Jomande is the new-age rapper with old-school flair
When Jomande started working on his debut EP, he searched for consistency. Whilst he’s already been making music for himself and friends for years, the challenge was narrowing down his ideas into a cohesive project. “Making an ep would kinda force me to commit to the whole thing and at least be one solid and like tangible thing that could be associated with Jomande regardless of what happens next”.
The EP sounds like a colorful clutter of lofi, rap, jazz. Or better yet, a term he coined known as “bedroom pop”. Jomande’s wit shouldn’t be limited to his lyricism. The project boasts of production and mixing from the youngin himself and guest appearances from capespring and tg.blk. It’s brought to life by memorable hooks you can’t help but sing along to on the commute to everyday obligation. In particular, Gold is reminiscent of the soundtrack of young adulting. It’s a track that could easily serve as the title sequence to coming-of-age series from adult swim we grew up watching.
We spoke to the gifted rapper about the inspiration behind his debut EP.
What was the inspiration behind the EP?
Sonically, I’ve been listening to a lot of avant-garde hip-hop like zeke ultra and medhane. I like how short, yet lyrically sweet the music is. That’s why the duration of the project is 15 minutes long. The song where this influence is most transparent would be Hercules. I’ve been a huge Earl Sweatshirt fan for the longest time so I incorporated some jazz undertones in my production in Solo and Choose Your Weapon. The list of inspiration goes on and on, but other honorable mentions include Niagara by Redveil and The Internet’s discography.
Describe your creative process?
I don’t have a linear creative process. Each project demands it’s own specificity. This EP was different because I started writing lyrics to the songs even before I had an instrumental ready. I freestyle a lot with my boys so my notes app was always filled to the brim with rough ideas and one-liners. Sometimes, I produce my own beats or someone sends me one, I’ll freestyle to it and the song organically reveals itself. I recorded the majority of this project in my bedroom, so it was purely trial, error and a labour of love.
What part of creating the EP did you find most challenging and rewarding?
Constructing the body of the EP was a lot of fun. Besides making the music itself, I selected the cover art (which my friend Ian helped w shoutout @bleachrecords). I love being an independent artist and getting to be 100% in control of all I do, but that also means I have to be 100% responsible for the album rollout itself. With this project, I struggled with creating music that keeps listeners engaged without compromising my creative freedom. When it finally dropped, it was rewarding to see people bump to music that was made in my bedroom.
What influenced the feature’s on the EP?
Initially, I didn’t anticipate any features for this project, particularly because of its breadth. Capespring sent me his vocal backings for Hercules a week before the scheduled release date. Cape’s been with me since the EP’s inception so a guest appearance was inevitable. I’m appreciative because this added a lot of depth to the track. When I was writing Gold, I had TG’s pen in mind, and left a space in the middle of the track hoping she’d grace it. I sent it to her, she did her thing, and the rest is history.
How has the reception been since the EP's release?
The reception was greater than anything I would have anticipated. With a lot of the music I’ve made previously, it’s songs for my friends and I to jam to and I know they’ll do so out of a familial obligation. Seeing Gold feature on all these big playlists was moving. The other day, someone on reddit told me how much Hercules means to them. I made these songs in my bedroom, now people are listening to them in their bedrooms. Music is my life’s journey so I’m excited to see how far my songs travel.
Demo16 is available on all streaming platforms right now.
