Jack Blue

Jack Kleese, better known as artist Jack Blue, is a 19-year-old music business undergrad with very impressive rap skills. As a white kid from Madison, Wisconsin, Kleese doesn’t look like your typical rapper but when he has a mic in his hand, you might think he’s a relative to either MGK or Eminem.  

Kleese’s introduction to rap was in sixth grade in middle school. His older cousin, Roger, introduced him to his first favorite rap artist Kid Cudi with his latest album Man on the Moon: The End of Day.  “He (Kid Cudi) just so open on whatever is on his mind. He’s not afraid of public conception or perception rather of anything he does or says.” Kleese says “I didn’t really know you can make music like that before I heard his stuff.”  

Simultaneously on a family road trip to Washington D.C., Kleese discovered a $5 app from a company called Maschine which is a software to make beats and tracks during a family road trip to Washington D.C. Discovering a new genre and a software to make his own music, a young Jack Kleese was sold and inspired. Fortunately, this inspiration wasn’t just a phase. This inspiration would turn out to be his thrive and livelihood.

At seventh grade heading into eighth grade, Kleese started to get his studio together. In addition to using an iPad app, Kleese invested in getting a computer, MIDI keyboard, audio-interface, studio monitors, maschine controller, and a couple of guitars. While having all this equipment, Kleese started his six year musical journey all through high school until now in college. During those six years, he developed a method of making his own music. “Sometimes I have an idea for a melody and I’ll record the melody, record chords for that and match it, and then add in drums, a bass and all sorts of secondary instruments.” He says, “There are also other ways to make music on these Digital Audio Stations (DAW) and there’s quite a lot you can do with them. You can pretty much make any genre you want.”

For his lyricism, Kleese says, “I’m mentally writing it in my head.” For Kleese, the mental writing can occur in a car ride, walking, listening to his own beats that he recently made, or listening to another artist’s work. The inspiration for his lyrics is from experiences that he’s gone through or experiences that other people that he met and/or befriended gone through. With both his music production and lyricism methods, Kleese became undaunted to present his music to the world by uploading his work on SoundCloud and doing live performances.

His first performance as a rapper was at his first Music Industry Residency show at Newby’s on a very chilly February night. Newby’s, as always, was packed with college students. Kleese along with his hype-man and good friend Jonathan Harville, whom he met at U of M’s Living Learning Residence Complex, ended the show with a very impressive, upbeat, insane performance that the crowd went crazy for. Kleese commented on his friendship with Harville, “We started hanging out actually the second semester of last year. Kleese commented on his friendship with Harville. “Started making music and he mixes my music. Obviously, he’s my hype-man. Yeah, it’s a pretty good partnership.”  

The dynamite duo performed again but on a bigger stage at University of Memphis’ Spring Fling called Light Up the Night on April 20. This event welcomed more than 3,000 people. It featured artist such as Jeremih and K. Michelle along with Kleese and Harville as the opening act. “I was like Oh My God!!! Kleese says. “I’m about to open for someone really really huge. This is the real deal. I couldn’t believe it. To this day, I’m still weirded out by it.”

This white kid from Madison, Wisc. is starting to make a name for himself. Kleese hopes to perform many times at Newby’s, Spring Flings, along with other future events during his time at University of Memphis. “At the end of the day, it’s about energy, he says. “If you have a certain energy and people see that. People see that you’re having fun on stage. You’re letting go all the things that hinder you and just doing something that is both incredibly difficult but incredibly rewarding and just honest. If they see you have that energy and its presented in your music. They can hear it too. The bass is thumbing, and everything is going crazy. They can feel that, and they are going to enjoy that experience. It’s the connection you have with the audience.”