressive”. These are 3 words to describe emerging R&B artist Jalen Chords’ musical sound. And better yet, it’s straight from the source. The Garnette Report had the pleasure of interviewing Jalen this past week. With his newest single “My Boo” immediately turning heads, its only a matter of time until Jalen Chords is a household name. The track is the kind of feel-good R&B record that instantly feels familiar. The song’s carefree spirit and classic love song energy makes it the perfect summer anthem. Jalen wants us to understand that real love is well and truly alive. If you’d like to learn more about the song itself, click here.
The Hampton, VA native asserts himself as an inimitable, infectious, and irresistible vocal dynamo. His undeniable emotional storytelling and remarkable versatility continues to put his name on the map. Now a member of Cash Money Records, Chords is living out a life long dream. Cash Money Records is a legendary force in the music industry that boasts a plethora of chart-dominating, multi-platinum artists and Grammy Award winners. Jacquees, Juvenile, Onsight Deeda and Rublow, to name a few.
Jalen’s energy is infectious. He’s inviting, open and honest, not just in his song lyrics but as a person. There’s no façade or artificiality to Jalen Chords—it’s all real, raw emotion. Overwhelming grateful for his continued opportunities and aware of the hard work that’s got him here, Jalen Chords understands it all. He’s the type of artist that stays with you. He’s the type of artist that’s here to stay. The definition of confident yet polite and concise, it was a pleasure to pick his brain on all things music. The entirety of our interview with Jalen can be seen below.
Interview With Jalen Chords
1. For someone who’s never had the pleasure of listening to your music, how would you describe yourself as an artist?
“Jalen Chords is a One Stop shop. Versatility is a thing on my end, kind of always like pride myself being that way. From a writing standpoint, I write all my stuff so it might be R&B one day, Hip Hop, Pop, you never know. Good vocals, good instrumentation, dancing. Anybody could vibe from any walk of life.”
2. If you could choose 3 words that shape your musical style sonically, what would they be and why?
Warm: I want to be, in terms of my vocals, as humane as possible. Almost hug the listener to give them a better experience
Layered: I overly stack my vocals, I can’t help it (He says grinning ear to ear). I put a lot of stacks on my vocals. I feel like it makes them more full.
Expressive: I mode a lot when I sing. I’m emotional as a person, so I really try and convey whatever emotion I’m feeling or whatever emotion I’m trying to invoke in the listener when I’m saying it.
3. Growing up you played sports, played piano, joined the musical theater and drew musical inspiration from church. Your background is quite diverse, obviously drawing from lots of influences. What’s the biggest inspiration for your musical style?
“One of the underlying things that those different avenues (played sports, played piano, joined the musical theater and drew musical inspiration from church) do is provide a sense of community. It allows all these people from different backgrounds the opportunity to come together. And so, I really want my music to be able to provide another opportunity for people to come together. I always make sure to stay true to myself in the process, that’s always in my mind. I think creating community is something that I also naturally gravitate towards without necessarily keeping it at the forefront of my mind. It definitely plays a part of my creative process as I write as well.”
4. Let’s talk about your brilliant new single “My Boo”. What was the inspiration specifically for this track?
“Oh man, I just think when I turn on social media, to what I’m listening to today, I feel like it’s apparent that there’s like kind of this agenda against love” “It’s pretty heavy and kind of draining and it’s weighed on my own personal thoughts about love sometimes. I think it’s important that you actively fight against that. I feel like there’s so many cases where real love exists and it’s flourishing and so I kind of wanted to shed a light on it. I wanted to create something that you could move and have fun with too in the process. Love should be fun as well, you know?”
5. “My Boo” feels like the kind of song that transcends genres and become a household staple on repeat. What do you hope fans get out of your new single?
“Real love is still out here and it’s okay to have fun with it and talk about it and even kind of, you know, brag about it a little but if you are fortunate enough to have it Above all else, Jalen Chords is about to go on a run”
6. The “My Boo” music video both highlights the brilliance of the song and shows off your charismatic energy to the viewer. What was the experience like filming in Miami? How’d you look to convey this infectious ‘feel good energy’? Was this video different to what you’ve done in the past?
“Oh man, Miami was dope. I had only been a couple times and we were kind of going around different places in the city so I was sightseeing as well as recording the video. There were a bunch of people walking around, stopping, recording so it felt like a performance around the city too. It was super dope, a memorable experience for sure. I think I’ve always been comfortable in front of the camera for as long as I can remember. Creatively, I think one of the most beautiful things about the video is how simple it is. Like there’s no large dance number, not a bunch of special effects. I just tried to be natural and vibing in the camera, beautiful lighting. It’s just natural and fun and ultimately I think that’s how love should be. The video helps hammer in the message.”
7. Talk about your relationship with Cash Money Records. How valuable have they been for you and just how important has their influence been for your career?
“I mean what can I say? Cash money records literally changed my life man. It’s so crazy to have grown up listening to and being inspired by so many Cash Money Records artists to now actually being honored as being one of them myself. So it’s been a crazy full circle moment and I’m honestly just excited to continue to grow and work hard and add to their legacy while also trying to build mine”
Featured Photo: Steven Gomillion