The music game is a delicate balance of talent, authenticity and effective strategy. Nobody understands this better than singer/songwriter Jaylon Ashaun.
The Houston native has built an internet following of over 100,000 fans across social platforms, and his hit song Strawberries and Wine has racked up over 2 million streams on Spotify.
Strategy has played a huge role in Jaylon's success. In 2019, instead of spending a year working on an album that he knew wouldn't pull the numbers he wanted, Jaylon released a video series he called, Rough Drafts. Each week for nearly a year, he dropped a one-minute original song on social. The series brought him tons of exposure, and set him up perfectly for the release of his album, Final Draft.
Atlanta Decoded caught up with Jaylon to discuss his approach to music, how moving to Atlanta has influenced his sound, and the creation of his brand new single, "Focus."
What was it like growing up in Houston?
It was good. In Texas it’s just different. They breed you to love Texas, so I’m that through and through. Houston is just home. When I think of family, I think of Houston. It was good to me.
Were you always singing growing up, or was it something you picked up later?
Yeah, I been singing since I was little. I’m a church baby so my family used to have me in church singing in funny colored suits.
So when did it turn from just singing in church, to pursuing singing as a career?
That was in college. I started writing my own stuff in middle and high school. By the time I got to college, I started releasing it. Back then I thought it was the hottest stuff ever, but I listen back now and I’m like this is trash. But I dropped it and people loved it.
I remember I dropped my first single on Soundcloud, and a lot of my college friends went crazy over it. So I think that’s what gave me the momentum to keep going.
There’s been a lot of conversation about Soundcloud…lots of fans are pushing artists to get back to dropping music on there. How do you feel about that?
I don’t know cause I feel like I was a little after the Soundcloud era. Yeah I was posting my music on there, but I think I was a few years after all the Soundcloud artists that popped. People my like Chance, Elhae, Xavier Omar…I was kinda after that wave. So I really don’t know. But if it came back I would definitely hop on it.
We discovered you when you were dropping your one-minute rough drafts. What made you start releasing songs in that format?
I got it from Tobe Nwigwe. He’s a rapper out of Houston. He started dropping short songs, but his was more like freestyles. At that time I didn’t wanna do covers, but I also didn’t wanna spend a year on an album, and it not really go nowhere. So I was like how do I stay in front of people?
I had all these ideas, so I decided to just drop them and see what pops. And it really worked. It even helped me get my album out because I could already see what people wanted.
So what actually brought you to Atlanta from Houston?
After college, I was in the Austin scene, but Austin’s just different. It the music capital of Texas, but it’s not really R&B based. So I knew some people in Atlanta who encouraged me to move here for some opportunities, and at that time I was ready for something new anyway. So I moved. That was about 5 years ago.
Are you liking Atlanta?
I love Atlanta. The city is dope, and it’s not too far off from Texas. It still has that southern hospitality feel. It’s been a lot more opportunity for me out here too. It’s been good to see so much Black excellence.
How has being in Atlanta influenced you as an artist? Do you feel like you sound the same as you did in Houston?
Nah. I’ve definitely matured as an artist. And I think being in this space has definitely had an influence on my music. Atlanta has its own sound.
I have a lot of different influences. Not just rap and R&B, but also pop. I think that makes my sound unique. But when I got here, I really got to dive into that Trap sound. Cause in Houston, we got rap but it’s just different. We like everything slow.
Yeah your sound is unique. It’s R&B but you have that mainstream Pop vibe going as well. Do you place your songs in either genre?
I think it’s a gift to be able to do both. I want to be able to perform in Pop & R&B circles, and have equal footing in both. Some people compare me to Bryson Tiller, some people compare me to Elhae, some people compare me to SuperDuper Kyle. It really depends on what song you’re listening to. I can tap into all of it.
Would you say people like Bryson and Elhae are your influences?
Nah, the first two CDs that I really dove into were College Dropout and Dreaming Out Loud by this band called One Republic. Both of those albums blew my mind. I would say I’m a blend of those two. I pull from both. I have a lot of hip-hop roots, but a lot of pop and musical roots too. So I try to blend that in a way that’s digestible for people.
You just performed at South by Southwest. What was that experience like?
That was dope! After the pandemic a lot of the shows shut down. So SXSW really just put that fuel under me. I even told my manager after that, I gotta do some more shows. It just made me hungry.
It’s a difference when you’re in front of people who don’t know your music. To be able to win them over is always a joy for me. I get a deep satisfaction from it. And it was in Texas so that’s always good.
Tell us about the new single, “Focus”. What was the vibe when you made it?
We actually made it in LA. I had a retreat out there with some friends last year, and this year we decided to finish what we recorded out there. It’s just a fun song. If you see a girl, you’re trying to get her in focus. You’re trying to hype her up, and tell her she looks good. And of course, every girl want you to take photos of them. They want you to be their camera man. It’s funny cause I also do photography, so I was just trying to play off that.
I really didn’t think too much about the song; I just tried to make it fun and catchy. I think it can do really well on socials. It’s a fun summer vibe.