In what seemed like a blink of an eye, rapper Jared Siegel dropped his last name, started hanging out with Diddy and got signed to Interscope Records. This is no small feat for a 21-year-old Long Island native who, until recently, had been recording tracks in his basement. What really happened was a bit of a slower process: after winning the Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival Spit 16 competition in 2008, Jared opened the show and was then invited to open for Lupe Fiasco at SUNY Albany. His provocative rhymes caught the ear of music video director Rik Cordero, and the rest is history. Now making the rounds to promote his mixtape, Radio in my Head, Jared Evan sat down with Street to talk beats, rhymes and life.
Street: When did you get interested in music? And what about hip hop? Jared Evan: My parents say that ever since I was a baby I have been into music. I started drumming when I was five years old. As for hip hop, I fell in love with it when I was 11, the first time I saw a Method Man music video.
Street: What was your first hip hop album? JE: Wu-Tang Clan’s Enter the Wu-Tang: 36 Chambers when I was 12 years old.
Street: How would you describe your style? JE: I don’t like to limit myself to one specific sound. Some mornings I wake up wanting to write a rock song, sometimes I want to write rhymes... at the end of the day, music is about expressing the rhythm inside a person, and I seem to have many sounds within me.
Street: What is your production process like, from conception of an idea to completion of a track? JE: When I compose a beat or another producer plays me something I am either immediately inspired or not; there is no middle ground for me. I don’t keep a book of lyrics or anything like that. When the beat comes on, it just tells me what to write.
Street: To what extent does the Internet — Twitter, love from bloggers — contribute to your success? JE: I am a weird case today, because I got a record deal without anyone really knowing my name. Now I am kind of working backwards and building that organic fan base. I don’t want to be one of those artists that you hear on the radio one day and you’re like, “Who the fuck is that?” The music blogs are a great place to find music, and Twitter is an incredible place to just pour out your thoughts, but I definitely don’t want to be an Internet celebrity.
Street: What are your favorite songs of the moment? JE: I love “Knock You Down” by Keri Hilson, “Empire State of Mind” by Jay-Z and Alicia Keys and Raekwon’s entire new album.
Street: What is the biggest perk of being an up-and-coming A-lister? JE: I have a lot of people that just do all of my day-to-day shit for me. Somehow having a record deal seems to give you a free pass to only focus on music.
Street: What advice would you give to aspiring college-age musicians? JE: Don’t listen to what people say, and just make what you want to make. Just be humble and work hard. Also, figure out what your product is, who you are as an artist and where you can fit in the industry.
Street: What is it like to forgo the college experience to pursue music? Do you ever feel like you’re missing out? JE: No, I don’t feel like I’m missing out. All I ever wanted to do was make music, and I was always a bad student. People would say to me, “Jared, what are you going to do with your life?” and to be honest my response was that I was going to be a rock star. There is nothing I would rather be doing.
