“I put my music out myself” – Jesse Boykins III

Jesse Boykins III (JBIII) is an emerging force in contemporary soul music; he has trained under Bilal, performed alongside the likes of Chrisette Michele and Eric Roberson and is due to release his second LP Love Apparatus later this year.  Jesse was in London recently headlining the Writer’s Block 2nd Anniversary show and Catch a Vibe spent an hour with the man himself to talk about music, performing and having fun in London despite being stuck in the UK due to volcanic ash.

CAV: You made your UK debut at Cargo, in April 2010 headlining the Writer’s Block show.  How did this opportunity present itself?
JBIII: I’ve been getting a lot of love from blogs in the UK and Writer’s Block just reached out.  They had been paying attention to my music and kept me in mind for the event and they emailed me and requested that I come out to perform…  I didn’t expect to get so much love from the crowd, it was definitely a good vibe and a great experience in my career.

CAV: For those that missed your last show, when will you return to London to perform?
JBIII: I’m trying to work something out for either the summer or fall.  Right now we are trying to organise a university tour but I’ll definitely be back before the end of the year because my new album is coming out in the fall.

CAV: Speaking of your new album, Love Apparatus: how long did it take you to complete this project because you released two albums Dopamine and then The Beauty Created in 2008?
JBIII: I actually started Love Apparatus before The Beauty Created, which is kinda weird.  I had completed two songs already for Love Apparatus, they were just two songs, I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with them and then I went off on a tangent which was The Beauty Created album.  Later I came back and revisited those two songs and it inspired me to continue working with producer Machine Drum.  Once we started working again it took us about eight or nine months to write and record Love Apparatus.  The first single Plain should be released in June; it’s basically about being in a relationship where you have really high expectations of that person.  You think they are going to fit that image of your perfect soulmate and in the end it’s just plain.

CAV: Is Love Apparatus a concept album?
JBIII: It’s definitely a conceptual album. I like the artwork to tell the story before you even hear the songs.  With Love Apparatus in my right hand I’m holding a heart and in my left hand I’m holding the world, this represents the balance between being true to myself as artist and being able to fit in the world at the same time.  This is the first album I have written where all the songs weren’t about women, it definitely shows a lot of growth in my artistry and I’m really proud of myself.  I’m really excited about this album.

CAV: If you had to describe Love Apparatus as a recipe what would be the ingredients?
JBIII: Wow, okay.  The vibe is an 80’s theme, it’s kinda like Phil Collins meets… (laughs) I can’t even really say who else.  Love Apparatus is futuristic, soulful… it’s a musical gumbo, that’s what I’m going to call it, a musical gumbo.  It has everything in it but the main ingredient is definitely 80’s sounding synthesizers.

CAV: Describe your creative process.
JBIII: There are a wide range of ways that I start songs, I’m a writer first so it could start with a story, poem or a song.  The majority of the time I start with lyrics but I also like to create from a moment, for instance if I’m working with a musician I’ll freestyle.  A lot of songs on The Beauty Created album started as freestyles, like the song Shine (Jesse sings) ‘You’re hotter than a New York summer in a Spike Lee movie,’ that was a freestyle and then everything else come from that.  The creative process really varies, with Love Apparatus I have a song called Greyscale and me and Machine Drum, the producer I was working with on the project, started the song together at the same time.  As soon as he played me the sample I started writing and by the time he had finished making the song, I had finished the lyrics and the melody so really it just depends on the inspiration.

CAV:  You have performed alongside some of my favourite artists, Chrisette Michele and Eric Roberson and you’ve even studied under Bilal.  What’s it like working with such talented individuals and what do you take from these experiences?
JBIII: I take whatever I can get (laughs).  I always look at it as a blessing, it’s great to be around creative people that look at you and know you care about your art as much as they care about their art.  Anytime I’m in a room with Eric, Chrisette, Bilal, Dwele; people that I look up to, people that I listen to, to hear them say that they listen to me as well is always humbling, it’s like wow this isn’t real.  I always try to savour all those moments when I’m around those cats.  When I get calls from Phonte or 9th Wonder to me it’s like wow!  I’m just a kid who started recording songs in my room, I’m not signed to anyone, I put my music out myself and most of my music video we shot ourselves with no budget.  To get the respect that I’m getting is an honour.

CAV: Of all the artists you have encountered who has made the greatest impact in terms of your artistic development?
JBIII: I’ve learned so much so rapidly, it’s hard to narrow it down but I always think of moments.  One of the main moments that I remember is when I was working with Bilal, he was my voice trainer.  My first lesson with him, I didn’t sing anything, he made me exercise for four hours.  I’m dying, I’m breathing hard, trying to stay alive and then he said the lesson was over.  He then said, you see how you are breathing heavy like this, every first breath of any performance of any song you ever sing; your first breath should feel just like how it feels right now.  So that lesson was probably the one that sticks with me most.

CAV: What are your career highlights so far?
JBIII: Putting out music that I have creative control over is big to me.  My song Tabloids reached number two on the BET J (BET Jazz) charts when it was released as a music video under Erykah Badu’s Honey.  So that was probably another big thing that I really didn’t think would ever happen especially since we didn’t spend any money on that video.  Another thing would be as much travelling as I’m able to do, I love travelling.  I love experiencing different cultures; being around different energies; being in different climates; trying different foods.  I know a lot of people who don’t leave where they are from, so having the freedom to travel is a big accomplishment.  I’m about to shoot Music Matters for BET, a music special on artists who are passionate about their craft, Nneka did it first and I’m the next up so I’m going to shoot that when I get back to the States.

CAV: When it comes to the creative process you pretty much do everything, which must be incredibly liberating.  How are you able to create, promote and distribute your music without the help of a major label?
JBIII: There definitely is a process and it’s still a process, still some trial and error.  I have a team behind me, no one does everything alone, ever.  I started a label in 2007, a LLC called NomaDic MuSic with one of my best friends Sinorice Moss.  I have a manager her name is Joya Nemley, who has managed me since 2006.  I also have a creative director who is also one of my best friends and he has designed all my album artwork; my logos and directed most of my videos.   So I have a small team of people who have helped me along the way.  As far as putting my music out, it was just a matter of research.  I just looked up all my favourite artists and researched their lives.  I looked at how they released their music; the paths they took; what went wrong for them and what went right.  I also asked for a lot of advice as I knew Eric Roberson and Bilal and could just call them up and ask ‘What do you think about releasing this song this month?’ and they would give me their two cents and I would take that into consideration and then try it. So it was definitely a guerrilla approach lots of trial and error.

CAV: Based on what you’ve learned thus far what are you going to do differently when you release Love Apparatus?
JBIII: I’m going to take everything to another level, I didn’t release the last two records as I should have as far as marketing goes.  You know like putting out a single then a video; pushing singles and trying to get them on radio.  With this project I feel it’s time and everything is going to be done correctly.  I’m releasing a single in June; a month later we are going to release the video for it.  Promo videos are going to be pushed, I even recorded promo videos out here in the UK.  I’m trying to get distribution for the project so you can go and buy it in the stores.  I don’t really want to release it until I find a situation where someone calls me and asks “Where can I get your CD?” and I can say “Go to HMV”.

CAV: According to your twitter post you are shooting a music video for the song Amorous from your 2008 release The Beauty Created.  Why are you shooting a video for an album you released in 2008 and why did you decide to shoot it in London?
JBIII: I really wanted people to remember The Beauty Created album and the last video would signify the end of something.  I wanted it to be Amorous because it’s everyone’s favourite song; it’s my favourite song; it’s the top selling song on iTunes and when I’m on stage and I say the next song is Amorous I get a great reaction from the audience.  So the video is like a thank you for the support I’ve received from everyone.  At first I wasn’t sure if I should do it because it doesn’t make sense from a marketing stand point but from an acknowledgement stand point it definitely does.  I’ve been watching these old French romance movies from the 60s and it inspires this concept that I came up with for the video and because we got stuck here in London due to the volcano I was like we gotta do it.  The shoot was really fun, it was like we were sight-seeing while shooting the video.  We shot some footage on the London Eye; on London Bridge; in front of Buckingham Palace; Trafalgar Square and everywhere that tourists go.

CAV:  If you could form a soul super group to record one track with, which artists would you select?
JBIII: Okay here goes my soul super group: Little Dragon, a band from Sweden, the lead singer Yukimi Nagano is amazing; Bilal; Aretha Franklin; Bjork and Marvin Gaye.

CAV:  What would you be doing in a parallel universe, if music wasn’t an option?
JBIII: I would definitely be doing something along the lines of entertainment or teaching.  I used to teach elementary school for a while and I act on the side sometimes, so if my career had nothing to do with music it would be either be acting or teaching.

Well thankfully we exist in this time space so the world can experience Love Apparatus scheduled to be released in autumn and albums yet to come from the talented, charismatic and passionate Jesse Boykins III.

We voted The Beauty Created as one of the top soul albums of 2009

Keep up with Jesse on MySpace and  Twitter