JJORDAN | On The Rise – noctismag.com

We catch up with West London rising artist JJORDAN, tapping into his new track ‘Abundance,’ discussing dream collaborators, transition from being a drummer to a singer and the learning curves that came with it. Raised in a family of musicians and having been a drummer since early childhood, JJORDAN used lockdown as a time to try something new and dip his toes into the world of singing and songwriting.

Channelling his love of Afroswing, R&B and Amapiano and influences such as Chris Brown, Tyla and Rema, JJordan merged these sounds together to create a sonic identity that’s unmistakably him. After releasing his first songs ‘Lovin’ Care’ and ‘Hallelujah’ through TikTok in 2021 and having people immediately embrace them, he strived forwards on his journey as a vocalist.

Now, with over 12,000 followers (and counting) on TikTok, over 11,000 monthly listeners and nearly a million streams total on Spotify, JJORDAN has dropped ‘Abundance,’ a track that’s sure to get us grooving and maybe just a little bit in our feelings.

If you could have anyone on the remix of ‘Abundance,’ who would you choose?

If I was to do a remix for ‘Abundance,’ I would probably do it with Destin Conrad or Tems

Your whole family are musicians, did you always know you were going for the Afroswing meets R&B sound or did it take you some time to create a vibe that felt like you?

I had an incline that it would be those two genres because those are my favourite genres to listen to. However, gospel was actually my main inspiration for everything I’ve written. So I tried to mix all three

You changed your focus during lockdown to singing and songwriting, what made you stick with it as a path you wanted to go down?

After the reaction I got from my peers and the blow up of ‘Lovin’ Care’ and ‘Hallelujah’ on TikTok, it just made sense to continue. I grew to love songwriting and hearing people singing my songs

Having been a drummer since you were two and been surrounded with musicians your whole life, were there any lessons they gave you when you started singing that you still hold close now?

Confidence and stage presence, which is something I’m still learning to do. Being a drummer, you’re normally behind everything, no one really sees you. So becoming a singer and being the centre of attention is way out of my comfort zone. But I’m gradually learning to take on that role

You’ve performed at events such as Tempo and Flow & Friends in My Ends, what has singing live taught you that was different when you were drumming?

It’s taught me that it takes a lot of skill to do what a singer does. When so many eyes are on you, you have to engage and connect with them, almost serenade them. But it’s also taught me that I’m capable of doing this. My songs alone enable the crowd to join in and sing along, even if they’ve never heard of me before.

What is a song that you hear and you wish you could have been a part of?

Random one, but either ’22’ by JayO or ‘homies’ by Saint Harison

Do you believe in love at first sight or are you more of a slow burner when it comes to love?

It depends, because I can look at someone and say from seeing you and the way you carry yourself, you were made for me. However I’ve matured now, it’s a lot more than that. Got a lot of boxes that need ticking. so I would say I’m more of a slow burner now.

You’ve said Abundance is about the character traits you’d want your future partner to have, do you have anything to say in case they’re reading this?

I love you, I see you and you’re so beautiful and a blind person could love you.