From the moment his video for “Sushi” started, I was faced with the question, who is JacobyMccrayTM? With his glitchy video edits and seamless song production, it’s no wonder his passionate work is still a topic of conversation all these months later. A topic of conversation that doesn’t seem to be going anywhere anytime soon.
With countless Crybox features and Hivemind reviews to date, JacobyMccrayTM seems difficult to get away from him (as if someone would want to). If that was not enough, Jacoby is certainly one of the more consistent artists I’ve seen when it comes to releasing music. He seems to be dropping about a song a week at this point. Throughout those releases are some of Jacoby’s best features from the likes of David Shawty, angelus and more.
As a means to get a better understanding of JacobyMccrayTM, we were given the opportunity to exchange a few words with the promising artist as seen below:
How’d you get your name?
Jacoby Mccray that’s legit my real name, and it started out as a YouTube channel. I put “TM” for trademark, it was supposed to be small but it came out big, it looked cool and I stuck with it.
How would you describe exactly what you do?
I just make music to be honest… I try to do as many genres as possible because I genuinely just like making music.
What would be a “blanket term” for how you describe your music?
That’s a hard question, but for right now it’s hyperpop because I’m just really into that sound. There is so much that you can put into hyperpop. It’s really just like hiphop and rap, cause just like hiphop and rap, you can fuse so many genres into hyperpop. But I can do other genres too like rock, jazz etc. When I first started making music, it was with dubstep beats, that transitioned into me becoming the rapper/singer I am now.
Do you think your background in dubstep gives you an advantage over other artists in the realm of hyperpop?
I think it definitely does because hyperpop is mainly just electronic instrumentals mixed with glitched/highly edited vocals.
There’s two main placements I always see you on, Crybox and Hivemind, what can you say about those placements?
I met Crybox when he was at around 5k subscribers on YouTube. I kept telling him, “Bro you need to keep doing this, a lot of underground artists are fuckin’ with you, so you need to just run with it”. I think that’s why he fucks with me heavy now. Whenever I drop a song he’ll either upload it or he won’t it’s really just up to him.
I fuck with Hivemind heavy too. They come up with brilliant ideas for videos. And as a former YouTuber that’s the hardest thing to come up with. Shoutout to Riley and Graydon!
Do you think you’d ever branch away from platforms entirely and take a solo approach to your come-up, or would you stick with the communities?
I like working with other communities and different people. Cause I think that builds a stronger fanbase as an artist. I’ve tried to do everything on my own. But when I try to do stuff by myself it doesn’t get as far as it could, that’s why you always work with other people.
For new artists, find a platform with people doing the same things you’re doing, it helps a lot.
Do you think you’d be as far as you are now, if not for being featured on those platforms?
No, no, I would not. Oh yeah PatrickCc too, I was on his stream too, shoutout to him.
The livestreams are a new way for artists to get their music out there. Having experience with these livestreams, do you think they are worthwhile for artists to invest in?
I think it’s very worth it because you’re gaining new fans if they like your music.
Where do you draw inspiration from to create what you create?
There’s just so many artists that I listen to man. I legit have a playlist where there’s rock, dubstep, jazz, some vaporwave, just different things I’m inspired by. So I just try to put it all together.
Is there anybody you work super closely with?
Right now, I’m really just working with different artists that are in the scene like funeral, angelus, lei + more. Not really anybody in particular, like I said I’m just looking to work with anybody I really mess with.
Do you have a favorite up-comer right now?
Ergh… Me.
That makes sense, you’re putting in more work than the majority of artists I’ve seen at your level.
Right after this I’mma go make a song. I don’t know what I’m going to make but I have producers that send me different types of beats. It’s really up to them. Cause they might listen to a hyperpop song and get inspired to send me a hyperpop beat in hopes I’ll like it. And then I’ll use it.
How long do you think it would take you to crank out a song once someone sends you a beat?
For me it takes about 20-30 minutes to make a song. I legit just punch in lyrics really. I hear the beat and just punch in lyrics. As for singing, I don’t really know notes, so, I sing until I find the right note, and then it just works somehow.
Any final thoughts?
I’m just gonna keep dropping music, that’s it.
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