An Intro to The World of Rapper JesseParadice
A rapper that combines genre-bending rap styles with raw emotional lyricism, JesseParadice deserves the respect he commands on every track that he creates.
JesseParadice is a Saint Louis, Missouri based independent rapper whose introspective and emotional lyrics, intertwined with experimental sounds, provides a unique and intense listening experience. In 2023, he was a part of the all-queer rap cypher titled “Bargasm” alongside other queer artists from around the world, including RuPaul’s Drag Race alum Aja, Big Daddy Karsten from Norway, and 6 other queer artists from Canada and across the United States. In February of last year, he released his debut studio album “SDS1” that explores mental health and the complexities of loss, depression, substance abuse, racism, and religion.
Last year on July 4th, Jesse released “Let It Sing (4th of July)” alongside Kansas City based artist Shilow. With lyrics that are extremely relevant to our current political climate and unmatched vocal deliveries from both Jesse and Shilow, the track really sets the establishment on fire with a bang. Jesse combines elements of U.K. drill and N.Y. drill, his vocal delivery style perfectly matches the energy of both rap sub-genres while also matching those styles lyrically too. The hook itself packs a punch with Jesse’s deep growl and aggressive delivery while the verses match a more introspective vibe.
Once Shilow enters the track, it becomes clear why this was such a perfect collaboration from its inception. Shilow matches Jesse’s vocal delivery styles and lyrical introspectiveness, and his ad libs are unforgettable. After his verse, there’s a refrain from them both that slaps you in the face with its aggressive delivery and catchy lines.
I want to put some emphasis on his debut album SDS1 too, so let’s talk about it. He told me that he chose to release SDS1 on 2/2/24 because it was Groundhog’s Day. In the movie “Groundhog Day,” the protagonist Bill Murray, is stuck in a continuous loop where he lives the same day over and over. Not addressing trauma puts you in a loop of despair where you can’t find your way out. Without therapy, you are bound to make the same decisions that lead you nowhere fast – or even worse, you create trauma for others.
Below, Jesse gave me a track by track explanation for each song on the album, check them out to get a better view into the meaning behind each song and get a peak into his brain too.
JesseParadice: For “Blown Fuses,” I wanted to set the tone of the project by giving the listener a shock to their system. Blown Fuses details the inner battle people from marginalized communities have at a young age, when they realize society has labeled them dangerous, a threat to others based off of the different-ness. That self realization brings strong feelings of self hatred and harm, while trying to navigate a society full of obstacles and danger. All of these threats and pressure from the outside world collide with anxiety and depression, creating the storm of psychological breakdown. A self destruction of sorts.
For my song “Brick x Brick,” I want to ask you a question. Have you ever felt paranoid? Well, “Brick x Brick” captures that feeling of being followed and extorted by those you thought you could trust. When friendly faces turn to unfamiliar foes, the world as you know it – turns upside down. After you have the breakdown where the fuses are blown, you have a choice to fight back with what you have, and start the process of healing by reconstructing sanity brick by brick.
The song “Trauma 22” is one that is relatable to so many people. Everyone knows someone who has been negatively impacted by sexual assault. It spans across every community, and plagues spaces that from the outside seem safe. “Trauma 22” specifically goes into detail about the queer male experience of this trauma, and how the health system makes light of assault towards men, and placing the blame on the victim. We all know friends that don’t go to the bars, or community focused events, because they were inappropriately touched or even worse. The dialogue seems to end with, “Well if you don’t want to have sex, then don’t come” which to me is the ultimate sign of lack of empathy and maturity. It’s time that we take a good hard look in the mirror, and ask ourselves if we are doing enough to enforce consent, and treat others with dignity and respect.
For “Hail Mary,” I wanted to touch on religious beliefs. Religion is one of the most powerful forces in our society – it affirms and rejects life based on peoples’ interpretations of text and ethics. Too often people use it as a way of excusing the harm they have done, and the healing they avoid. Way too often LGBTQIA folks are targets of religion, left to our own devices, vulnerable to mental and physical violence. I wanted to express my journey with growing up in the Catholic church, and finding out that many of the people I would see at mass would one day not support my truth.
“Unalive” is a song in dedication to my cousin, Danny. He passed away from the traumas he incurred in life, and during his tours in war as a Marine. A lot of us would drink heavily when he would come home to visit, and all of us were drowning away our pain – the depression we all shared as a family. I still have regrets about not being a more observant person, to see all of the pain he was going through, and comfort him and support him. After he passed away the family separated, and till this day I think about him, and the joy he brought all of us.
For “Night Time,” let me ask a few more questions. Have you ever experienced a night of reckless abandonment? A night where you didn’t care about how your actions would impact others? “Night Time” paints a picture of the longest night of horrible decisions – where drinking, gambling, sex, and drugs fuel irreversible harm. At this point in the album, the healing process is understand as something that should take place, but avoidance takes over.
For “Apologies,” I wanted to bring to life the phrase of “Take a long look in the mirror.” Apologies tackle the issue of accountability, and getting rid of the demons that you hold close. Too often we allow outside voices dictate what our self worth is – what we should strive for in life. “I need X amount of followers” or “If only I had had this or that” comes to mind. When we fall into the downward spiral staircase, we fall into a deep dark depression. With the help of therapy and support from loved ones, we can kill off the versions of us that dim our light.
The closer to the album, “Gravity Freestyle,” is meant to be a celebratory one. In ‘Blown Fuses’ we were terrified of the violence and darkness that society holds in our lives as marginalized people. The gravity of that threat, and the self destruction that occurred as a result, has been lifted from our shoulders because we now feel empowered to fight back and live powerfully. It’s a seismic shift from a defensive survivalist mentality, to an offensive warrior drive to vanquish anything and everything that comes in the way of happiness.
After reading the track by track breakdown of SDS1 gave us, it’s clear there were a lot of important and emotional topics covered throughout the entire album. I wanted some more insight into who Jesse was as an artist to share with our readers, so I interviewed him. Check that out below.
Bryce Quartz: Hey Jesse, thanks for taking the time to speak with me! How are you feeling today?
JesseParadice: Oh you know, walking the fine line between sanity and insanity in these dark times we are living in. But otherwise slaying the stock market down boots.
Bryce Quartz: Music has evolved so much over the years, constantly changing with time. What has the journey been like since you started up until now?
JesseParadice: If it wasn’t for my Dad, I would’ve never considered making music. My Dad has been a musician for his entire life; so seeing him perform as a kid inspired me. When I first started making music there was barely the internet scene that we have today. I started freestyling with friends during my high school years and decided to grow beyond that. It was the late ‘00s so everyone was remixing popular songs and uploading them to Youtube and Datpiff. I was terrible in the beginning but I kept honing in on my craft and got better song after song.
I really found my footing with the cloud rap era of the early 2010’s and started writing music that reflected my progressive social beliefs and the pain of family trauma I endured. Through this era, I started building the musical identity of ‘JesseParadice’ and became much more confident in incorporating different inspirations that traditionally didn’t mix with HipHop. Post Hardcore, Emo, Cloud Rap, Drill Rap and Boom Bap don’t typically coexist from a sonic standpoint. I followed my heart and created from an organic place, which led to my debut studio project, ‘SDS1’ (2024). Fast forward to 2025, I’m continuing that creative wave with some exciting collaborations and my next project.
Bryce Quartz: What are some other rappers or musicians that have influenced you the most in your career?
JesseParadice: That’s a really good question because I feel like I’m constantly inspired by older and newer artists/bands alike. As a kid, I was heavy into the Emo-Pop Punk scene, so I was listening to Hawthorne Heights, MCR, Paramore, Senses Fail, Silverstein, and Yellowcard. As I got older I started listening to more Hip Hop and started gravitating towards A Tribe Called Quest, Kid Cudi, Common, MF DOOM, and Nas. When those two worlds started to mix I became obsessed with artists like Lil Peep, Juice WRLD, and Trippie Redd. The rawness and emotional approach of HipHop and Rap really motivates me to create from a place that is not interested in appealing to the status quo. Rather to create from a place of authenticity and care for others, for community.
Bryce Quartz: Your collaborative drill track “Let It Sing (4th of July)” with Kansas City rapper Shilow really packs quite a punch! How did this collaboration come about?
JesseParadice: Shilow and I had collaborated together on Bargasm in 2023, and the more I listened to his catalog, the more I saw a shared vision. When I moved to Missouri, I knew that I had to work with him on something, whether it be a single track, or enough to make a project. We set a date and I drove over to Kansas City, and we locked in at Code Red Productions.
Bryce Quartz: Can you tell us a little bit about what it’s like to be in the studio with Shilow and what it’s like to work with him?
JesseParadice: Shilow is truly an artist that creates from the most organic place. As soon as you get in the studio with him, you can see the wheels turning and the ideas begin to flow. Him and Code Red usually create from scratch, they think about the sonic direction of the production, and then the songwriting commences. It really shifted how I attack a studio session in the best way possible. It was easy to bounce ideas off each other and strike while the fire was hot. Hence, ‘Let It Sing’ came to fruition.
Bryce Quartz: Can you tell us a little bit about the lyricism and meaning behind this track?
JesseParadice: Absolutely, ‘Let It Sing’ came from a place of mockery and frustration to be honest. American culture is fascinated with violence, greed, and consuming entertainment like fast food. Throughout the track, Shilow and I touch upon these topic with a sense of irony and an overtone of toxic aggression. In a country where guns are more important than school children’s lives, we’ve developed a callus sense of delusion towards violence. Baring an arm is more protected than a woman’s bodily autonomy, freedom of religion, and affirmative action. In the hook, I wanted to tap into this delusional sense of violent patriotism with comparing the fireworks of the 4th of July to a mass shooting.
If you seen it, then we mean it/put that fire in the sky / if you want it, then we’ll bring it / Better raise those flags high! / What you mean? Let it sing, like the 4th of July / What you mean? / Let it sing, like the 4th of July – JesseParadice in “Let It Sing (4th of July)”
Another topic we touch upon is cultural appropriation. There are so many rappers that use the genre as a stepping stool to something else. Like, I love the fuck out of every style, sub genre, you name it! What I don’t like is the commercialization of culture, the people that wear the culture like a Halloween costume from the thrift store.
We stand for the red white blue, but never for the black who built this country up, built the culture up, then abandoned it when it’s used. The youth don’t know no the difference. They see, they take, it’s no decision – Shilow in “Let It Sing (4th of July)”
Which in a nutshell is a microcosm of American Culture; steal something, wear it and sell it till it has zero value, and discard it to the trash.
Your favorite rapper puts on an act, minstrel show every time he raps./Robert Downey in Tropic Thunder – JesseParadice in “Let It Sing (4th of July)”
Bryce Quartz: Can you tell us about some of the tracks and features you’ve released since “Let It Sing (4th of July)”?
JesseParadice: I’ve had the great opportunity of collabing with a couple dear friends that I respect personally and artistically. Bias Selector, the horniest industrial dance outfit out of Cleveland recruited me for our banger ‘Safeword’. I’ve never attempted being a part of or making a dance song before, but holy fuck it was fun. We made a Dark Room anthem that is intoxicating to the ear while stressing the importance for consent in kink spaces. A few months later, Chungie (the horniest producer out of Dallas, Texas) reached out to Bias and I to remix ‘Safeword’. He somehow transported the ‘Dark Room’ to a playstation in 2001 and I’m still gagged.
Bryce Quartz: You mentioned to me that you have some visuals coming out for your music soon, can you tell us a little bit about that?
JesseParadice: We’re working on the finishing touches of a visual for my song ‘Blown Fuses’ off of my last project ‘SDS1’. The video matches the dark chilling atmospheric vibe of the song, and it feels very eerie to drop it in today’s political climate. Even though it’s a hip hop song, we kinda leaned in a more metal approach with the music video. You’ll just have to believe it to see it haha.
Bryce Quartz: I know you’re currently locked in to album creation mode, can you share with us what you are working on?
JesseParadice: I’m pretty close to finishing up the writing portion of my next project. All I will say is that it will be darker and harder than ‘SDS1’. More screams, more creative risks, more emotionally intense moments.
Bryce Quartz: What does the songwriting process look like for you right now?
JesseParadice: Ummmmm it’s been a very hard process this go around. A lot of the topics and themes center around the darkness we are all seeing and experiencing. It’s extremely difficult to navigate and turn off when I’m writing, and to be honest it makes complete sense. We are being consumed in every aspect of our lives and there’s no running away from what’s happening to our human rights. These songs really focus on the central experience of fear and paranoia.
Bryce Quartz: I’m really excited to see what you have in store for this album. For my last question, I’m desperate to know… What is your go-to favorite meal?
JesseParadice: I’ll take an order of Jerk Chicken with a side of rice and peas, please!
Bryce Quartz: Thanks for taking the time to speak with me, Jesse!
Be sure to give JesseParadice’s discography a spin soon and give him a follow on socials to keep up with what he’s doing next!
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