One of London’s most impressive rapper, singer, songwriter and producer, Jords, has made quite a musical entrance over the past two years. However we believe he’s only just getting started and can’t wait to hear what he brings to the table in 2018. Jords self-describes his style of music somewhere “between R&B and hip-hop, very influenced by jazz, dancehall, and reggae.” All of which exude from his rhythms, lyrics, and overall sound. After releasing his debut studio album in 2016, Means To An Ends, featuring the massive hits “Your Mind” (ft. Randy Valentine) and “The Drive” (ft. Galarga, Thea Gajic & Jordan Rakei), Jords followed up with an EP titled, Before We Begin, in 2017 featuring the track "Working Too Hard". And according to his Spotify 2017 Wrapped stats, his music was streamed for over 35K hours, by 246K fans, across 61 countries - with the most fans listening out of Manhattan! 

We recently caught up with Jords amidst the holiday shuffle to learn more about his life, inspiration, and what to expect in the coming year.

Coming from quite a musical family, especially his father, Jords (named Jordan, yet Jords stuck back in school) used to write poetry that eventually developed into lyrics. Growing up his mother tried to teach him many instruments, including the trumpet, trombone, and tuba, but what really stuck was the piano. In addition to piano, Jords has a true talent for producing as well! He was driven to become a musician as there’s always been a love for music; a love for music that lead to where he is today. A true love for R&B and rap inspired him to pursue his passion as a career. Jords explained that even though he’d thought about pursuing music since 15, it’s been about three years now that he’s been properly going for it: “You kind of have to drop everything so you don’t lose purpose.”

Through his music, Jords instills honesty in all of his work, exclaiming that “as long as it’s from a REAL place, it comes out as real.” He explains that “music is something that everyone can relate to, it’s universal,” and we couldn’t agree more. Influenced by the greats Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, and Michael Jackson, Jords also finds inspiration from Wretch 32, J. Cole, and Drake in his creation. At the moment, Jords is listening to Masego, GoldLink, Big Sean & Metro Boomin, ALL of Future’s stuff, J HUS, H.E.R. and Daniel Caesar. Old and new alike, Jords’ favorite artists are on point; so if you’re not already listening to who he’s turning up, get on it.

We spoke with Jords about this new era of music, and how there’s such talent spanning the globe. Jords expanded on the how the internet is such a powerful tool at connecting us, as well as introducing more ways for people to listen to artists. Also award winning sites like FADER, Complex, and other media platforms, prove the true “power of collaborating” in sharing stories.

With the cold taking the Northern Hemisphere by storm, we asked where Jords would escape to beat the freezing weather, to which he simply replied “my hometown, down in JAMAICA!” His whole family originates from Jamaica; his grandma and grandpa originally moved from Jamaica to Manchester years ago! He told us of the infinite places to go across Jamaican, and he highly recommends getting some curry mutton just as he does in his lyrics to his track “Conversations”: “You got that soul food, kinda like my Grandma’s curry mutton!” When asked where to get quality Caribbean food during our next trip in London, Jords highly recommends The Dutchie in Croydon!

Jords describes himself as a project person, and doesn’t really like releasing singles; whether they’re part of an EP or a full album, he finds larger projects “more interesting because everyone’s not one type of person, we’re all multiple people built into one person, and a single isn’t long enough to display that complexity.” Although Jords’ is currently locked in the studio, he loves playing live and always makes sure he’s performing with a band. Internationally, he’s performed in Germany, but would someday love to perform in other countries. We hope to have him in the states soon!

You'll be missing out if you don't give Jords a listen here on his Spotify account, or by clicking into the music above! ENJOY!