Introducing The Mesmerizing Emerging Artist J.K.

Emerging talent Jordan Kristine Seamón – who is also known as J.K. – is an artist that’s ready to make their mark in the entertainment sphere. The 18-year-old talent first fell in love with music at the age of six, listening and singing with their grandmother. As time went on the singer-songwriter found inspiration from the legendary album “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill”, which inspired J.K. and their future as a musician.

Releasing their first body of work in 2018, they continued to hone their craft while also diving into other passions like acting. JK landed the breakout role of Catlin in the Luca Guadagnino television drama series ‘We Are Who We Are’. Their performance was praised by critics and tastemakers, opening up the doors to an even bigger world of success.

Along with starring in the HBO series, J.K. also released their dynamic album ‘Identity Crisis’. The record is described as a rich and soulful exploration of psyche and self. With its genre-bending sound and introspective lyrics, the album has showcased J.K.’s talent and what they’re capable of as an artist and industry creative.

With an electric 2020 behind them, the young talent is looking to continue their music takeover this year. From working on new material to dabbling in production and composing, J.K. is a rising star you don’t want to take your eyes off of.

We were able to chat with J.K. about everything from their latest album Identity Crisis, the album’s documentary, the HBO series We Are Who We Are, and so much more. Read our interview below.

J.K! How are you? Thanks for sitting down with us.  

I’m good thank you for asking. I’ve just been trying to stay positive, productive, and creative. 

March is nearly over, has 2021 been good to you so far? 

2021 has had its ups and downs for me so far. There have been a lot of things that we were really looking forward to, like performances and premiers, then suddenly everything was cancelled and shut down, but I’m trying to look on the bright side and be thankful and grateful for what I have and for the things that are still happening. I am lucky enough to have such wonderful parents (Jermaine & Felicia Seamon), family and friends that have been so kind, people that have looked out for me and I’m never afraid to reach out to them whenever I have an issue. I know not everyone has that, so again I am grateful. I don’t know if I’d be able to get through 2021 without all of the amazing people in my life. 

Let’s dive into the music world of J.K., shall we? When did you have your musical awakening? 

I would say my “musical awakening” was when I was about five or six years old. I was singing in the car with my nana, Christine Lewis-Dukes, and my mom, and my nana was the best singer in our family. In my opinion, she was the best singer in the world, singing with popular music groups back in the day, and being a phenomenal church choir member. She and I were singing together, and she turned around to look in the backseat and told me that I was a good singer, and coming from her that meant so much. From that point on, I always felt that music was something that I was just born to pursue. 

Is there an album or song that you look to for inspiration? 

I would say “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill” by Lauryn Hill, was a huge inspiration for me and for the “Identity Crisis” album. From a young age, listening in the car with my mom, that was the kind of music that I was always drawn to and wanted to make. The Miseducation album has so many amazing elements within it and I listened to it on repeat growing up so I know just about every song, with the exception of the few that I would fall asleep on in the car while it was playing. 

How would you describe your sound? What elements or genres help make up your style? 

I would say my sound is a little all over the place, but that’s what I love about it. I love mixing different elements of different sounds and genres. I would say the basic elements in every song I create have hints of soul and R&B because that’s what I mainly listened to when I grew up. Now, I also like to add other genres and with my upcoming music, I’m hoping to experiment a little bit more with genres that I never had before, such as electronic and rock. 

You recently released your dynamic debut album Identity Crisis, absolutely amazing by the way. What was your creative process like during the making of this record? Was there a specific direction or story that you wanted to share?

Well, thank you so much for the compliment. In terms of how “Identity Crisis” came about, when I secured the role in HBO’s We Are Who We Are television series, and we travelled to Italy to shoot it, initially I was hoping to get some inspiration to just create some more music in general. I had only developed and released a few musical pieces and I wanted to do more. I didn’t plan on making an actual album until closer to the end of 2019. My creative process really was all over the place for this specific album, because I was experiencing so much while I was writing. I really wanted to capture that crazy, creative process that I had for this album so other aspiring artists and fans could see it firsthand, hence my documentary about the album. As far as the story, I really wanted to create music that would help me understand myself a little bit more. I was going through a lot during that time, adapting to these new responsibilities and lifestyle, and learned so many new things about myself and my surroundings. The easiest way for me to understand these changes was to do what my mother advises, write about it! I now realize that I have a number of songs that I’ve written and never released, that were songs that I wrote that help me get through something or understand something. Stay tuned for new music. 

On top of releasing your album, you also gave fans an inside look into your life with the accompanying documentary. What was your favourite moment during this experience? What were the challenges that came with this project? 

Filming the documentary as a whole was really fun. I didn’t think that I would enjoy it so much but it really helped with motivation. There were plenty of times where I didn’t feel like writing, I just wasn’t feeling that inspired and didn’t want to work, but remembering the whole concept of making the documentary really helped keep me on the schedule. It was also really fun letting people see another side of me. I think sometimes with social media we do so much editing and nitpicking that we have a tendency to only show people a certain “perfect” side of ourselves. From many of the conversations with “fans” and friends, I realized that they had a certain idea of the type of person that I was because of the type of things that I posted on social media. They were able to see the normal side of me in a more intimate fashion. I allowed people to see the real/raw version of me. They saw the version of me that struggles and cries and has the tendency to make a lot of bad jokes. As far as challenges, I did struggle a little bit with being so open and honest. It’s really scary to let people see you in your natural element and you’re always going to be afraid that people are going to judge you, and it’s a lot easier to just not let people know or not let people in. Many of the fans were happy to see the normal Jordan that relates to them. 

Taking a quick detour for a second, we have to talk about your series We Are Who We Are. What did you love most about the character of Caitlin? What do you hope for your character for season 2?

I love the power that the character Caitlin exudes. They were able to encourage me to become a little bit more confident, really showing you how impactful a character Caitlin was for me. If the story continues, I would love to see Caitlin all grown up, living their dream of being in the army. I hope they have matured a little bit more and have continued to develop and grow into themselves. I wish nothing but the best for my character, and I hope they have grown to love themselves as they have helped me love myself. 

You are conquering the entertainment world. You’re starring in We Are Who We Are, released your first album, honing your songwriting skills and producing. How do you juggle all of these talents? Is there an activity or hobby that helps centre you when things feel hectic? 

The phrase conquering the entertainment world makes me feel so amazing, so thank you! I like to think that I juggle all these talents by myself, but I know I don’t. My parents help with literally everything you can think of and I am constantly asking them for help and they always provide. As far as an activity, I would say painting. I’m not a painter by trade but my dad is an artist and I’ve always enjoyed sketching in class or drawing on my hand when I was young. Now, I like to paint and draw cartoon characters on my walls or paint items such as desks or drawers in my room. I’ve also drawn all of the cover art for my singles and the “Identity Crisis” album. Art brings me a lot of joy and is a very slow process which is calming for me. A lot of the work that I do in the ‘entertainment world’ is very fast-moving, so I need something that can be constant and relaxing, to help me calm down during those stressful moments. 

With Identity Crisis making the rounds, what can fans expect from J.K. in the coming months? Can you give us a sneak peek at what you’re working on? 

You can definitely expect some more music from me soon. I am dipping my toe into producing a little bit more and composing a little bit more. I can tell you that I am working on some singles and a new album. For a sneak peek I can tell you that a song that I am working on is called “Olivia”. That’s it no more…stay tuned. p.s. Thank you for this! Stay safe and wear your mask! -J 

Make sure to check out their album ‘Identity Crisis’ here and watch the video for the track ‘for you.’ below.