JELEEL Talks with ONE37pm at The Roxy in LA

You may have seen JELEEL on your ‘For You Page’ on TikTok doing backflips and ripping off his white tank. He has taken TikTok by storm, amassing 1.5 million followers and 54 million likes. In the span of just over six months, JELEEL has jumped from 115,000 monthly listeners to almost 2 million. That’s the power of TikTok. 

However, JELEEL has been working hard to make a name for himself for years while facing adversities like homelessness in the city of LA. There are clips of him on the internet singing for Adam22 on Melrose Ave back in 2018. JELEEL also tells the story of the time he met Zane Lowe in a pizza shop on Fairfax Ave in an unreleased interview.

JELEEL’s sounds stem from afrobeat music and inspiration from artists like Kid Cudi, 50 Cent, and DMX. He grew up in Rhode Island where he attended high school and trained to try out for the basketball team. He made the team but unfortunately suffered a knee injury that caused him to sit out the rest of the season. After coming back for his senior year, JELEEL was cut from the team. Once he graduated, he decided to attend Loyola University where he graduated with a degree in Psychology. 

In his time at Loyola, JELEEL found himself becoming more immersed in music and decided to release a number of songs online in the year 2017. After graduating from Loyola, he took a one way flight to Los Angeles. In 2018 he released “WARTIME!” which would go on to be featured on the popular hip hop blog, No Jumper. It was during this time JELEEL was homeless in Los Angeles, focusing solely on building his music career. 

Fast forward to June 11, 2022, the last stop of ‘The JELEEL Experience’ at The Roxy in Los Angeles. JELEEL headlined a venue in his old stomping grounds where he walked around, homeless and performed his music tirelessly to those who would listen. This was a full circle moment for JELEEL and his team after experiencing years of resistance.

Thanks to JELEEL’s managers, we were able to chat with JELEEL after his unbelievably energetic performance to ask him a few questions. 

Courtney: “What has been the most memorable moment of your career so far?” 

JELEEL!: “I guess performing at The Roxy. This was fun!” 

Courtney: “Was this a full circle moment for you, coming back to Fairfax after so many years?” 

JELEEL!: “Yeah, these were my stomping grounds. I used to rip my shirt outside The Roxy everyday and look where we are. We’re at The Roxy performing, headlining.” 

Courtney: “Who is your favorite MMA or UFC Fighter?” 

JELEEL: “Jiri Prochazka. He just fought and won today. Jiri, he’s my favorite. Shoutout to Jiri!” 

Courtney: “And if you had to choose, Gatorade or JELEEL Juice?” 

JELEEL: “JELEEL Juice!”

JELEEL Juice is not only one of my favorite JELEEL songs, but it’s also a tasty juice his team created! Check out the music video here: