Emma Faulkner
Jack Johnson is officially now [JVCKJ,](https://www.instagram.com/jackj/?hl=en) signifying a new chapter of his life and music career. Coming up as one-half of the multi-Platinum selling pop duo [Jack & Jack](https://www.instagram.com/jackandjack/?hl=en), the Omaha, Nebraska native became a viral sensatio—going on to sell out shows all across the country and even made his debut on television on The Late Late SHow with James Corden—all alongside his best friend.
It’s damn near impossible to not immediately fall in love with [JVCKJ](https://www.instagram.com/jackj/?hl=en)’s personality, and his music is just as fire. Having resided in Los Angeles for 6 years now, his true love lies in singing, songwriting, producing, rapping, creating melodies, and even writing for other people.
He states, “I want to be a jack of all trades, no pun intended. I want to have my feet in a lot of different waters: making content, music, videos, starting a podcast with my best friends soon. I’d love to be a modern-day Renaissance man and really own my business, really learn how the whole industry works. I don’t ever want to limit myself or put myself in a box.”
For JVCKJ, the possibilities are endless. Shifting his focus into his solo artistry, the [“No One Compares To You”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUJA5I5lG6E) singer deeply explores his own individual musical tastes and lyrical ability. To celebrate, he releases his debut single titled “You Lie,” painting the picture of two people in a relationship who are caught up in a vicious cycle of pain.
Flaunt caught up with JVCKJ, who was located in Los Angeles in good spirits per usual. After having an amazing video shoot the day prior, he was ready for the beautiful weekend ahead. Read below as we discuss how he got famous in high school, the good old Vine days, journey with depression, and new single “You Lie.”
**Do you go by Jack Johnson or JVCKJ?**
I go by JVCKJ. For legal reasons, I have to change my artist name to JVCKJ, because there’s this band in Ireland that has the copyright on JACK J with an “A.” I view it as an artistic opportunity.
**What was it like growing up in Omaha, Nebraska?**
It was a pretty boring city. We had the College World Series and the Henry Doorly Zoo, those are our 2 claims to fame. It was honestly fun because it made us think outside the box. Of course, we all play sports. When it comes down to it, Omaha is to credit for us being bored in the summer. We started making music videos. Me and my best friend Jack love producing video content. We credit the emptiness and the not-much-to-do-ness of Omaha to our success: thinking outside of the box, getting creative and starting everything.
It’s a great city, very community-based. You know all your neighbors, which is very different from LA. I don’t think I’ve known a single neighbor since I’ve lived out here by name. It’s terrible to say, but there’s not much sense of community out here. Back in Omaha, you know everybody in your neighborhood. It’s really a great place to grow up. It instilled my roots inside of me — who I am, even today.
**When did music come into play?**
I’ve always loved music. I’ve been writing raps since the first grade. I’ve been a huge hip-hop fan since as far back as I can remember. In 6th grade, we started writing song parodies for a bunch of Top 40 records on the radio, like “Sexy Can I” by Ray J and “Apologize” by One Republic and Timbaland. It’s funny, the dynamic was always Jack G singing and I’m rapping, foreshadowing what’s to come years later.
I was very self-conscious about writing raps throughout high school, I’d be made fun of by kids in my school. It was tough, I felt it was impossible to make it in the music industry from a city like that. Once we started garnering success on Vine and social media, it made it possible for us to actually get in studios and local producers started reaching out to us. Once we put out our first song and it got a good reaction, we knew music was our path. There was a certain energy we’d never felt being in the studio, as opposed to recording in front of his Macbook with terrible, shitty audio. A whole different vibe actually being in the studio.
**How did the studio improve your music?**
Hearing your vision come to life and having semi-clean vocals, we thought we could really take this to the next level with enough perseverance. We took our first trip out to LA, linked up with some producers our attorney Eric put us in contact with. We made our first songs: “Wild Life,” “Tides.” You could tell there’s an obvious quality jump from our earlier records in Omaha. The 5 or 6 years have been a matter of becoming more and more comfortable every time you’re in the studio.
They say that you put in your 10,000 hours to become an expert. We’re on that journey to becoming experts at our craft. There’s always room for improvement for anybody, even the best artist in the world. We knew once we put our first song out this was something we could really take advantage of and it got a good reaction. Always a passion of ours as far back as we can remember. Once we realized we could make it out of Nebraska, we’re inspired to go extra hard.
**What was it like blowing up on Vine? It played a huge role in a lot of people’s careers.**
Definitely. We were these very normal high school kids. Out of nowhere, we started gaining a lot of traction. I remember it was orientation, child vibes our first day of senior year. We’re picking up our school-issued laptops from the principal’s office, these 2 girls came up to us and asked for a picture. First time this had ever happened, me and G were like “what the hell?” Since then, that’s become a normal thing with fans out and about.
It was such a small, local city, it almost felt like we’re at the top of the town at a point. Got millions of followers before our senior year ended. During football games, the other crowds would be chanting things trying to dig at us. 100 to 200+ kids parodying our Vines, mocking us at the same time.
**Damn, in high school?**
Kids are vicious, that’s how kids are. I’ve always looked at hatred as a form of respect, a form of admiration or jealousy. We’d have to leave all our football and basketball games early because girls from the opposing school would always rush us, even dudes. We were a big deal on Vine and it’s Omaha, there wasn’t much going on. Really trippy having that momentum shift in life, but we became desensitized to it very fast. I owe Omaha and its boredom a lot of credit for getting us to where we are today, inspiring us to be creative.
**Were you ready for all that attention and fame?**
Honestly, we were. We’d been making Youtube videos as 6th graders. We’re class clowns, we love being on camera. We went on a hiatus, but always loved being in front of the camera. We loved singing, rapping and doing improv comedy. We always wanted to be in the entertainment industry, but didn’t really see it as feasible. When it all came, we’re like “bro, we got this.” This is how we’ve always envisioned our lives playing out. We were planning on going to college, but this is our dream in life. Now we see it’s actually attainable, something we can chase. It inspired us to go extra hard.
**Jack & Jack is still alive right?**
Our fans are always jumping to conclusions, they think me and Jack G are done making music and that’s never the case. We want to dive into our own worlds and see what we can do in our own individual respects for a change, because we can’t be attached at the hip our entire lives in everything we do. We’re our own people, we have different tastes and different abilities in the studio. It’s great for us to showcase that, hopefully the fans will support both. Once we come back together for our next project, we’ll have learned a lot about ourselves. It’ll make our next project even better as a duo.
**Talk about this new chapter you’re embarking on as a solo artist.**
This next chapter’s been amazing, it’s awesome. It’s been the most liberating last year since I’ve been working on solo music. I’m with a distributor now. I’m essentially independent, which is great. At one point in time, we were cutting demo songs another writer had written. Me as a creative, someone who loves to spearhead the creative direction of any record or visual, it felt stifling as an artist. “Oh, Johnson, cut this pre-hook. Sing this pre-hook that somebody already wrote.” That's what I did in the studio that day. It sucked the fun out of music for a time.
I have nothing bad to say about any label or any project we put out in the past, but now’s the time where I’m fully liberated. I have the reins back in my hands. I’m calling the shots, which is how I’ve always operated. I love writing my own music and conceptualizing everything. It’s been a total chapter of liberation, I’m excited for the world to truly see the scope of what I can bring to the table.
**Who or what inspired your new single “You Lie”? I know it’s about being caught up in a relationship.**
It’s loosely based on real events that happened at the beginning of 2018. It’s awesome because my great friend Ryan Orgen produced the track. Him and two of his co-writers had the hook finished. The songwriter Andrea, a friend of mine, was on the hook. She’s still on the hook because I loved her voice so much. I heard the chorus, it gave me almost “Stan” by Eminem vibes. That haunting female melody on the hook, I thought “yo, I could dive into some storytelling shit and get more specific.” It's a very surface-level chorus. Even though it’s very deep, you’re not diving into detail or explaining too much. I get into fine detail in the verses. If you listen to the record, you can hear how that situation ended up. Eye-for-an-eye, a record about retaliation and trying to get back at a significant other when they hurt you. Definitely a very personal record, I’m really stoked at how it turned out.
**You talk about your journey with depression and how you overcome that. What are some tips you have for self-care?**
It’s super easy, especially as a young adult or a teenager, to get in your head and think your circumstances you’re currently in are the end-all be-all. We’re all here for a finite amount of time, nothing’s as deep as we make it out to be. It’s really easy to get in your own head and overthink, you make yourself anxious. It’s really about surrounding yourself with good people who genuinely care about you. Not trying to impress people you actually don’t like. This whole culture is people trying to impress strangers they don’t even resonate with or wouldn’t resonate with in person, but they want these people to like them. They feel validated because of another person’s opinion.
It’s about loving yourself, realizing what you bring to the table. Not letting anybody make you waver away from your vision, who you are, your goal, your dream. People who try to tear you down and you can’t do anything. You can get in your own head: “damn, maybe I’m not good enough.” That can stem depression, the seed of it sometimes. Realize nothing matters except for your own opinion. People are going to talk all day, that’s a part of life. There’s going to be naysayers.
People haven’t forgotten about G and I because we’ve definitely made our stamp on the music game, but our impact has been overlooked in terms of how we’ve taken from social media and transitioned into the real music world. Actually had some hit records, performed at award shows. I want to be a door-opener for people who think it’s impossible to come from social media. Now, you see it’s super possible. It doesn’t matter where you stem from, where you start. Every artist now is blowing up on social media, social presence primarily makes them pop off. You’ve got to believe in your vision and yourself. Your self-motivation has to be the driving factor. Your self-belief has to be the driving factor in everything.
**Do you miss touring?**
Oh my God, more than anything. You have no idea how bad I’m itching to get back out on the road, and God knows when that’s going to be. I miss it so much. Being on stage, any problems I have in the world goes away. Us and our fans who love us, singing our words back. It makes me sad we haven’t toured in so long.
**What do you miss about it?**
The energy. It’s a high you can never replicate via any drug or substance. This crazy adrenaline rush gives you maximum endorphins. You’re on stage for an hour and a half, you and these people who support you and know all your lyrics. It’s an unexplainable feeling, this euphoria you get when you’re on stage. You’re in your element, like you can do no wrong. Even if you do mess up, these people love you. The most carefree and fun environment. The more you tour, the better and more confident you get on stage.
**Do you remember your first show?**
You should’ve seen the first video of Jack and I performing at an event in 2014, we left high school for a long weekend our senior year. We had a couple singles out. We’re trying to perform and my hand was shaking, I was so fucking nervous. We had no stage presence, but it’s awesome because now we have 500+ shows under our belts. We’ve done the late-night runs, it’s great. I’m coming on the scene as a new artist almost with this new JVCK J wave, but it’s great because I have all of this experience under my belt.
Emma Faulkner
**What can we expect from your debut project arriving in fall?**
Definitely an array of vibes. It’s not a conceptual project, even though the overlying brand is a conceptual theme. One of the songs deals with losing yourself and finding yourself. Sometimes you have to lose yourself to realize who you are and to find your true meaning. You have to get lost and go through a dark phase to find the light. One is a record about being patient, how patience can make or break an artist. Don’t jump at the first deal that comes your way, you’ve got to really sit and analyze and try to own your craft. Be your own boss until the deal’s right, a great blueprint for a lot of artists.
“You Lie” has to do with falling out in a relationship, backstabbing someone who backstabbed you. That reciprocation that can happen in a relationship. I do have a party record on there for sure, a little more mindless. I’m a big tequila drinker, that’s my alcohol of choice. It’s got such a cool play on words. Even the ignorant records I make still have a cool, conceptual feel to them. There’s a point I’m getting across. Another one’s about the state of the world in terms of quarantine. People butting heads about politics, how the world’s up in flames, stuff we can all resonate with as young people. Certain records will really impact people, tug on their heart strings. certain records. Other ones will make them want to have a good time and drink some tequila. I like being across the spectrum. I don’t ever want to box myself in as an artist, be this sad kid that writes depression records, or the ignorant, party record guy. I want to showcase everything I can do, from singing to rapping to everything in between.
**Anything else you want to let us know?**
Tell the fans I love them so much, I always appreciate their support. Just thanks for sticking with us during this down period. It’s all going to be not for nothing, I promise. There’s so much around the corner they can look forward to.
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