Whats your name? Where are you from? My name is Jordan Melvin and I’m from Fayetteville, North Carolina.
Where did you get the name Gatsby and why? I got the name Gatsby from the classic novel. I chose it because I really feel like I resonate with the character Jay Gatsby. The way people know of him but don’t know him really inspired me to embrace my very solitary lifestyle. Makes me see myself more as a rarity than just someone who prefers to not be around people.
Who introduced you to music how did you get into making music? I’ve always been very into music. For as long as I can remember I’ve really been into artists to the point of knowing their history and all the lyrics to my favorite’s music like the back of my hand. I’ve always geeked out on things like lyricism, flow, content, and production. I got into music my freshman year of college at Malone University. I was feeling very lost then I turned to music to get me through a lot of things. I discovered “GarageBand” and “Logic Pro X” on my MacBook and I started making beats from scratch. After failing to find someone I felt good enough to rap on a beat I felt I worked hard on, I decided to try the pen myself. What I discovered is that I’m truly something the world has never heard before.
Who are are your biggest inspirations? I honestly have a few big inspirations honestly! I embrace my black a lot so Pro-Black artistes have always peaked my interest. My favorite musical inspiration range from Mos def to Jay Z to Outkast to Mob Deep to UGK to A Tribe Called Quest to Tupac to Biggie Smalls to Raekwon to J. Cole, and Kendrick Lamar. My other side of inspiration is focusing on the quality of music meaning the production and true sound of it, to which my biggest inspiration are Kanye West, Pharrell Willams, MF Doom, Metro Boomin, Young Thug, Travis Scott, Mike Dean, Wondagurl, and Pi’errebourne.
When did you get the idea for the album and why “Currently Untitled?” Honestly, in the effort of finding a name for the album I simply went with something that I felt like truly described how I felt about the time or chapter that I am currently in my life. Often times chapters or titles to concept or time frames are titled but for a while now I’ve been feeling that I can’t name the chapter in my life that I am currently in. I also picked a name because I felt like a lot of people my age and even younger or older crowd relates to the acceptance of not really knowing where you are in life or how fast you’re going or even what direction you’re going in and simply being content with the fact that things are kind of up in the air or “Currently Untitled.”
What was your favorite song on the album? and why? My favorite song is honestly a two-way tie between “Cindereefa” and “Close Curtains.” It’s a tie between these two songs because “Cindereefa” is genuinely the first song I’ve ever felt was complete. Leaving the studio session for the final time with the final track of that song made me feel official with my musical artistry. “Close Curtains” makes it difficult to give “Cindereefa” the unanimous vote of my favorite song from the album because of how much of a piece of me I put into that song. I always try to implement raw emotion into my music so that it is easier to replay on the concept that people are listening more so for the reason of learning about me, about themselves, or even getting through any problem or tribulations that they may be currently going through at that moment.
Tell me about your future goals and when do you think you will you feel fully satisfied? I personally believe that I can’t stop making music until I’m recognized as the greatest to ever put pen to paper. As far as my future goals it will always be to progress in my artistry in terms of lyrical ability of course but also getting better at the art of putting raw emotion into music so seamlessly as I’ve been doing it. I’m honestly always satisfied with my music because I have set a standard, I feel like I’ve found my sound and I never really cut corners with my music at all because that would require me to do something that would make feel as if I’m cheating my way out of my standard quality. What I truly want is not to be satisfied with my music it’s to be satisfied with the life I’ve made in which I can make the amount of money that I can live off of while simply making music which is what I feel like I was put on this earth to do. As long as I am changing the world for the better through my music, I’ll always feel satisfied with my music.
Who are your role models? Some role models I look up to are the ones that display extreme confidence, next-level creativity, and supreme artistry. Jay-Z is a big role model for me. Given the fact that I’m very Pro-Black, HOV is really the diamond in the rough for me. Our stories relate as he came from the Marcy Projects and me coming from Dreamville, we both come from places that are kinda “crabs in a bucket.” I can confidently say that HOV is the biggest motivator for my hustle characteristic. Listening to his music and knowing his story makes me feel like I can achieve anything through perseverance. Another role model is Tupac because I feel like through Raekwon, he made poetry in rapping legitimate. The way he sewed messages and emotions into his most notable tracks such as “Brenda’s Got a Baby” or how he paints such a vivid picture of a SoCal lifestlye with “California Love.” Another few role models I always respect as who I feel are truly the best to ever do it are Lil Wayne, Mos Def, and Andre 3000.
Top 5 artist right now? My top 5 artist right now would have to be Kanye West, Jay-Z, Lil Wayne, and Travis Scott. Honorable mentions to J.Cole and Kendrick Lamar.
Last words and thoughts for your fans and the new ones coming? To my fans and future believers I wanna thank you for turning my dreams into a realities by giving me your time. The energy you give me makes every moment of my struggles worth it.
The Musical Hippie 