Jevon’s World

Exploring different genres from garage and grime to R&B for over three years, Jevon has contributed to establishing a sound unique to the UK’s urban music scene. With his creativity and dedication to his craft allowed him to take the driving seat as the lead producer on the on XL’s ‘New Gen’ compilation, which further expanded his collaborative horizons, and saw him team up with the likes of Ray BLK, Stefflon Don and Yxng Bane. From breaking ground to making records, Jevon also produced for Nines’ debut album One Foot Out which was one of the few rap albums to reach top 5 in the charts. 

Jevon is a product of his culture. A producer as well as a storyteller, he creates narratives with lyricism and production that are close to home. With a genre-melding-mastery and his versatile self-expression, Jevons’s music reaches a wide range of listeners. His EP released earlier this year, ‘Spirits & Chaos’ is a perfect example of this. Refusing to limit himself to one sound, ‘Playboy’ the first single to be released from his upcoming album, sees Jevon continue this trend but also begin to pave his own way in UK rap, exploring Brazil, the home of his heritage, during a time of political uncertainty. Despite overwhelming critical acclaim, it’s hard to believe that he found success in such an unsuspecting way.

When opening up about his beginnings, Jevon revealed “I didn’t really take music too seriously at first – it was just for fun really. I had a completely different mindset at that point. I remember my phone was just ringing off one day, I put out a song for jokes on Soundcloud, I got good feedback. And then the next day it was played on Annie Mac. I was like ‘Oh my God, maybe I should take this a little bit more seriously’ and I did”. 

Regardless of his humble beginnings, Jevon has gone on to make a name for himself, further collaborating with the likes of Oscar Scheller and Miraa May in 2019 single Estate of Mind. As ‘a musician and producer’, he embraces the collaborative process.  “You always learn something new from one another,” Jevon tells me, “it’s always good to come together with ideas. I love seeing someone’s face when I’ve made them a banger you know. That’s a good feeling.”

“THE REASON WHY I AM WHERE I AM TODAY IS SPOKEN A LOT ABOUT IN MY MUSIC”

When he’s not in gigging or in the studio “until four in the morning”, he is looking after his kids.  He tells me “it’s just a rewarding feeling being a dad. The best thing about being a dad is seeing yourself through your kids. It’s so weird because I look at my daughter and my son, and I just think ‘rah, you look like me’ it’s mad!”

When it comes to Jevon’s artistry, the message is always consistent. Often drawing on his experiences, the rapper finds music-making to be a cathartic release as well as a way of fluidly solidifying his identity,  not only musically, but personally. Using music as a bridge to connect with listeners, Jevon opens up about his purpose, “the reason why I am where I am today, is spoken a lot about in my music, and I try to explain that in a creative way. At the end of the day, music is about self-expression and I get to express myself through my culture, with my culture.” 

With ‘Playboy’ acting only as a snippet of Jevon’s musical reinvention, we can’t wait to witness his trajectory.

“THE BEST THING ABOUT BEING A DAD IS SEEING YOURSELF THROUGH YOUR KIDS”