Jesse Boykins III
New York City, New York, United States
Music
Press
There’s a healthy mix of confidence and tenderness with a voice to back up each emotion on The Beauty Created. On his debut full-length, Boykins isn’t priding himself on treading new lyrical ground, but his familiar path sounds better than anybody doing it right now. It’s classic without the worn vintage edges, contemporary without trying to keep pace with teenyboppers singing grown man love songs. Boykins subtly, and convincingly, channels the Christopher Williams and Al B. Sure era using his simplicity as a weapon to remind listeners of the power of good R&B.
“Amorous” evoked a strong reaction for two very different reasons. Boykins’ voice is a perfect blend of charm and longing and the touch of humility is a welcome change (“She was way too fly for me, but of course I did approach…”), but the mispronunciation of the titular word for the sake of rhyme is a little unforgivable. Not like this nitpicky detail lessens the overall appeal of the track, but any fans of the Queen’s English may find it more than a little distracting.
Elsewhere, The Beauty Created pulsates with a sultry energy that makes all of Boykins’ declarations sound fresh and new on songs like “Itis” and “Pantyhose.” Boykins uses a trippy, choppy effect on the seductive “Connected” featuring Brooklyn underground scenester Theophilus London. Right around “Chanel,” the album gets too silky smooth for its own good, but by then there’s only one song left and you’re rewarded with two dope remixes of “Tabloids” (my preference is the Machine Drum mix, but the Melo X Remix gets all house-y on you, so you gotta love that). Instead of a bunch of over-conceived, undercooked pulp, Boykins stays true to the roots of soul and exceeds expectation with a genre-defying, reinvigorating album.
- okayplayer.
The E.P. by local artist by way of Chicago, Jamaica and Miami, Jesse Boykins III is 23 minutes and 7 seconds of soul brilliance. This album entitled Dopamine: My Life On My Back is the sharing of a very personal experience. Jesse bears his soul in all its dualistic realities. The album is a paradox of being raw and polished…insightful and idiomatic…sweet and dirty…and I was left wanting more.
Jesse Boykins III is more than a great singer and songwriter, he produced, mixed and engineered all songs on the album which was put together seamlessly. His versatile voice transitions between butter smooth, grimy grit and flawless falsetto and his compositions are tight. The musicians that collaborated on this EP are phenomenal and compliment Jesse’s vocal arrangements perfectly. There are few albums I can listen to without skipping at least one track and this one has made that list. My favorite track is “Tabloids,” which is a mellow groove with a drum rhythm that rolls the hips unconsciously and showcases Jesse’s incredible vocal range and control.
Jesse’s lyrics highlight the correlation between love and addiction. The EP takes you on a journey of love and love lost and inspires you to close your eyes and let the grooves naturally sway you. Featured on the EP are New Jersey Hip Hop artist J.A.M.E.S Watts and Washington D.C. Spoken Word artist Jade Foster, who increase the intensity of the album with their emblematic messages and captivating deliveries.
Jesse Boykins III is often compared to artists like Bilal, Musiq Soulchild and Eric Roberson, although his sound and style are all his own. This album is staying in my rotation and my only disappointment was the brief nature of an EP cause I really couldn’t get enough…luckily Jesse has his full length album My Notebook and I ready and waiting for eager ears.
- okayplayer.
No one has more swoon-worthy finesse than Jesse Boykins III. With his breathy intonations, boyish hustle and collaborations with artists like Melo-X and Theophilus London; he's making noise in a soul music scene aching for something classic and new. In an age where vocals course through vocoders and double-clicks rule the DJ booth, Boykin's New School-bred production and arrangement skills are both novel and necessary. His second album The Beauty Created is awash in richly textured instrumentation and driven by Jesse's lyrical adoration of a woman's quirks. Giant Step spoke with the Miami native about '90s boy bands, working out with Bilal and, of course, the fairer sex. - Giantstep
I betcha the dude driving the other half of Fort Greene crazy is Jesse Boykins III. He performed for his birthday at Rehab and golly gee, were the chicks gone over that fella. He hit the stage with a couple covers (J. Dilla's version of "Think Twice," Andre 3000 "Prototype") and a few songs like "Pantyhose" and "Tabloids" from his albums The Beauty Created and Dopamine. I've never seen such a ridiculous cross-section of grown ass women lose their minds over a guy standing on a raised platform with a mic. There were suited-up corporate women, downtown girls with side ponytails and bamboo earrings, Midtown fashionista people all raising their voices in lust for Jesse. Like the second-coming of Maxwell, D'Angelo and Bobby Brown, girls would jump on stage, jiggle body parts and thank Jesse for the experience. He's like the neo-soul version of Superman with the ability to drop panties with a single note. One thing I did hear from several audience members, many of them newcomers to his sound, was that it was a quality show. His trumpeter was especially nasty. However, I would suggest all ladies attending a Jesse show to come armed with smelling salts.
- Giantstep
main feature at www.vimby.com
Jesse Boykins III
NEW YORK - Take a stroll with Jesse Boykins III as he gives a tour of his home, talks about recording in the studio, and how he's going to be sponsored by Goya. www.jbiiimusic.com
- VIMBY
Discography
Dopamine: My Life on My Back (©2008)
My Life On My Back ft. J.A.M.E.S Watts (J. Boykins III)
Tabloids (J. Boykins III)
Sounds Like Love (J. Boykins III)
Baby I Don't Know (J. Boykins III)
The Sea (J. Boykins III)
Sobriety (J. Boykins III)
Think (J. Boykins III)
All (Outro) (J. Boykins III)
The Beauty Created (©2008)
Intro
Fever (J. Boykins III, J. Most)
Amorous (J. Boykins III, A. Coleman II, J. Most)
Come to My Room (J. Boykins III, S. Wyreman)
Whispers (J. Boykins III, S. Wyreman)
Shine (J. Boykins III, S. Wyreman)
Trust ( J. Boykins III , B. Wajdowicz , R. Del Fiero )
Victoria (J.Boykins III, M. Ross III, D. Moran)
Pantyhose (J.Boykins III, M. Ross III, D. Moran)
Itis (J.Boykins, S. Mckie, T. Witfield)
Sunstar(J. Boykins III, S. Wyreman)
Loopy (J. Boykins III, H. Blatt)
Connected (J.Boykins III, Afta-1 )
Chanel (J. Boykins III, H. Blatt)
Be All Truth (J.Boykins III, S. Wyreman)
Tabloids- Machine Drum Remix (J. Boykins III)
Tabloids- Melo-X House Remix (J. Boykins III)
Photos
Bio
Jesse was born in Chicago February 20, 1985. As a toddler Jesse moved to Kingston Jamaica where he spent most of his childhood and later to Miami where he integrated the strict family values instilled in him with an adoration of music and began a journey to create what would ultimately become the Jesse Boykins III brand.
Throughout his childhood in Jamaica and Miami, Jesse spent most of his time outside of school learning valuable life lessons from his family. His aunts and uncles taught him the value of setting goals for himself; his grandmother a respect for spirituality; and his mother a sense of passion and the importance of staying dedicated and focused in order to reach them.
It was in 4th grade that Jesse began writing music. He’d pick up on everyday sounds that most people would fail to notice and use them as fuel to create melodies and write songs which he would record on his Karaoke machine. It was around this time that he realized a desperate hunger to discover music other than what he was hearing on the radio which until then had been his main source of musical inspiration. He had heard of Stevie Wonder, Donny Hathaway, Marvin Gaye, Jimmy Cliff, The Beatles and plenty of other soul artists but it wasn’t something that he was exposed to in his everyday life. He used the internet to discover these artists and learned from them how to create depth in his lyrics. He studied their use of metaphor and imagery, examined how they used these techniques to create stories and worked these methods into his own personal style. In high school he and three friends formed a boy band called Perfect Gentlemen. The group toured local junior high schools and Jesse began developing his performing skills. Soon Jesse found himself recording with The Grammy Jazz ensemble and was recruited to attend school at The New School University in New York.
While at The New School, school Jesse perfected his skills as a writer, performer, arranger and producer and as a vocalist. He also studied with classical trainer Kamal Scott and Universal recording artist Bilal. Fueled by passion he began experimenting with various genres of music. He created bonds with other talented and dedicated musicians and formed his supporting band, The Beauty Created.
After graduation Jesse turned full focus on creating the Jesse Boykins III brand. He continued recording and began distributing music and videos, creating limited edition merchandise and touring all while maintaining a consistent brand look and feel. With a handpicked, dedicated team within less than a year he was able to self-release two albums and build a loyal fan base. With his first official video release Tabloids he achieved worldwide recognition and charted at 2 on the Billboard Video Monitor. At only 23 years old, in addition to his released music his extensive catalog spans all genres from R&B to rock. As an artist Jesse Boykins III works daily creating music for the sake of music that captures the ear and souls of his listeners.
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