Brandon Love Jackson (born April 5, 1991), known professionally as Brandon Blvd, is an upcoming American Hip-Hop artist from Memphis, Tennessee.
In 2016, he released his mixtape “Vengeance is Mine: Memoirs of a Lost Soul” to the public which yielded tremendous support and allowed him to begin generating local recognition. Apart from his career as a recording artist, he is also the Founder of “Stay Hungry,” a growing clothing collective and brand. He is also the Founder of the movement and recording label Problematic Nation.
In this interview spotlight, I chop it up with Brandon Blvd about this latest release, technology, challenges and more.
Full Q&A along with links and music below.
Where are you from and what style of music do you create? (In your own words, not necessarily in marketing terms or by popular genre classifications.)
I’m a hip-hop artist/lyricist from Memphis, TN, born and raised. I’m mainly here to illustrate that Memphis music has no limitations and can’t be put into one box, or any box for that matter.
What led you down this path of music and what motivates you to keep going?
As corny and cliche as I may sound I honestly feel as though this path of music chose me. I literally wake up almost everyday asking myself why am I doing this? Why am I choosing to go this route as opposed to pursuing a 9-5 gig that’s going to at least guarantee steady income. What motivates me is my need to actually want to find the answer to that question.
How is this new release different than previous ones? Were you trying to accomplish anything specific?
This upcoming release (my upcoming album titled “Hunger Pains”) is VERY different from any other project I’ve been apart of so far. For one, I took my time and worked at my own pace with this one, making sure that conceptually and sonically, everything makes sense. This album has no fluff or fillers. Meaning that every single record was developed with the purpose to further elaborate on this story of pain and righteousness that I’m telling. Really can’t wait to share it with you guys. Like…o really can’t wait.
Name one or two challenges you face as an indie musician in this over saturated, digital music age? How has technology helped you (since we know it does help)?
Just off the top of my mind one of the biggest challenges I have is trying to have my budget to match my ideas. Which there’s always a way around that if you’re just adamant about putting dope things out there, but sometimes those 2 minute brainstorming sessions turn into 30, 30 into 2 hours, and before you know it you’ve wasted the better part of a month just trying to figure out how to get certain things accomplished as fiscally responsible as possible.
What was the last song you listened to?
Honestly, the last song I heard was my own. “The Blinds,” available on all platforms now !
Which do you prefer? Vinyl? CDs? MP3s?
I prefer the convenience of MP3’s
The personability of CDs
The classic nostalgia of vinyl
How about this one…. Do you prefer Spotify? Apple Music? Bandcamp? Or something else? Why?
Gotta go with Bandcamp on this one. It’s the most independent artist friendly platform out there.
Where is the best place to connect with you online and discover more music?
That’s an easy one. www.brandonblvd.com! You’ll be able to get access to literally everything as it relates to Brandon Blvd including exclusive videos/pics, cool interviews/write-ups, and of course all of my social media handles!
Anything else before we sign off?
Hunger Pains, the album…August 18, 2019 #StayHungry
