Artist to Watch: BabyJake
BabyJake, real name Jake Herring, is an artist whose music is a mix of R&B, hip-hop, rap, and soft rock. From Fort Myers, Florida, he calls his style “urban pop,” first gaining notice in 2016 with his single “Little Mess.” His music was originally inspired by a range of artists from Tom Petty and Crosby, Stills, & Nash to Lil Wayne. This 6’6’’ musician has begun his rise to fame in the past few years now working with Republic Records and most recently releasing “Confidant” which (plug) everyone should check out!
Currently his most popular song on Spotify, Cigarettes on Patios, is one of my personal favorites, and, after some exploring, my friend discovered that BabyJake puts his phone number in his Spotify bio for any of his fans to text him. I was able to (and still am) get to know him over text and interview him about his music career.
Tell us a little bit about yourself?
I'm a normal guy, love working out, nature, big outdoors guy. And I just happened to fall in love with music at a young age and it panned out!
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Why is your name BabyJake?
It started as a joke and then just stuck. I’m 6’6’’ and a grown man so it was funny!
What got you started in the music industry?
I released music under a different alias and got a little traction and then started learning about the music industry and really diving into the details.
Where do you get your inspiration from?
I gather inspiration from people and experiences. I'm always on the go so I experience a lot of different things pretty regularly.
What other hobbies do you have?
Workouts at the gym, basketball, fish, shop, and creative design
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What's your favorite of your songs or collaborations you've worked on?
My favorite song thus far is “Confidant.” It’s most true sounding to the sound I’m going for.
Who are some of your favorite artists? Maybe any up and coming artists to look out for?
Lookout for Nate Traveller, Last Minute Consumer, Bredan Bennett, ripmattblack, Justlo, Sham etc. Anyone from Florida really. That's my spot. I'm from fort myers florida so I really try to support the roots there. I think if we all try we can really grow a community out there for the long haul.
As far as favorite artists/songs I’m a big oldies guy so right now I'm listening to Silver Seas- Get yer own train, The Cars -Just what I needed, some old reggae classics etc. Always listening to old live music, house, or salsa, or reggae!
What are you up to during quarantine?
WORKING. Staying busy. Cleaning up my diet and getting my body right. Trying to take full advantage of this time to better myself. The grind doesn't stop baby!!!
What are you looking to do next or excited about for the future whether music or non music related?
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I'm excited for this EP to come out. I'm excited to be able to tour (hopefully soon we’ll see with corona). I'm excited for people to actually say that they are a BabyJake fan, not one of my songs but actually my entire artist project. I feel like that doesn't happen till you drop a project.
Any advice for college students in general or college artists?
Keep going. I was there once, and I'm not better than any of you. Stay patient, develop a consistent workflow and shoot for the stars.
Check out BabyJake on Republic Records, Spotify, Soundcloud, Twitter, and Facebook!
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