We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jabari Butler. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jabari below.

Jabari, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

The most meaningful project I’ve ever worked on had to be an album called Darling Child. I created this in 2022 and released it in 2023. Darling Child was the second full length body of music I’d ever created. At 11 songs it holds a story and message that I developed throughout the period of my college graduation and first year back in NYC after. This album was such a dedicated labor. I revised until I was profoundly at peace with the work. It became so meaningful because my first album was created during my freshman year of college. I released it after being inspired by Tyler the Creator’s IGOR album. That album was such a declaration of my artistry or at least my desire to be an artist. This new project, Darling Child, felt more like a deep examination of what type of artist and person I was. I refined my story telling, my musicianship evolved, in whole the music represented a man who kept trying. I think thats the most meaningful thing anyone can do, to keep trying. It’s honorable to sacrifice yourself to a purpose. I wanted to show I was still evolving but also show what that evolution required. There’s a story of how a child must practically sacrifice itself for the well being of the adult. This was a brutal conclusion that I don’t live by. It’s a conclusion that captures a moment in time and how I saw life then.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Abe the Kid, I’m a songwriter/rapper, producer, and singer from Jamaica, Queens, NY. I grew up in a dancing family so I was constantly raised around music and art. My aunts were teachers and my cousins were all students in the family dancing school. It was here I learned stage presence. I learned that sometimes if you push yourself to the cliff your body will carry yourself the rest of the way, then all of a sudden you’re flying. I’ve grown a reputation as a great liver performer because I know how to turn a stage into a bedroom and a crowd into a mirror. I’ve always known how to lead a room from the stage.

I got into releasing music as an artist at Georgetown University. I was in a music group that had a song that became very popular throughout the school. In my sophmore year I released my own solo music and began performing live shows in DC. My style has always been one of cinematic production, profound lyricism, and fun rhythms. I’ve always attempted to make music that brings comfort to humans in their own skin by showing them a brutally honest depiction of myself and my artistic voice. I like being provocative and insightful. I’m most proud of the artists and muscians that I’ve been able to work with and evolve with. I want listeners and fans to know that my music attempts to take very singular feelings and moments and expand them, like looking through a microscope.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I had to unlearn the rigidity with which I thought learning an instrument required. It took some really brilliant friends and creators to show me that an instrument is no place for anger or stress. The instrument is the host of the language it contains. I had to unlearn the idea that learning music only happens through strict schedules and exercises. My friends taught me how to use my own taste and musicial intuition to play around with an instrument. I’ve fallen in love with the phrase, “touch your instrument once a day.” It’s a small change that makes all the difference. Learning to just touch my instrument and play with it has created a much more fufilling relationship and better skills.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

For me the most rewarding aspect of being an artist is getting to share my work with crowds of people live. I love getting to make a song and knowing that I will get to sing it to a group. I really appreciate,

Contact Info:

• Website: abethekid.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/abe.is.abe/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@abethekid

Image Credits
Mikko Castaño Justin Ortiz