Don’t Put This Jack In A Box

Underestimate Jack Da Union at your peril! A music artist from Berkshire who always had a passion for music, but fell into it by chance having previously been an amateur boxer. He says at the beginning of his music career, “It all came about my accident. I have the ability to freestyle, but never took it any further than that then someone missed their studio session so I was asked if I wanted the slot.” And producers really liked what they heard. An artist who can flit from genre to genre seamlessly, who has deep complexity within his lyrics as well as stage presence and charisma. He is a very thoughtful and intelligent person to speak to and punctuates our interview with interesting nuggets of information.

Jack started out doing rap battles and it flowed, literally, from there. He is currently working on multiple projects, but just released a mixtape ‘Barred Rebooted’ which has 11 tracks and a bonus track. This record is just one aspect of Jack’s multi-faceted talent as it’s quite classic, conscious hip-hop with a tapestry of beats and flows. There are snippets of classical music and even a James Bond-esque feel in ‘Greeze Grizzle and Gas’. ‘Out There’ has a jazzy, soul perspective and ‘NFA’ ft Guys and ‘Wrong Turn’ would not be out of place on a G-Unit album. There are many great tracks in between; all have high points and versatile tones. The last track ‘Outro’ rounds off the mixtape on a really thoughtful note with some celestial chimes and beats accompanying his lyrics. As he said, “It’s quite deep and unexpected.”

One of the things that really shines through Jack’s music, and what he is most proud of, are his lyrics. They are incredibly clever. He says, “I listen to Drake, Rick Ross…everyone, but inspiration comes from being lyrical. My use of metaphors, similes, double entendre.” He adds that people who know him very well could still spend years deciphering what a lot of them mean. Even if you appreciate them as a top layer when you listen to his music, you can observe shrewd analogies as well as narratives. Jack is very observant, reads a lot and gets inspiration from what is going on around him.

Some lyrics from ‘Perspectives’:
“So when I spray rhymes, there’s a flair and distinction,
You see it’s all mine, similar to fine wine,
But…this ain’t no fermented grapes,
A proper analogy would be demented apes,
See I do my contemplating at night when I see bed,
My thinking can go as deep as the depths of seabeds.”

Another thing that is pretty outstanding is the fact Jack doesn’t write his music in advance. He says, “I create rhymes in my mind. I hear a beat then think of something. There is no pen and paper involved.” I ask if he freestyles when he’s in the studio and he replies, “It’s freestyling in a modern sense but in a classic sense I pick something out of nothing” and “I create a beat in my head then make it fit to whatever.” He comments further, “I don’t force anything, let it flow and document everything in my brain.”

Jack’s style and sound vary from track to track and album. He can do “uptempo, grime tempo, classic Hip-Hop tempo.” He likes to switch it up and says, “My sound is geared towards the streets but with a twist.” I ask how he would describe his sound to new listeners and he says, “anything can happen” and with reference to various genres, “I can’t be pinned down.” He comments, “I can be quite deep at times. My artistry can be blunt to the point of a hidden meaning.”

Jack is currently working on the follow-up to his current release. His next performance will be at Vocal Networking in Reading where he will be crowned as the current champion. Having just done a feature for Miami’s DJ Venimis he plans to go out there and collaborate with him further as well as expanding on his current fan base in the States.

To quote this artist whose talent bubbles over like lava; “I want to take over the industry as we know it. First and foremost be the greatest MC and be able to perform everywhere.”

“I’m in this game for the whole entirety. I’m ten toes in.”

Stream ‘Barred Rebooted‘