What drew you to music?
I always knew I wanted to sing, but there was this peak moment when my Aunt bought me a Panasonic stereo from Sears—I’d play music in my bedroom so loud and sing along to it on that stereo. I would make my sister and cousins sit around on weekends, for what I called my “concerts," pretending to be playing in some major stadium. I even went as far as to thank the audience for showing love to my opening act. I’m pretty sure Tina Turner opened for me once.
Any experiences or early life events that inspired you to write and sing?
When I was about 12-years-old I met a singer, Teena Marie, who, at the time, was my absolute favorite singer on the planet! I had broke in backstage to her show at the Liacouras Center in Philly. Total groupie, I know. I was pretty chill about it, and I think that’s what lead her to exchange information with me. Whenever she would come to Philly she would take me around, and it really opened my eyes to a new perspective on life. Suddenly I thought, if little old me, this ghetto boy from the projects, could be hanging out with my favorite singer in the world, then certainly life doesn’t have to stop here. It was in one of those moments when she sent her limo to take me back to the projects that I decided “I too can sing and make music, and just maybe one day I’ll help some young kid follow his or her dream too."
You’ve been very open about your past with growing up in tough parts of Philly and experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles. How did you work through the hardships to get to where you are now? How much do these memories shape your music?
Eventually, I just accepted the cards I was dealt, and decided to play my hand the best way I can. Today I just write about it.
View this post on Instagram A post shared by Adrian Jean (@adrianjeanofficial) on Oct 4, 2018 at 12:34pm PDT
A post shared by Adrian Jean (@adrianjeanofficial) on Oct 4, 2018 at 12:34pm PDT
How would you compare where you are right now–– about to release your music and gearing up for a set at SXSW–– to where you were three years ago? What was the process of getting to this point?
Shit, it’s hard to think about those days. They were so dark. The process was just a deep belief in myself with a combination of discipline and resilience. And don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t say that I’m this epitome of success. However, I’m certainly not stopping until I can state precisely that.
The songs you perform now sweep across many subjects, like love and identity. What can we expect thematically from your new EP?
Word painting. I love it so much. Particularly in the background voices. I love to tell true stories, and I’m always looking for simplicity with texture.
Your sound is definitively pop, but with clear influences of R&B and gospel. Do you find mixing these genres to be natural to you, or is it more purposeful?
No. It’s definitely natural—I don’t intend for it to happen at all. It’s just what comes out.
Your voice has an absolutely incredible and unique sound. Were you ever vocally trained, or did you create this style of singing yourself?
Yeah. Actually, I have an incredible voice teacher, Don Lawrence. He’s pretty great and renowned in the business. He’s worked with everyone from Whitney Houston to Lady Gaga. He’s responsible for that sound on A Star Is Born. The foundation was there from the start, but Don really sealed the deal with the sound.
You seem to gravitate to a storytelling approach to writing songs, like on your song “The Story of Blue”. What attracts you to this style of songwriting?
It’s real. Next.
What does the songwriting process look like for you? Are you a lyrics-first or arrangement-first kind of guy?
Arrangement definitely. It’s me and a piano first. Plucking out the melody and arranging chord structure. Sometimes I pull from old concepts but I usually let the arrangement guide me to the emotion.
At the end of last year, you did a residency at our stage at the Velvet Underground Experience exhibition. You did a lot of great covers there, including a haunting rendition of the Velvet Underground’s “Heroin”. How do you apply your own style to covering someone else’s music?
Funny… It’s almost always the same routine with a cover: I call up my best friend, who is also an awesome singer. We talk about life. We talk about songs, old and new. And then we discuss what the song means to me. Then, we sing together until we’re blue in the face and the perfect version of that song, for me, comes to life.
Your track “Tell the World” is a joyful love song about showing your love off to the world, even when it’s unaccepting. Were there any artists you looked up to growing up who gave you the confidence to pursue love and your art?
Teena Marie, of course. But pretty much the greats: Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Luciano Pavarotti, Beyoncé the Queen. All of them played different roles in different moments for me.
What do you see yourself doing for the next few months after the release of your music? The next year?
I have a ton of more music to release as the year goes by, and I have a music video to produce next month. I’ll partake in a songwriters camp back home in LA in early April. I see myself as “going hard on the mutha fuckin’ paint!” Just kidding, I’ll be working (laughs).
How would you define a “Big Break”?
The presentation of a future star. Wishful thinking.
