Today we’d like to introduce you to Jacques Kiwii.
Hi Jacques , please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I am a 1st-generation Haitian American artist; my father, in his youth, was a Konpa musician (A Style of Haitian music). My father passed down his love of music to me at an early age; ever since I was a kid, I loved music for what it was: pure and utter expression.
I fell in love with hip-hop, Punk Rock, indie music and jazz. Hip-Hop always had a special grip on me, though.
When I turned 13 years old, my dad bought me a laptop from a pawn shop, and it was wraps from there. That’s how I started to make beats and record myself. Every day after school, I would just sit and make beats for hours. I didn’t want to do anything else. It’s how I spent a lot of time as a teenager.
All through high school, I was never not making music; I would hang out with my friends and make beats for them to freestyle on, or we would try to make songs together. Over time, I became obsessed with writing and recording myself. I was never going to put any of it out, but it’s the only thing I wanted to do all the time. Eventually, I would show my classmates and would even perform for my high school. Kids started calling me “the rapper.” I didn’t like that, though, funny enough.
A few months after I graduated, I released my first official project titled “SNK” (Strawberry Nicotine Kisses). That did unexpectedly well. It wasn’t the regular Hip-Hop or RNB music I was used to making; SNK was an indie album. I was so reluctant to release it because it didn’t think it was good enough, or that it was too soft, but people received the project so well. I was shocked. That year proved to me that my music was worth putting out and sharing. I wouldn’t release anything else of significance after that project for a while, though. Fear still had its hold on me.
After high school, as I got older, I still had music in the back of my mind. It was still the only thing I wanted to do. However, I wasn’t taking it seriously, whether it was doubts, fears or just plain complacency. I was still creating and making new things, but I didn’t believe in myself or my art enough to show the world the way I told myself I wanted to. As I had already proved to myself way back in 2023, I could do.
Until finally, I stopped making excuses, I couldn’t stand claiming to want to be an artist but not working towards that goal. I couldn’t stand myself. So I decided to finally take myself seriously and start. I’m an Artist, and it was time I owned that shit.
Now I’m in hustle mode, this is the only thing I’ve wanted for so long, and I’ll just keep working until I get it. Until I’m a well-established artist.
Growing up in Miami, there is so much culture, art, and talent to breathe in, it’s one of the things I love most about Miami. Art has a clear love and heartbeat here. I just wish it weren’t so overshadowed by commerce.
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?
It has ABSOLUTELY NOT been a smooth road. I remember feeling so insecure about my art, mulling over whether or not it was good enough, whether or not my music was too sensitive and if people even wanted to hear that from someone like me. I’ve had years of an internal battle with my identity as an artist, which in turn was a battle with my identity as a person. Who am I? What do I care about? Why do I wake up? What am I living for? I was losing my mind, and occasionally I still do.
I realized early that my music revealed parts of me I wasn’t ready to show the world, or rather, it was too uncomfortable to put out. Everything was sweet when my music existed only in my world, my own personal soundtrack to my life, but actually putting myself out there and chasing the dream as an artist was a different thing.
I decided when I was 16 that Music, art, and being an artist were the ONLY things I wanted to do, the only way I wanted to live. It would take me years until I was 21 (my age now) to finally start the groundwork to chase that dream. I was forced with the reality that as much as I wanted that for myself, I was stalling, I wasn’t moving like a person chasing a dream, but someone haunted by one, and I was too scared to move. The only thing that brought me out of that self-sabotaging cycle was that it finally got too uncomfortable to stay in that place. Very special people in my life who were artists themselves showed me what it really looked like to chase the life of an artist. What it looks like to live in it.
When the mirror was held in front of me, I couldn’t ignore it; I had to start moving, to start doing. At first, it was a gross and unbearable burning feeling. I woke up with my chest tight and angry at myself for not being active sooner. Until I realized, everyone starts somewhere, and growth is supposed to be uncomfortable; that’s how you know you’re doing something right.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’m a recording artist/singer-songwriter. I write and produce music. I make Alternative music blending Hip-Hop with other genres. However, practically everything I make is rooted in rap and hip-hop in some fashion. Think as if Frank Ocean and Travis Scott were one artist. In my community of artists and creatives, I’m mostly known for my lyricism and melodies in my music. Songwriting has always been my passion and has come so naturally to me. A good melody for me is the best kinda dopamine. Ugh, I love a good melody. That, coupled with good lyrics, will have me on the moon. I’m most proud of a song I wrote when I was 17 called “The Smell Of Chlorine Irks Me”. When I wrote it in 2022 and released it in 2023 when I was 18. That song is still currently the highest-streamed song in my catalog ever. That was 3 years ago! People go back and listen to it. It showed me that the music I make isn’t good for its time. It’s capable of being good, period.
I believe what sets me apart is my ability to express an emotion. A lot of my music is sensitive and introspective. However, what really sticks out in my music is that you can feel the rawness in my voice. I’m not singing to write a song, I’m singing to let my spirit cry. To release whatever energy I have in me, good or bad. When I put it out into the world, I’m inviting you to do so with me.
Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
Nothing worth doing in life doesn’t come without risk. Risk is necessary and just inherent to greatness, I believe. You aren’t supposed to know how everything is going to unfold. Your job is to jump and believe in yourself. Even if it may not make sense to others. It’s never going to, you’re on a different path. Especially as a creative. My family threatened to kick me out of the house so many times because I wanted to chase my music career the way I wanted to. It’s not like I had a place to go if that were to happen. I planned to fully live in my car and figure it out from there. All knew was that if I did what they thought made sense, I wouldn’t be chasing my dream. And I’d rather be homeless and chasing my dream than secure in a house and miserable. I hope that doesn’t come off pretentious, because realistically, that is a huge risk. However, when you trust yourself and you are unwilling to budge on the life that you want, the way you want it, risk can sometimes feel less like risk and more like survival. That doesn’t mean it’s easy, it doesn’t mean doubt won’t set in, it doesn’t mean that whatever risk you take won’t come without sacrifices, consequences, or even heartache. However, that also doesn’t make the risk less worth it.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kiwii_786/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Kiwii9848
- Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/user-429475395
- Other: https://linktr.ee/Jacques_Kiwii
