If you talk to JMSN for longer than 90 seconds he’s going to use the word “inspire” no less than a dozen times. He’s a multifaceted singer-songwriter and sponge for the world’s divine influences, and wants to musically give them all to his fans one note at a time.
“I think the inspiration always comes from life in general, and experiences, and just being out in the field and listening to music, listening to something in a different place or something you haven't heard before to inspire you,” JMSN says over a Zoom interview.
Born Christian Berishaj, the Eastpointe native and St. Clair Shores Southlake High alum did a couple short stints on Atlantic Records and Universal Motown right after graduation, until he decided there were too many cooks in the major label kitchen and went indie. He made his proverbial big splash a decade ago collabing with rappers Ab-Soul and Kendrick Lamar. He also released his critically acclaimed album Priscilla in 2012, earning comparisons to acts like Frank Ocean, Justin Timberlake, and the Weeknd. While the comparisons were complimentary, they were also an attempt to categorize him in the music box that fit the best, which is something you can’t do. He’s like a pot of gumbo — the main ingredient is R&B, but the additions of dance, pop, rock, gospel, hip-hop, and his emotional temperament are equally responsible for the flavor.
“I base it on what I liked growing up. You couldn’t put Prince in a category, and those are the things that gravitated me toward artists,” he says, adding, “I don’t like to follow what's currently going on in popular culture. I like to try to find a way to push it to inspire others to do something new for the next generation of music. What’s popular right now has already been done, and I want to explore other avenues and genres and ways of doing it.”
A quick dive through his recent YouTube offerings gives you a strong grasp of his range as an artist. His song “Love Me” is a spiritual ballad that fuses his voice over the full gospel choir. “Mama love me, Papa love me/ Brother love me, Sister love me/ And all the rest of my family that always wants to just judge me,” he sings. In “Cherry Pop,”' his filtered vocals feel like hip Gregorian chants laced over a rock and funk beat. Because he’s more focused on trying to make the best songs versus hit songs, his freedom and creativity never feels forced.
“There is definitely an R&B element to who I am, so it’s incorporated in everything,” he says. “It’s the same intention of trying to explore and do something different [and] follow the ‘less is more’ mantra and see how parse I can make things.”
JMSN admits he has no one approach to coming up with songs. Sometimes it starts with a guitar riff or a piano chord, and other times it’s a drum beat or a lyric saved as a voice note on his phone. He says he once even dreamed a song into fruition.
“I remember one song called ‘Pose,’” he says. “It was so weird, it was this dance party in my dream and I was like, ‘What is that song playing?’ So I woke up and I was like, ‘I need to record this,’” he says through uncontrollable laughter.
On his new album Soft Spot, he pushes forward with his comprehensive and diverse approach to making music. The lead single by the same name is a lyrical love quarrel that starts off subtle and quickly goes into a Ghost Town DJ’s kind of groove. “You always say you wanna connect/ But you never wanna give to get/ Maybe I just get too obsessed/ But I just can’t settle for less,” he sings. He says “Groovy” and “Feels Like a Woman” are his favorite songs on the project.
“It’s definitely the best work I’ve done,” he adds. “And I feel it’s the most eclectic batch of songs I’ve done production-wise, genre-wise, and singing and writing and all that. I just try to be better than the one I did before, be better than who I was before.”
JMSN is a self-taught instrumentalist who plays bass, guitar, drums, keys, and percussion. He took piano lessons as a kid but says he learned how to play music by studying those who do it best. He says he incorporates technology and software on a “as needed” basis.
On “Inferno,” a track from 2018, JMSN says he intentionally used technology for aesthetics. “I used a plugin on Pro Tools called Expand,” he says. “It’s like the crappiest sounding keyboard. I used it for the bass guitar because I wanted the bass guitar to sound crappy. Crappy for lack of a better word, but it was a stylistic choice.”
Even though JMSN got signed to a label during quite possibly the last era when a demo tape could get you a record deal, he doesn’t miss the politics. He advises aspiring musicians to perfect their craft and focus on their skill sets before they go searching for a record deal.
“I would say build it, if you’re just starting out you need to develop yourself,” he says. “A label is not going to develop you, then when you get to that point, you can decide for yourself what you want to do.”
However, he also doesn’t rule out working with one again.
“I think the only thing they have an advantage on is the amount of money they have,” he says. “And you know, for everything else it completely outweighs the money. … I would never say never, to me it's all about care and passion. If you’re thoughtful and careful and passionate, then anything can happen.”
JMSN is nonchalant about his upcoming Detroit show, in a humorous kind of way. He promises he’ll bring the fun, the lights, play some songs, and just have an overall good time. He’s found the sweet spot in his music career and wants nothing more than to keep releasing and performing new material that inspires listeners and his fanbase.
“If I’m ever just a cover band of my own songs, then I’m going to stop,” he says. “That’s not what I want to be. I’m going for 33 albums at least, I’m not even a third on the way there.”
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