When asked about his goals in Hip Hop, during a newly-published interview with XXL magazine, Wisconsin-born rapper Jidenna revealed that his goal is to create music that people can both “party and ponder to.”
He also spoke on being labeled “the millennial version of Andre 3000.” The musician explained that although it’s “an admirable position,” he’s more focused on creating his own genre of music titled Swank.
“I would say, when I look at the foundation, I’m trying to go back to ‘The Message,’ both literally and figuratively,” Jidenna said. “If you listen to that record, the beat is actually funky, but it still talks about something. That’s all I want to do. Make music that you can party and ponder to at the club. It doesn’t have to be hella deep, but it just has to mean something, that’s all. And that’s what I believe I’m doing…I want to create a whole different genre. The genre that I’m working on is called Swank. My biggest goal in hip-hop is to be the swankest man in hip-hop history and the swankest man alive. I already have the swankest DJ you’ve ever seen, Nana Kwabena Tuffour, who is also my co-producer. People compare me, though, and say, ‘This is the millennial version of Andre 3000.’ Those are big shoes to fill and that’s an admirable position, but my goal is to redefine and create a new genre.”
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Jidenna, who serves as the first artist signed to Janelle Monae’s Wondaland Records, also spoke on his newly-released record “Classic Man.”
“I mean yeah, I enjoyed the record,” he said when asked if he felt “Classic Man” was an automatic hit after recording it. “If you get goosebumps, usually the people that listen to it are going to get goosebumps as well. So I just enjoyed it. I was thinking hit record. I was thinking radio. I was thinking, ‘Do I enjoy it and will people jam to it? Can they party and ponder to it?’ That’s usually my criteria. That’s what I want to be known for.”
In addition to speaking on “Classic Man” and the Swank genre he hopes to introduce, Jidenna spoke on his fashion inspirations. Among the figures he says have inspired him are Jay Z, Pharrell Williams, Andre 3000, and Malcolm X.
