It was June 11th, a hot summer day.  It was about 92 degrees outside.  I was hanging out with ODA junior Kolbie Ward, his older brother Dominique, his middle sister Tiara, and Gerald, a family friend. We did not have anything to do on that hot summer day like it was.

I was playing around on 2K15, a basketball game on PS4. When you play, you can hook up your Spotify to the game. Your Spotify playlist will incorporate with the game. I was listening to Kevin Gates, a rapper.  All of a sudden, Tiria said, “listen to this.” She took my phone and added something to my playlist.

I heard a high-pitched voice singing a song called “Like Baby,” by someone I’d never heard of: Jacquees. My 2K15 player made a basket just as Jacquees sang out  “stay down for the come up now I gotta multiplied”  

At that moment, I knew I liked his sound, something he calls “swanging.” It’s like rap, “but more melodic,” says Jacquees himself.  I did not know that I  would ever like his R&B type sound until I heard him. The way he expresses himself in his music is what got me really attached to him. Depending on the song he explains the situation that he is in through his music.

“Jacquees’ songs have the trill-est lyrics and meaning behind them. He’s close to our age so some of the stuff he sings about is relatable. His voice is so nice and gentle– it’s calming almost,” says sophomore Valentina Alvarez.

“I was introduced to Jacquees by Amad, Kolbie, and Valentina. They say I’m not a true fan, but I really like his music. His voice is amazing, and I like all of his songs, even if I don’t know all the words. Listen to his new mixtape coming out in 3 days, 72 hours, and 4,320 minutes!!” says sophomore Sereena Feeney

According to Wikipedia, Rodriquez Jacquees Broadnax  was nine years old when he found his passion in singing and dancing, with the influences from the Jackson five and the Temptations. In 2007, he was introduced to Orlando Grind, his manager. But it wasn’t until 2014 that he really became popular with his music. He released his first album called “19” on October 1, 2014. He signed with Cash Money Records, one of the biggest companies ever.

Jacquees is making moves on getting his name out to his fan to have a bigger fan base. He  is currently on his Mood mixtape that he released on January 25th, 2016. He started his Mood tour April 30th, 2016. He will be in Orlando on May 21st. Kolbie and I are going!

He is dropping another mixtape on Saturday May 7th. The name of this mixtape is Lost At Sea. That mixtape that Andrew Berg mentioned in his speech? Yup, it was Jacquees.