With a mega malleable voice and diverse production that references J Hus, Kanye, Drake and more; 24-year-old singer, rapper and producer Jevon is bang on the money. You might not have heard of him, but you’ve probably heard him. You see, his productions can be found across Nines’ One Foot Out album and XL’s 2017 New Gen compilation, a showcase of the future of UK rap, grime and R&B — naturally featuring Jevon’s own breakout single, Man Of The Hour.
Stepping out of the studio and into the spotlight, his work spans pop, hip-hop and slinky R&B on what we’ve heard so far of his debut EP, Judas, due this autumn. Adding yet another layer to proceedings, he packed up and relocated to his grandfather’s homeland of Brazil this summer to finish the whole thing off. Stand-out tracks include soulful Redemption, the just-dropped Wagwarn, and Paranoia. The latter is a dark confessional that Jevon says “stems from layers of paranoia and the chain reaction that can cause. Paranoia in a relationship; attempting to ease that stress with smoking, which just adds another layer of paranoia.”
Watch the Ebeneza Blanche-directed music video for Paranoia and get to know Jevon below with these 10 fun facts.
1. Jevon’s first musical memory is cooler than yours.
“I was dancing in the mirror to Roy Davis Jr’s Gabriel with my dad.”
2. Getting in trouble at school helped him find his musical path.
“I got into music when I got suspended from school once. I was bored in my room and I had a Nas Thief’s Theme single CD with the instrumental on it so I started trying to write like Nas.”
3. But it was only last year that he realised it could become a career.
“I realised I could make a career from this when I performed Man of The Hour a day after it was released at a Brits show and everyone started singing the words to it. I was like, ‘Oh, okay, this could work!’”
4. He was born and raised in Mozart, west London.
“It influenced me a lot, because of the stuff you see growing up and things you are exposed to as a child.”
5. To Jevon, his voice is an instrument.
“I sing like I’m adding another instrument really. I try to find the melody that’s missing. I try to find out how this song makes me feel too. So that will determine what I write about.”
6. If he could have written any song, it would be this 1982 Prince b-side
“I wish I wrote Prince’s She’s Always In My Hair. I love that song so much. I wish I wrote Justin Timberlake’s Cry Me a River too. That song is incredible.”
7. He’s on track to being big in Japan.
“Promises with Taichi Mukai is out now. We keep ’em coming. This is a special one for Japan. For everyone else, this is an Asia-only release, if you can find it you’re a real one!”
8. And he also featured on Hatsukoi, the recent album by Japanese music icon Utada Hikaru.
“It’s an honour for me to be featured on Hatsukoi 🙏🏽. The legend behind those classic Kingdom Hearts soundtracks.”
9. But he still has a long wish list of creative collaborators.
“The list would cover a whole page, but I’d really love to work with The Neptunes and Kaws too. I just want to understand what he sees in his art.”
10. He reckons the best thing about his generation is the ability to communicate.
“Everything has become so accessible. You can drop a song on the internet and someone on the other side of the world will hear it at the same time. I find that amazing. I got man in Australia messaging me like, ‘yo I fuck with you’ and I’m just there like: rah, how did you even find me?”