Today we’d like to introduce you to Jalen Melville.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I’m Jalen Melville, but my stage name is JayMel the Rage God. I have been doing music since I was 14 years old, back in highschool. Ever since I started making music I could never put it down. It’s has gotten to the point where it feel like a religious practice how much time and effort and energy i put into music.
I grew up in Muskegon, specifically Muskegon Heights. I was raised there by my Mom, seeing my Dad on the weekends when I could.
Music for me when I started was just an outlet for my emotions as growing up, I had struggled with mental health and also finding myself. Music and specifically hiphop was that instrument to finding myself.
When I first started I had a very surface level of knowledge on making music. I just was really a clone of who I liked at the time. Which, is how I believe all artists start. You have your influences and then you gradually build something out of all the influences you have and make something of your own.
But to continue, I was a clone of my 2 favorite artists at the time which was XXXTentacion and Ski Mask the Slump God… I was overtly annoying how much I played them lol.
As those were my two biggest influences I grew to learn some of there associates, Denzel Curry being then an influence and now currently a major influence to this day.
Because of those influences I started my own Rap group alongside my best friend YMKRondo called Xrarity. We had a brand and I had a couple of my cousins along in the group. To this day, XR (Xrarity) is just now me & YMKRondo but it was a good time.
We released our first group mixtape together on soundcloud and yeah that was that.
However, as I got older I really wanted to get better and thanks to this artist, he was and is the catalyst of me improving into the artist that you see today. MF DOOM
I cannot remember the age, but it was Christmas day, I had gotten these new pair of earbuds and I wanted to listen to some music. For some reason I heard the name MF DOOM and I really wanted to get into it, cause I heard so much of how he is one of the best in the space. I put on his album MM…FOOD and since then everything changed for me.
The instrumentals, how everything flowed, the rhyme schemes, the Doctor Doom theming, all while being himself.
While true he was putting on a persona of MF DOOM, he was just being himself and talked about it. He was overall a nerd, I was too, But i was trying to be something I wasn’t in this point of my life, my music reflected that. My music prior to listening to MF DOOM was very intense and angry, which I guess was true, but overall I didn’t really want that. I had stuff going on at home and again it was my outlet. Listening to MF DOOM showed me there was another way I could go about making music. MF DOOM through his album showed me that.
After that I started getting really into Earl Sweatshirt. I actually have his album today on vinyl, Some Rap Songs. The distorted vocals, the flow, rhyme schemes subject matter, his story, I related too heavy. SRS has a lot of songs of talking throughout his depression, finding another path and going on this so called journey to find himself, wavering through the noise heard. Because of Earl Sweatshirt, then I got really into Kendrick Lamar & Tyler the creator.
Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp A Butterfly, Is the template I try to use for albums going forward. The instrumentals, the flow along with the story telling. The sonics and vocal layering. The attention to detail. This album changed everything. There is one particular song on the Album “You Ain’t Gotta Lie (Momma Said)”, this song was the final song to teach me I can just be myself. I didn’t need to be anything, Ion gotta lie. Its a very important song to me.
I can go on and on about the influences all these wonderful artists have done and the culture behind it, but I think I’ve painted the picture enough.
They all inspired and let me get to where im at today when it comes to the music intent of mine.
You can hear me learning a lot within my mixtape Unbound, which release in 2024. It’s rough and to this day, ion really like it as much and I am planning on removing it from majority of places, but it was an stage to really hone and lock other aspects of writing raps practicing those things. Its the work I did with a good friend of mine Devyn. How I met Kenton through Devyn. But in it you can see my trying things, first piece of work that had music videos with, first piece of work that featured other people that I didn’t grow up with or know in person. The building blocks of the Building blocks of my next piece of work, which was Poetry & Wine
Poetry & Wine, is what I consider my first official album. It had a theme, It had a purpose. It was the first piece of work I showed to people and people would give me some of my props for it. It exists partially due to my best friend Jonas. He wanted me to make something more. Give something more as my previous mixtape was trying to prove something. This one was just trying to explore myself. At the same time of me making this album, that kinda of the position I was in as I was working on it. I was learning myself as a person at the time. A lot of the album focuses on a side of myself I didn’t feel like expressed enough. It was a lot of my soft nature. One of the core elements of me. Enjoying Nature, being outside, writing music, spending time on my own. The chill laid back instrumentals provided most thanks to Kenton as he produced 90% percent of the album. The light heartedness of it all mixed in with some of the harsher aspects. Emotional maelstrom is that. A piece I wrote about panic attacks and the feeling. Where you cannot breathe everything spinning. I sometimes get them to this day, but not as much anymore.
We made a short film based on the songs with my cousin Seth Campbell. He’s amazing and super talented video major. We’re both very passionate in our respective fields.
This album is a big portion of me that I frankly ignore sometimes. I come back to the album whenever I need reminders to take care of myself.
This leads into my newest mixtape A.M.N (Any Means Necessary)
Before working on this mixtape, I had a EP I was working on that was suppose to come out but I couldn’t cause at the time I lost the job I was working at and I just didn’t have the necessary funds to keep working on it. At that point of my life, I kinda had nothing going on, cause I just couldn’t get a job. Nobody was responding, Everyone said they were hiring, no one was though. Shit was awful.
I started working the tape because… Fuck it, I had nothing to loose essentially. Let me make something that can make people move, I gotta do something. Which if you listen to the first 2 Songs Go! and ‘A.M.N’ im talking about that the entire time. I’ve been here before keep moving, was kinda the message of the entire 2 songs.
“Pressure make diamonds baby im still shine, No use in cryin gotta find me a line.” – A.M.N
I gotta rap cause what else can I do, better go hard in the paint essentially.
This mixtape, is important cause it showcased the versatility in my music creation. It goes from hard hitting trap reminiscence of Don’t be Dumb by ASAP or J.I,D, to boom bap raps to Neo soul RNB and some conscious hiphop. It had everything to showcase my skills and talent as an artist and as an engineer as I mix all of my own vocals and everything on tracks. So, once I finally got a Job again I put on my first show
Any Means Necessary Show – Show up by Any Means
It was my first show, it was free. I brought my brothers from Muskegon, YMKRondo, DifferentlaneRii, and Tyy with my homies I made in GR NBE Izzo, Mellow, Constuncy, and Kc. We performed at Grammotones, shout out Dante Cope, and it was amazing. I felt the energy and embrace I thought never would’ve existed for my music. It just fuels me to this day to put on more and keep going.
Now I made no money from the show what so ever, but the memories and connects I made stick with me today. Shout out to my homie Owen, Isisah, Wuzee, Beatrat, and all of Grammotone Gang. It just makes me excited for the future and what it holds. People heard and seen and believed in me from that show.
The show wasn’t really to prove to anyone I could. But to prove to myself that I can do it. And I did it. That’s kinda where I’m at now today
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Myself has been the challenge. That and money. Making music, promoting it, shows, event planning, all of that takes time and money.
But the real challenge is myself. Self doubt and perfectionism is what keeps me from doing what needs to be done to get my music heard. 100 people can like my song 1 person don’t and suddenly I am the worst artist in the world and should stop releasing music.
I have a problem with ‘either you perfect or your nothing’ that for some reason only applies to me and not anyone else. Which is silly cause then I am always going to be nothing cause no one is perfect. So again its myself… probably need therapy.
I just need therapy.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I make music! Songwriting, vocal audio engineer, rap, sing, all of that jazz that comes with making music that isn’t relate to making beats or instrumentals (I am trying to learn those things)
I am most proud of the love and passion I have for the culture and hiphop.
I think the think that sets me apart, is that I treat like a religion. I freestyle, study, constantly thinking of new song ideas, constantly trying to improve and become better. My music is a reflection of who I am and a reflection of where I’m heading and trying to be. Improvement each time I go and make something new. New tools picked out, New lessons learned. Improvement consistently
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
I think, Hip-hop will have to become underground in niche again, for people to start to really set it back up.
The fundamentals of hip-hop (Or at least what I consider) have been lost too much with things being mainstream. I think that why currently we only have artists around 30-40 running the game right now. Kendrick & J. Cole pushing 40, JID and Tyler too. There no one of my age range (20-30) with star power really doing the same and keeping the fundamentals and pillars of hip-hop. Maybe Saba but again he’s 32.
I think until then we won’t have star power to keep this up. Cause its all trends now. Government in it, Suits are in it. They just tryna milk the game. pillage the land until it can’t be used. Strip the culture from it and take the money. Its why we got people who come into the game get they money and dip. Look at Jack Harlow, MGK, a lot of pop stars. Use hiphops aesthetics and voice for there gain and run off. No different from the colonizers. It’s why it needs to die out. Too many who are doing that. From the ashes we can rebuild. Maybe then we’ll get the next up star. Next big 3 the next ones. Till then idk. Ima try what I can try to do tho. I love this so I am going to try to be the change I wanna see in the industry
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rag3g0d/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4Z3l-C2J8qe9kZZC5oWjSQ
