Muskegon Heights native and IT employee at Grand Rapids Community College, Jalen Melville, otherwise known as, “JayMel the Rage God” has been making music for the better part of seven years, starting off when he was 14. Making music started out as something to do to pass time, and evolved into a real passion as Melville grew older, according to him, it became a means to “escape.”
“There was stuff going on at home and for me it was more of an escape. And then with that being an escape, I grew an appreciation and a love for music,” he said. “…Music for me has helped me in such a way mentally, when I didn’t have anything else.”
Melville described his music as “chill” and “lo-fi reminiscent.” He said his songs take aspects of traditional hip-hop, and “tell stories.” Big name artists like Kendrick Lamar, Tyler, The Creator and Earl Sweatshirt inspired him.
Along with that, Melville said he hopes his music is relatable and authentic, saying, “When it comes to my music I want it to be more than just music. I want it to be about my community, about helping other people… I want to use my story, use my experience and everything to help other people, who went through similar stuff like me.”
Melville writes all of his own lyrics, and collaborates with other artists to compile the beats behind his songs. He mentioned a fellow artist by the name of “Devyn” as well as the producer behind his upcoming album, “Keaton,” who also has an album coming out April 4. He said the three of them “look out for each other” and assist one another when making music.
As for Melville’s upcoming project, titled “Poetry & Wine” he and collaborators have been working on the album for just under a year. Melville said while there is not a set release date for the project due to things still getting finalized, he expects it to drop in mid-summer around July. He explained the album’s subsistence and said it revolves around the statement of “ok, I feel out of place, but this is me.” He said “A lot of stuff that I’m trying to work on, personally, is being ok to be myself (and) being ok to show different aspects of myself, so that was the whole point of the project ‘Poetry & Wine.”
Melville mentioned one track on the album titled “Then the Cat Caught my Eye,” which is about his experience at a competition, he said, “I was there and none of the artists sounded like me. Everybody had a very distinct sound…It made me feel awkward and out of place.”
That being said, Melville said this project is not just for musicians that feel out of place but for artists in general.
“This album (is) for those who feel ostracized, creative artists that feel super left field,” he said.
Hope Carns, a fellow service desk technician at GRCC IT, has already listened to the upcoming album Melville has been working on, and expressed an appreciation for it.
“It’s beautiful and it made me feel things very deeply and he’s just so good at communicating his thoughts and feelings and experience through his music,” she said. “And he’s got such a great ear.”
Carns has been working alongside Melville at IT for about seven months, and said she was “introduced” to Melville’s music early on in their coworker-friendship, saying “It’s such a huge part of his life.”
As for Melville himself, Carns had nothing but positive things to say about him.
“Oh my goodness, he is sunshine. He makes the room brighter when he walks in and he just cares,” she said.
A coworker that Melville previously worked with at GRCC IT and has known for about a year, Matthew Cherry, brought up the emotion Melville conveys through his songs, and they described him as a “genuine soul”.
“I love how personal he gets, I mean music is always personal but you can feel inner conflict in the songs…I love how almost ethereal it can really feel,” he said.
Additionally, Melville described coming from a musically inclined family, stating his grandfather composed music and mother “won awards for singing.” He said when he first started making music, he was not immediately talented, and described his musical journey as one of “growth.”
Cherry added input on Melville’s journey saying, “I think that you can tell that he is a young talent. He’s got a lot of room to grow but he’s got a really strong basis.”
Since he first started out, Melville has performed three times, his most recent being at this year’s talent show hosted by the Black Africana Student Union at GRCC. He has also released music on various streaming platforms including Spotify, Apple Music, SoundCloud and BandCamp.
Melville recommends using BandCamp, as all proceeds go directly to the artist as opposed to mainstream platforms that typically take a percentage of the artist’s earnings.
“Plus with BandCamp you get all of my bonus songs for an album, which I always make,” he said.
Melville also encourages the support of small artists, and brings up how the music industry often takes advantage of those just starting out.
“This is something that happens in the music industry on all levels. With higher levels, labels, contracts,” he said. “…But people will extort smaller artists who have dreams. Because, people want to do this, they know that people want to do this…Art and creative culture has been a staple in our society, I think the corporatization of it is not good.”
Melville encourages newer artists to “keep an eye out” for potential extortion, and hopes to motivate people to listen to those newer artists, himself included.
Cherry further encourages music-listeners to tune into Melville saying, “You can see that he’s got talent, you can feel it in his flow, you can feel it in his lyrics… Enjoy him now because there’s a good chance if he gets in the right situation, he’s not going to be looking back. He has the chance to go far.”
