We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jalen Henderson a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Jalen, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

Doing Music Overall Is A Risk , People Always Tell You Get A Job , Go To School , Or Go To The Military If You Want to Be Successful Which Isn’t True At All Most Millionares Didn’t Attend College Or Work A 9-5 Job They Are Entrepreneurs , And People Who Put All Their Eggs In A Basket For What They Love To Do And Thats How I Took A Risk Doing Music. I’m Taking A Route That Not Many People Actually Believe In But A Few Others Around Me. I Take That Risk To Potientially Live The Life I Want To Live Which Is A Peaceful- Financially Free Life. I Get Up Everyday To Take This Risk In The Music Industry Whether Its Going To The Studio , Shooting A Video , Dropping A Project Or Doing Behind The Scenes Content For Social Media, The Risk Is Being Taken So In The Future My Friends & Family Are Taken Care Of. Thats Why I Take This Risk.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

First, For Those Who Don’t Know My Real Name Its Jalen. Im From The Southside Of Atlanta, Ga. Music Is Something That I Never Had Plans Of Doing , As A Kid I’ve Always Had Rhythm And I’ve Liked Music Of Course But Actually Making It Never. I Still Surprise Myself To This Day When I Make A Song. Most Of My Focus At The Moment Is Really Learning The Music Industry And Developing A Different Love And Respect For The Culture , Anbody Who Has Really Made It In Music Will Tell You Its Not All About The Money That Will Come , You Gotta Actually Respect The Game And Know What Your Getting Into And I’ve Been Learning That Well. I’m A Real Chill Dude Im Also A Sagittarius So I Think That Plays A Part. What Sets Me Apart From Others Is My Versatility And Knowledge. I Don’t Just Do Music I Can Do Everything , Need Me To Pick Up A Camera And Shoot Us A Video I Can Do That , Need Me To Sit In The Engineer Seat And Record Your Song For You I Can Do That , Im Willing To Play Whatever Role I Have To Play To Help Me & My Team Win. A Lot Of People Only Focus On Themselves , I’m Focused On Everybody Thats Around Me As Well. I’m Most Proud Of The Things That We Have Accomplished So Far In The Music Industry , With Me And My Having One Of The Best Dancing Songs For Females Out , We Didn’t Even Try Forreal. I Want Everybody To Know That I Don’t Just Make “Twerk” Music I Can Do All Genres , R&B , Hip Hop , Country , It Doesn’t Matter I Like To Showcase My Talents In All Fields Which I Will Be Doing More In The Upcoming Months. When Listening To My Music I Just Want Fans And People To Know That They Can Relate To Me Its Real Life Experiences Included In My Music And I Know Most Of Those I’m Not The Only One Who Experienced That. You Will Be Hearing The Name “41LilJay” More Often Stay Tuned For That!

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

For Me , Its People Actually Listening To My Music And Knowing The Lyrics , The Money And Notoriety Is Great But The Hard Part Is Actually Getting People To Listen And Care About What Your Saying , I’m Still Improving In That Field Myself But For The People That Currently Listen To My Music , Love My Music , Know The Words And Want To Hear More , I Get The Greatest Reward Out Of That It Makes Me Want To Keep Going No Matter The Outcome , And With Music You Need That Kind Of Reassurance Because Its So Many Ups And Downs Come With The Music Industry.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

I Feel Like The Best Kind Of Support Doesn’t Even Cost Money , All It Takes Is A Simple Repost On Social Media , A Like And Comment , Telling A Friend Or Family Member You Got A New Artist Or Black Entrepreneur That You Think They Should Check Out And I Feel Like The People Close To You Show The Least Support. So As A Society , What We Can Do Better Is Actually Wanting To See Other People Win. If You Can’t Give Free Support Thats All About Not Wanting To See That Person Win Or Thrive And I Think We Got To Do A Better Job On That.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/41liljay/
• Twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/41liljay_1
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/channel/UC4v6NdfZzza9gmFChNXSDJg

Image Credits
@kptheshooter_ @only1timeline @millshotem