Ändern got the privilege to interview K Jade on her debut album On Everything I Love, whilst she is back in Phoenix after spending the previous month in New York. I met with her at Laymoon Cafe in Tempe, and to my surprise, it was Jade’s first time at the coffee shop after having it on a list of places to go. We both ordered ourselves an iced matcha latte and headed outside to the patio to conduct our interview. Despite being on the east coast for weeks, K Jade commented on how the heat in Phoenix is nowhere near the humidity of New York in the summer! Read along to learn about the release of the album, K Jade’s thoughts on collaboration, and a plethora of other topics. It was an honor getting to pick apart K Jade’s brain, and there is no one else I’d rather share a matcha with and discuss music. 

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I: Congratulations on the release of your first album. 

 

KJ: Thank you so much. 

 

I: What was going through your head the night before releasing? 

 

KJ: The night before the release, I had a listening party that was being set up at Home 44. It's literally right next to my bestie's house–my bestie also produced multiple tracks–but we were using his speakers and setting everything up. So I was basically just thinking about managing that and while it was very easy, there's a little bit of stress that goes into it. So yeah, I was just thinking about that for the most part.

 

I: The Fader, a highly esteemed publication known for being the authority on what's next, recognized your debut album at the start of May. How does that feel knowing your music is traveling outside of your direct atmosphere? 

 

KJ: You know what? It's funny because as long as I've been doing music and releasing it online– such a vast place to put anything out into– I know that my music was reaching different corners of the United States without it directly being received in Phoenix. Then when I started actually recording and performing consistently, like super consistently, that's when I started feeling like, okay, Phoenix is actually forming the trajectory of my career. Then thereafter, it made me consider all of the friends that I was already tapped in with, they ended up being tapped in with somebody in publication or working with those publications for a while. People that I was just following–like their wattpad when I was like 12–they ended up having such a passion for writing and critical thinking that it ended up developing into them working for these publications. I always thought that it could be floating around somewhere because I'd know so many people in different places that could do that, but it was never like such a goal. I remember I was in the airport, in Houston, and I was on my way to New York, that's when I saw [the post] and I was like, oh, whoa! The guy that wrote about me [in The Fader] or put any recognition towards it, is the manager of my friend who's from LA. I don't even think he set that up either; I think the world is just small. 

 

I: What was it like performing in Austin for South by Southwest? 

 

KJ: Oh my gosh. That was so exciting and so fun because I remember for my first release, I was like, I would love to do something like perform for South by Southwest. I started to think about all of the other things–because I had no expectation for my first release, right? – that I could do since now people are paying attention and giving the music a current to coast off of. It didn't happen the first go around. For my second release, leading up to it, for that to happen, I was like, this is perfect. It felt so satisfying. I had so much fun. It's interesting because I'm a rapper and I was in a primarily rock venue but still, I think that gave it so much life and contrast because it was so different. South by Southwest turns out to be such a place where it's like, everybody–no matter what genre you're looking for–they're all walking the same street looking for music. You know what I mean? It doesn't matter what genre it is, that was really interesting and fun to experience.

 

I: It was amazing, seriously. Okay, so you have three features [on On Everything I Love]: what is a pro in doing a track with a feature? 

 

KJ: I love that question because, I don't even know if I'm so particular about my features, whereas they just happen and I'm like, this is literally perfect. Aside from one person–which was my friend Marcel, I was like, I really want a feature with you because you're my buddy, we talk about music all the time, and that just makes sense. I've collaborated with rappers, but there are other artists, you know, that sing and composers where I'm like, the way that they conduct themselves, the shape of that I relate to so much. I think that's really what it is. When you see yourself and what the artist is doing, you want to be able to come together and build the world off of that. 

 

I: That's so cool! Going back to South by Southwest–you were surrounded by all these different artists, were you able to learn different things from them?

 

KJ: Yes, yes, absolutely! You learn so much. Also the pointers that you get along the way, I think is literally just in the execution of making music. That's just how you learn so much. You see what feels right and how it makes you feel and how they respond. That's probably one of the biggest learning experiences too. 

 

I: One of my favorite lines in the album is ‘study my closeness because I embody my opponent.’ Can you deep dive into the inspiration behind that lyric? 

 

KJ: Yeah, absolutely. I love that line because I'm really just addressing the fact that the only thing that ever gets in my way, the only person ever stopping me, is really me. Sometimes the only obstacle I can really feel is probably something that's stemming from myself. I feel like I give the world itself, and the fact that I can't control it, a lot of grace. I feel like it's not what's happening around me or to me, it’s how I react to it and if I have an issue with that, that's totally personal. So that's kind of what I meant by that. 

 

I: That's also a pretty big thing that a lot of people can relate to. Even when we feel that we don't like someone, it's often just a projection of how we feel about ourselves: is it because I don't like that about myself or is it because I would like to have that within myself? So I really like that line. 

 

KJ: Thank you! 

 

I: You're kind of bopping in between Phoenix and New York: what is the difference in the music scene for both of those [cities]? At least from your experience? 

 

KJ: I'll start by saying one thing that I think is similar because it sets the tone for what's completely different. Phoenix and New York are the most ambitious places, creatively, that I've ever lived. Phoenix feels like a clean slate, we’re one of the youngest states, and everyone feels inspired to develop a culture and take the bull by the horns and really decide what is to come for an artistic Renaissance. Whereas New York is so developed; it already has so much history and culture to it. It's nothing where anyone can say, I'm going to go to New York, it's going to be my city! It's going to eat you up. It's nothing that you can control and that's kind of the fun thing about it. It's like a filing cabinet: you get familiar with it and you study it and it's all consuming. I feel like those differences even for something that is so vast like New York and then also the vastness that we experience in Phoenix is considered and it's decided, what we provide, the differences. A lot of people who live in Phoenix are not directly from Phoenix. You might be the first generation to be here or maybe by a couple, and New York is kind of similar, too. It's very interesting how that works. 

 

I: That is interesting! The creativity here is really huge; I feel like more people than not are feeling that they can go between places and not have to be moving in order to find success. What would be your take on people feeling as if they have to move to a place in order to reach success? 

 

KJ: It's good to be familiar with what you're doing and, if it is in a niche pocket, see where there is a market for it or there's a collective of people that come together dedicatedly to support it. I will say though, especially for a place like Phoenix, it's not even directly that I would have to move in order to amount to anything or do anything meaningful, because obviously I've found so much meaning and support here. I really feel like the biggest thing was being able to access people who really create time to support the values of hip hop and stuff. You know what I mean? Like to be able to live a life where they eat, sleep, live, breathe, shit hip hop and rap. That's such a developed thing out here. So I guess it's kind of 50-50 for me, being able to make something off the skin of your own teeth–you need to be able to do that–that's going to be the most inspiring time. If I wasn't able to sustain here [in Phoenix], I wouldn't be able to do anything in New York. I'd probably be so lost in my identity because being here has been able to make me show up as myself, so consistently, that I wouldn't be able to really manage New York. Both are super important: a place where you have been–you don't necessarily have to flee–that's actually going to be the most important thing for you to know yourself. But if you do go directly to a market where you feel like you're getting the most support, it's definitely important so you know that there are people who are creating space and time for you to have that. 

 

I: I love that so much. What has been a big lesson that you've learned releasing an album, in regards to everything that's followed?

 

KJ: I think the rollout process is so highly anticipated for the consumer and the creator alike. The way that you want things to reach people and touch people: is it just about the music? Is it about visually being represented? Is it about who you're working with? Some people–depending on how developed in the industry they are–line up brand deals in accordance with the release of something. Everything counts. What really, really matters at the end of the day–if you don't have the resources–is about the music. If you have enough strength in your music to be able to develop conversations or a community to support, that is going to speak volumes. I don't think I've ever given myself a proper roll out; I think I'm really good at making a sequenced and a well condensed body of work. What is a rollout really going to look like for me? Where it's like, boom, single, video, single, video. Whatever structure it might be, it doesn't even have to be that, you know?  That's one thing that I've learned and I think about a lot and all artists–in our own way–do. Always ground yourself in the fact that it's about the music. 

 

I: I was going to say, the first album is what people know you from, people are going to discover you from it. Rather than this grand rollout that might not match the vibe of the music. Thank you so much for sitting down with me!

 

KJ: Of course, thank you!