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Jacquees Remains Cute and Impossible to Ignore

His sophomore album "King of R&B" is nothing groundbreaking, but it's dripping in charisma

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It's impossible to hate Jacquees.

His voice is silky smooth, his smile is genuine, he's candid and calm in interviews, he's cute, he can even dance a little. His creative style is unique enough to stand out among his modern-day contemporaries but is referential enough to the '90s that even listeners above the age of 40 will find ways to connect with him. He seems to be an old soul, immune to the petty drama that plagues the current mainstream music scene.

When The Breakfast Club tried to poke and prod at Jacquees's brief online scrimmage with XXL Freshman YK Osiris earlier this year, Jacquees dismissed it with a shrug: "I don't know who that is." When asked about his love life, he emphatically said that he wants a family and that he remains loyal to his love interest Dreezy. He is confident enough in his craft to name his album the King of R&B but humble enough to immediately acknowledge this self-proclaimed title by no means makes him "The Best." "Every day, a star is born," he sings on the T.I.-assisted opener, "and if we talkin' kings, there's more than one."

Jacquees - Fact Or Fictionwww.youtube.com

As a result, the 25-year-old's sophomore effort should be viewed more like a mission statement. It trades the sprinkles of creative risk seen in 4275 for a more refined, commercial sound, with songs like "New, New" and "What They Gone Do With Me" existing solely for radio takeover. Moments of mass appeal like this have already begun to draw criticism. "The album's production is synthetic to the point of being shallow," writes EXCLAIM! "Jacquees tries hard to emulate his heroes, instead of letting himself be inspired by them."

The criticism is fair, but in the world of commercial R&B, Jacquees is still circling the A-team, with Tory Lanez and Chris Brown—both frequent collaborators and close friends—touring together this summer and having their biggest year to date. King of R&B, with features from heavy-hitters like Quavo, Summer Walker, Lil Baby, Young Thug, and Gunna, reaffirms Jacquees's well-deserved seat at the table. The tracks are earworms in the best way, and you can't hate on the guy's vivacity. The album is an easy listen, but with tracks like "Fact or Fiction" and "Warning," we also see a more refined Jacquees that should quiet the critics who will inevitably call him a sell-out. King of R&B or not, Jacquees's charisma remains infectious.

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Shaylen Talks “Highs and Lows” Since Going Solo

And yes, her ex has heard her songs.

Brian Ziff

LA-based pop singer-songwriter Shaylen may have just dropped her debut EP in June, but the bubbly pop starlet is no stranger to the music industry.

"I basically came out of the womb singing," Shaylen told Popdust. As part of the pop group Savvy, the singer was thrust into the spotlight when she was just 10-years-old. The group was a breakout success and eventually signed to Cash Money before disbanding due to creative differences.

Now, as a solo artist, she says she's learned a lot since then. "I've really learned how to have my own voice," Shaylen said. "Being in a group was very safe and squeaky clean, but I've really come to realize who I am and how to say what I need to say." Highs and Lows, Shaylen's debut EP, is a brief but colorful collection of songs that each depict a different stage of Shaylen's career thus far. We sat down with the singer to talk more about her new EP and how she plans to take over pop music.

You're not a rookie to the music industry by any stretch, but what have you learned since you've been solo?

I really learned how to have my own voice in my music and say what I want to say and how to say it. It definitely was tricky at first getting back into the headspace of being a solo artist. I was trying to figure out who I was in that time period and what to say.

What was the creative process like for Highs and Lows?

It feels like having a baby to finally have this EP out, but it really has been a lot of “highs and lows." It's really been about finding myself in this body of work. I went through addiction and family struggles, I went through breakups, and this EP is mostly about me just coming into my own. I've probably written 300+ songs, but these ones I chose are the perfect example of what I wanted to say. But it's been a friggin' awesome journey.

You said you started your career around 10, but that you've been singing since you were a baby. I'm curious if your parents were musical at all growing up?

I was always exposed to music. It was in my blood; when I was four I would sing along to Cher and would make my parents listen to me sing the Titanic theme song. My mom is in the Cardiology field and my dad is an FBI agent, so when I was young they knew [that I] was a little different.

Your dad was in the FBI? What was that like growing up?

It's been interesting. He's retired now, but when I was growing up he always traveled and was always somewhere I didn't know. So maybe that's where I got the theatrical side from, 'cause he's had to play like 20,000 different people for his job. It was a little scary.

A lot of these singles seem to focus on relationships. I'm curious: Now that you've come into your own, what you've learned about relationships?

I've found out that it's okay to have high expectations for yourself, and it's okay not to settle. As I've gotten older, I've learned it's totally okay to walk out if something isn't working for you and draining your energy. I'm really protective of my energy now, and men can be trash, but I can make a great song out of it. I feel really bad for my exes.

Any chance you've run into your ex since the songs came out?

After three years I actually finally ran into him this week, and I said everything I needed to say, and at the very end [he asked me] if the song was about [him,] and I said, "Yes, it is."

Was he cool with it?

No! He asked if I said he had a small penis, and I was like, "Yup! That's what I'm saying."

Shaylen - BTW (Official Video)www.youtube.com

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Jet Life's Creative Director Clears the Air

C.J. Wallis talks Mac Miller, new projects, and how he connected with Curren$y

During a relatively tame performance at 2011's Rock The Bells in Los Angeles, New Orleans-based rapper and JetLife CEO, Curren$y, stepped off the stage to greet his legion of fans.

As he stepped down, he tangled his foot in speaker wires and cracked his ankle in three places. Ignoring the pain, Curren$y jumped a barrier to get even closer to the crowd and broke it again in another 8 places. He finished his set and hopped off stage to go to the emergency room. "That was my first day on the job," said C.J. Wallis, JetLife's creative director. "They jumped in a van and took off and just sort of left me there. I realize now I was just the filmmaker for the day, but at the time I felt like Scorsese going to film The Last Waltz." Despite being disappointed by how the day had gone, Wallis realized he was the only one with footage of the performance, and he tracked the rapper down. He met up with a member of Curren$y's team at the hospital and talked for hours in the waiting room while they awaited news. "I felt like I fell into the family right away."

10 years later, Wallis has established himself as a sought-after creative icon in the Hip-Hop industry. He has curated visuals for everyone from Fiend to Wiz Khalifa and Ty Dolla $ign, and has crafted an infinite amount of content for the JetLife CEO himself, including album covers, documentaries, and of course, music videos. "JetLife is like a football team that just functions really well," Wallis said. He's also filmed a plethora of feature films. His last documentary, The Perfect Bid, which tells the story of "The Price is Right" superfan Ted Slauson, went on to win Best Documentary at the Orlando Film Festival.

While Hip-Hop's inner circle knows Wallis well, the general public was first introduced to him when he announced his intention to film a Mac Miller documentary earlier this month. "So, over the next year I'm going to start collecting interviews & content to make the definitive Mac Miller documentary for his family, friends & fans," Wallace tweeted on June 3. The tweet made headlines everywhere, and fans of the late rapper took it to be confirmation that the project was underway. Later that day, Wallace retracted the statement after speaking respectfully with Miller's estate. "To say that I was putting it together in any sense is a bit crazy, really all I did was message 4 or 5 people," Wallis said. "I know what my intention was, but what was frustrating was the family getting hounded by the headlines. The tweet was never a pitch. Maybe I worded it wrong initially, but I didn't think I would have to justify it in this way two weeks later."

Fans accused Wallis of mishandling the artist's legacy, and the director realized the quickest way to quell the growing backlash was to initiate conversations with the disappointed fans. "I'm a public company, so when someone has something to say about me or my work I wanna know about it," Wallis said. He found that the more he engaged, the quicker the trolls began to understand and back down. "People like to start stuff on the internet thinking there are no repercussions, and I wasn't gonna get steamrolled by the internet over good intentions."

The blowback reignited a contentious debate surrounding creative liberties taken with posthumous artists. Who should be allowed to detail an artist's legacy? Do posthumous releases benefit the memory of an artist or are they just cash grabs? XXXTENTACION's album SKINS was highly publicized before its release but was deemed by critics as an "aimless" and "structurally unsound" project that did more harm to his legacy than good. Avicii's posthumous release, TIM, received similar backlash, as it was released by the same label who Avicii's step-father says pushed the DJ to suicide. Mac Miller's first song since his passing premiered last week. "When Prince died there were three months where there was no copyright over him, and everyone was just cashing in on the dude," said Wallis. "So when someone passes away, it should be up to the family or whoever is in charge to decide [what to do next."

For now, Wallis is ready to put the experience behind him and get back to work. He is currently working on his next film, Frank Flood, a narrative feature surrounding the early days of the infomercial world. Despite it all, Wallis still feels confident in his ability to tell Mac Miller's story when the time is right for all parties involved. "I have a certain way I approach my projects that come from a very unjudgemental [sic] and compassionate point of view," Wallis said. "[Mac Miller's] story definitely deserves that."

For more information on C.J. Wallis, visit his website. Also, be sure to follow him on Instagram and Twitter.