Rated Next: Jarell Perry

Meet singer-songwriter Jarell Perry. The California native, who co-penned Fat Joe’s “Another Round” featuring Chris Brown, is now focusing on his career as a solo artist. We recently spoke with Perry to learn more about who he is as an artist and what he has planned. In the interview, Perry talks about his musical influences, his experience co-writing “Another Round,” his new single, and more.

For those who don’t know about you, briefly introduce yourself.
My name is Jarell Perry, I’m a singer and songwriter from [South California] , living in Los Angeles, but you can find my voice and words all over the world.

Who are some of your biggest musical influences?

Vocally I’ve always looked to Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, John Legend, Fred Hammond. But for the music now I’m influenced mostly by what’s happening on the underground and coming up to the surface. So many dope genre-bending DJs, artists and bands out there are giving me inspiration.

As an emerging artist, what will your brand and your music bring to the table for R&B lovers?

R&B lovers are always going to appreciate the soul and feeling in my vocals – but where I differentiate myself is in the style of songwriting, musical production, and overall storytelling. What I hope to do is bridge the gap between R&B and all these other forms of music that people may not normally expect or accept from a singer like me.

You co-penned Fat Joe & Chris Brown’s “Another Round.” What was your experience like writing that song? 

It’s funny because you spend years trying to get on something like that and it was really just being in the right place at the right time to respond to the opportunity. My co-writer in Miami ran into Joe at the studio, they sent me the track and we bounced a few ideas back and forth before cutting the demo at my apartment. Next thing I knew I was hearing it on the radio with CB doing the hook exactly how I had demoed it – it was my first time with a major placement so of course I’m still very hyped about it.

You just released your new single called “Awkward.” Where did you get your inspiration from for this song?

This year I’ve come a long way  developing and struggling with how to manage being an RnB artist who doesn’t necessarily fit all the established criteria people have about how I should look and talk and act. Trying to be somebody you’re not is always an awkward experience, and I think many people can relate to that when you’re trying to make a first impression. So I just decided to be really honest about it and put it in this song.

Listen: Jarell Perry – “Awkward”

 

Speaking of awkward, what’s one awkward moment you’ve experienced that you would like to share.

I run into awkward moments on a daily basis because I have this Clark Kent/Superman syndrome where I don’t want everyone in real life to know I’m actually serious about music. It would be my first day at a corporate job saying “Yeah, I’ve done some singing on the side…” but then the VP gets on a national conference and says “Jarell’s an excellent singer – you should go Google him right now.” And then everyone turns around and gives me that look (-_-). I hate getting called out like that – I tend to freeze up.

Tell us about your EP, Simple Things. What can we expect from this project? When do hope to release it?

Simple Things is a work in progress, the culmination of this whole journey I’ve taken musically this year. I can’t announce a hard date yet because I won’t release it until the people are ready. There are still many more ears left to reach.

As a songwriter, how do you balance writing songs for other artists while pursuing your solo career?

I’ve tried to balance but one will always take priority over the other. I take it as seasons, like summer I spent a lot more time on writing for others based on the projects that were coming out. But now I’m spending much more time wrapping up my own solo effort.

With the New Year on its way, what do you hope to accomplish?

I’m looking forward to selling out some shows in other parts of the country and the world – getting recognized for the work my team and I are putting in right now. But most of all, just seeing how the music speaks to and inspires the people.