Today we’d like to introduce you to J-Kline (Jacob Kline).
Hi J-Kline, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
My testimony. My life journey… is one that is filled with all the ‘fixins’ and ingredients that make up a great story… Especially that of a comeback story! It’s got happiness, joy, success, drama, struggle, pain, failure, loss, wins, sadness, triumph, lessons, inspiration, motivation, and more. If I had to choose ONE word to describe my story, I would pick ‘’RESILIENCE.’’ My story began February 21st, 1991 in Battle Creek, Michigan to a single mother whose life story of her own is worthy of a motion picture herself and a brother who was 13 years older. My father wasn’t in the picture that much as he constantly battled drug addiction throughout his life, which had him either in jails, prison, rehabs, or in the streets and at the age of 11, he would lose his battle to addiction and passed away. Growing up, my Mom worked tirelessly to give my brother and I a great life, one that she never had. She worked at a car part factory at night and was in nursing school during the day. As a young child, I loved to create and be creative and I was always using my imagination. I also loved entertaining people, making them laugh, and I loved the attention.
First grade, my teacher asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I told her I wanted to be an actor. That was my first love and passion. But I also loved music. And having a brother who was 13 years older than I was, that certainly influenced my early upbringing. It was him that introduced to my love, my passion, my dream, my career, hip-hop music. I always enjoyed hanging out with my brother and often liked what he liked, and he would always play artists like Wu-Tang Clan, Dr. Dre, Eminem, and 2pac. Hearing those artists and those songs, I was instantly hooked and was a fan. As I got older, I began researching the history and the culture of hip-hop/rap music and started exploring other artists. By 5th and 6th grade, I considered myself a “hip-hop head.” A term used to describe a very knowledgeable person on the history and art form of hip-hop music and culture. I was fascinated. And by 6th grade, I started writing my own rhymes and raps.
At 14, I found a local studio in my hometown and booked for first official studio session and began recording the lyrics I had been writing for the last few years. I had found my calling and knew this is what I wanted to do. Over the course of my high school years, I worked at perfecting my craft both writing and recording. And had built a little following in my high school and hometown. Towards the end of my junior year and onto my senior year, things started to change within myself. My mind became filled with worry and anxiety, I suppressed emotions, and I had started to fall into a deep depression, which I attributed to fear and uncertainty, with the huge impending life changes as I was nearing graduation and entering the next phase of my life. To cope with all this, I began experimenting and using drugs and alcohol. And after I graduated May 2009, by June my usage had increased both in frequency and amount, and I thought I had found the perfect remedy for those emotions that I tried so hard to run from and avoid, however more problems seemed to just pile up. I then spent the next nine years using almost everyday, spending every dime I could get or make, and spending time in and out of jails, rehabs, and homelessness. In late 2013 I moved from Michigan to Austin, TX to hopefully make a geographical change that would provide some type of spark, only to no avail. The same things and the same problems continued to mount and build up. It was in April 2018 that I finally for the first time got clean and began turning my life around. With this, I got back to my passion, music.
And after a five years absence from recording or writing, I hopped back into the studio and began working on new material. It was like my flame had been relit. I was really starting to make a name for myself in Austin, TX with my music. And things were going great. That was until March 2020, when the pandemic hit. I lost a great job, the world was in a mass uncertainty and then in June 2020, I had lost my best friend to a tragic lake accident. My life, my successes, my momentum, everything I had worked for was turned upside down and I unfortunately relapsed. And once again, lost everything and set myself back to square one, to the bottom. Finally, after finally being sick of being sick and tired and seeing my dream and passion slip away, I decided to take my life back and got clean again in Late October 2021. And I haven’t looked back. I released my debut “Lost In Austin” with College of Hip-Hop Knowledge Records/Sony-Orchard and rebuilding myself, my brand back, and the love, support, and feedback I have received has been amazing. And I am being a figure now in the recovery community as well as being a public figure within the Austin music scene as a whole.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The journey has not been smooth whatsoever unfortunately. As I stated, I have battled addiction issues since 2009, and that by itself has left me faced with a plethora of problems on its own. From taking all my time and finances, affecting my mental health, taking opportunities from me, experiencing homelessness on many occasions, and then couple that with the everyday struggles that already come with being an upcoming/struggling musician/music artist the road has definitely been a bumpy one. However, the road has definitely gotten flatter as of late as I’ve worked to change my life, focus on my passion, music, and things are starting to smoothen out.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a Hip-Hop artist based out of Austin, TX. I specialize it making life/mood music if you feel. Through my music, I share my life story/struggles in hopes of sharing those same feelings, emotions, situations, etc. to help inspire, motivate, and uplift. I’m proud of the reactions and feedback I get from my music. All the time, I have people of all walks of life messaging how they love my music and how they went through the same thing or how they’re going through it currently. And I just want to help. I just want to make a difference. I think what sets me apart from others is versatility. I make all types of songs, vibes, and music. I try my best to not be limited or put in a box.
Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs or other resources you think our readers should check out?
I read a lot of self-help, motivational books. A lot of auto-biographies. Anything with a great story. Anything that has the ability to inspire and motivate, I’m all about it!
Pricing:
- Shirts – $30
- Lost In Austin Album – $10
Contact Info:
- Email: Jklinemusic512269@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/officialjkline
- Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/OfficialJKline/
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/channel/UC9nWXDeF3To-FHciPD4BCRQ
Image Credits
Legendary Photos
