At the start of a great weekend at Made in America Festival, the third performance of the day on the Freedom Stage was the back-flipping, real raw energy of JELEEL! YEAH! JELEEL! Reining from Rhode Island, JELEEL! moved to Maryland before Los Angeles to chase his rap dreams. He formed his musical style around drill, indie rock and afrobeats and even The Hardy Brothers. He found great inspiration in WWE culture and more importantly, The Hardy Brothers’ high-flying style and electric stage presence.
A big part of JELEEL!’s aura is that he is always promoting positive energy and vibes — he is very big on that.
With the super eager crowd ready to receive JELEEL!’s display of real raw energy, the authentic artist rocked his opening act by performing his single “Big Bad”… and, the CROWD WENT CRAZY! And, it didn’t stop there. JELEEL! kept the crowd going by doing crazy backflips off the top of the stage metal bars! The overall performance was a certified banger and he has a VERY bright future ahead of him. We actually had the opportunity to chat it up with JELEEL! before he stormed the stage; here is what he said.
We’re here at Made in America Festival. I know you are excited to perform today. How you feeling?
- J: I feel good, I feel energized. Real raw energy!
Explain to me what ‘real raw energy’ means? I feel like it’s a big important part of you. I be feeling the real raw energy!
- ‘Real raw energy’ is a spiritual thing — it’s inside everyone, you know? We just have to unlock it. Real raw energy is my music; it’s my energy when I am performing. Real raw energy is life.
You have been performing for a while. Would you have imagined seeing yourself here at Made in America Festival?
- I always had a big vision for JELEEL!. God has ways of foreshadowing, so I’ve always felt like I was gonna do bigger things in Made in America. I am super blessed, thank God. Shoutout Jay-Z, thank you Jay-Z! I don’t know if Jay-Z knows me, but I’m thankful to be at your concert!
I’m sure he does know you! JELEEL!, I know you are from LA — were you born and raised there?
- I am Nigerian, [of] Nigerian heritage. My parents came from Nigeria and I am from Rhode Island. I moved to LA four years ago and was homeless AF, but I kept on the grind.
Wow, I did not know that about you! What inspires your music taste and art?
- I pray a lot. I feel like when I pray, I am spiritually in tune, you know, so I feel like being in prayer. I do MMA, sometimes too, that inspires me. Speaking of WWE, I dropped a song called “STONE COLD”. Yo, go stream that — go crazy! I’m about to perform it.
Who would you say are your top three artists right now?
- Jeff Hardy, Stone Cold Steve Austin and JELEEL! YEAH!
- I have always looked up to more WWE, UFC fighters — you know, boxers. I always looked up to them more than actual artists, but I would say my favorite of all time is DMX.
How often do you work out?
- Four times a week and I am Muslim.
Any big projects we should be on the lookout?
- I am dropping an afro rage song called “DELIVERED”. I am Nigerian, so I want to show that part, but it’s not too far off. It’s still so fire and I am dropping in three weeks.
JELEEL! I appreciate your time and you are a great guy! Can’t wait to see you perform, I hope you do a backflip!
- Of course, man, we will see!
JELEEL! – “STONE COLD”
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