Getting Tough with JELEEL!
Experience this story and others in the new issue of Highsnobiety Magazine, available from retailers around the world and our online store.
Given the backflips and the ripped shirts, I didn’t expect Jeleel’s voice to be so soft and reassuring, or for there to be gentle bird chirps in the background. But there were.
If you’re on TikTok, and chances are if you’re reading this you are, you’ve heard Jeleel make a name for himself by, well, screaming his own name. You might even be one of the sixty million likes on videos that show the 26-year old musician trying his damndest to be the best Jeleel he can be – which means cracking jokes at the expense of his own massive muscles, performing at shows where he launches himself into the crowd regularly (even if they do sometimes drop him) or recording tracks that you really have to try very hard not to bop to.
You would think that the frenetic pace of his music, often punctuated with that shouted name, would belie a similar internal rhythm. Jeleel, though, is a study in contradictions, someone acutely aware of both yin and yang.
The first thing you notice about him is his wide smile and the matching glint in his eyes. If Jeleel looks happy, it’s because he genuinely is. Cynics might say that burgeoning success would make anyone happy, but Jeleel’s infectious grin predates any streams, clicks, or comments.
He was raised in Rhode Island, far from his LA home of today, to parents who immigrated from Nigeria. “I grew up with very strict parents. They were on my ass because they wanted the best for me. But I wasn't a bad kid. I was just very playful,” he says. “I was happy and I loved to be with people.” This isn’t surprising if you spend any time watching videos of Jeleel’s shows and the way he uses the crowd like a socket he plugs himself into.
Jeleel was studying psychology in Baltimore when he got to open for Sean Paul at his college’s music festival. “It was the first time where I was like, ‘Yo, finally something's working.’ I got on stage and I felt comfortable.”
Does he ever not feel at home on a stage? “Nah, because I'm in my element. I feel like I'm floating. For real,” he says. We know that’s true because he likes being airborne, jumping from rafters or backflipping into the center of a mosh pit like a lightning strike in the middle of the dancefloor.
Most of this is natural, just Jeleel being Jeleel, but it’s not like his madness is missing a method. Studying psychology taught him a few things that he’s taken with him. His “Jeleel” shout and shirt rip, for example, are a conscious effort at pairing his name with a memorable signature move like the wrestlers he grew up watching.
Beyond that, it manifests itself most distinctly in his effort to push himself past discomfort in order to develop the mental fortitude that he’s after. “You got to do things you don't like. It'll benefit you in the long run, like taking cold showers. No one likes to take cold showers but it's so good for your body. Or even fighting in the ring or going to MMA practice and getting your ass kicked. Nobody likes to fight. Nobody wants to get hurt. Nobody wants to get punched. But that’s one of those things where you got to find the flow. Once you do, you become mentally strong. They say tough times never last but tough people do.”
That’s easy enough to say, but Jeleel is a puts-his-money-where-his-mouth-is kind of guy. He spars with pros at his MMA classes and professes his love for those cold showers. For Jeleel, they’re a way to acclimatize himself to a similar feeling: getting punched in the face. “You're getting punched in the face with cold water right in the morning. But you get used to it. That's why I did it.”
I took a boxing class once but got hit in the face and never went back. I wanted to know how Jeleel wraps his head around something that so many shy away from. “It's like Tag. And you're like, ‘Okay, I got hit. Let's keep going. Try to get him back.’”
His ability to bob and weave through discomfort is propelled by prayer. Jeleel is open about his faith and the way those beliefs create the sense of peace that allows him to explore his limits. When it came to moving to LA without a concrete plan it paid off. “Prayer grounds me and gives me moderation. When I'm going out; anything could happen, but if I pray before I go out, I feel safe. It grants me security, like, ‘Oh, God is with me so I have nothing to worry about.’”
To Jeleel there’s a difference between a musician who uses TikTok as a means to their own ends and one who relies on it. “I'm really an artist that just used TikTok to his advantage. I was making fire music before I got on TikTok. People just assume and think, ‘Oh you’re a one hit wonder. ‘Dive In!” is his only song.’ ‘Dive In!’ had 20 million plays independently because I was pushing it.”
This ambition is born of a temperament that bends towards flexibility. “Jeleel's a genre. I'm going to keep experimenting. There are so many sides to Jeleel that I need to show.”
He doesn’t need to compete for your attention because he has an innate sense that you’ll want to pay attention if he’s himself. The past few months have seen Jeleel drop a slew of new singles where he’s kept doing just that.
“‘Clubhouse’, I made for fun. I produced it with the homie DvDx, I made the beat and then I was going to the studio and was freestyling to it. And I was like, "You know what, I'm going to just hop on it" It was my first time really rapping. So I did that and it hit. I was like, "Damn, let's put this out.’”
“‘Uncivilized’ is more of a rager song. It's more Sum 41 mixed with DMX. It's still fun. They're both hits in their own way. ‘Clubhouse’ is more of a club record.”
Pick a comment at random from the many below his songs on YouTube and you’re almost guaranteed to be reading about the infectiousness of his energy. Jeleel says this is because he’s willing to be honest, “People are still searching for a sense of identity and l am too obviously. When people see me, it's like seeing themselves.”
This mentality has resulted in candid revelations about past hardships, about the time he spent homeless and how difficult it was to deal with that lack of stability. “You have to be vulnerable to really connect with the people because they're still trying to understand you. You have to make sure you're transparent.” This is the foundation of his mission as an artist. “I want people to find who they are.”
Jeleel just being himself has resulted in quite a few ruined shirts. Are there any shirts that he won’t rip? “Give me an Ed Hardy tank, I'm not going to rip it. I like to look fashionable my own way. I want to make sure what I'm wearing is fire but matches me. I won't be decked out in all designer but here and there I like to wear an Ed Hardy tank or some Alyx Studios. I like to look like I'm ready for war in all black with some red.”
Thinking back to the little boy he was, he said, “ Young Jeleel would be very happy about older Jeleel. He would probably start crying. Like, ‘Jeleel, you did this? He would be so happy. And I'm happy for young Jeleel and old Jeleel.”
When I asked him if there’s anything he wants people to know about him, he said, “Jeleel's a very nice person and I'm a pacifist. And I'm just here to make an impact and help people. I'm not here to be a tough guy. I'm not here to have an ego. I'm not here to talk shit. I'm here to make an impact and share the energy. That's it.”
Head here to get a copy of the new issue of Highsnobiety Magazine.
