In May of 2019, the LONER Team received an incredible behind the scene's look at a pink-haired singer getting ready to take the world by storm. On this day, we traveled 4 hours to New York City to cover the first live show of JACK BE. Here's how the experience played out.
Enjoy.
The apartment building, at first glance, looked like any other New York apartment building; down a narrow street, covered in scaffolding, and hardly distinguishable to those of us not from the city. Despite our unease, we walked in confidently and after an initial confusion of room numbers we came to room 401. After a few knocks, the door swings open to show a tall, pink haired man sporting a warm smile reminiscent of one you’d see on an old friend.
Jack Be, is an artist based out of L.A. who’s style incorporates aspects of pop and hip hop. Through his music, he has the ability to encase serious and meaningful lyrics in an upbeat tempo that perfectly suits even an impromptu dance floor. Lyrically, he is able to tell stories while masterfully keeping rhythm and cadence. But what most stood out to the LONER Team was the artist's mentality and drive for his music.
The "venue" was cozy; having transformed from an average NY loft to a live concert stage in a matter of hours - the venue amalgamated the functionality of a music hall with the lived in aesthetic of an artist’s residence. It had taken them about a week of preparation but only two days of building to create the final product. Jack had ensured us that before we had gotten there, the loft was lined with mattresses for the crew to sleep on. The Studio was reportedly the work of Griff Orme, the owner of the loft and producer of the Gold Street Session.
Before the performance, we got a chance to sit down and talk to Jack for a while about his process and his come up. He spoke in a way that held a trusting modesty, as if he hadn’t realized the power his talent gave him. He told us that his passion started in sixth grade when he heard a group of kids freestyling on a school bus.
He told us that he got up to freestyle with them and reminisced about how terrible he was then and how it still couldn’t discourage him. This inability to feel discouraged fueled his success. From there Jack went on to write a song every single day for six and a half years with the mentality that creativity is something to be worked on; that when you produce that much, not everything will be a hit, but you’ll be left with a lot more in the wake of your hard work. To his credit, work like this paid off. Two years later he was opening for 2 chains.
He refers to himself as a “Duck tape artist.” Throw all your energy into your passion and piece together whatever doesn’t work, the important part is that you’re working hard and putting energy towards what you love. Passion, for Jack, comes in ample supply and may be the secret to his success (along with incredible talent). He explains that “passion is the most attractive thing to people.” He went on to explain that to grow in a creative community like music, you have to be a part of it, not trying to gain from it.
The event was one I was truly grateful to attend. Being in the presence of such a rising star is always an amazing experience. Jack Be can be found on Youtube, Spotify, Apple Music and just about anywhere else music can be found. Be sure to check out “The Great Alone.” which is his most recent album.
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Jack Be's Latest Single, "The Man You Needed" goes live Thursday, June 3rd 2021. For a behind the scenes look at the "hiatus breaking" track + insights on Jack's recent marketing tornado, read LONER's follow up interview with the man himself - HERE
