San Jose based musician Jesse Medina can hardly be classified into one genre, as he says his style is a “hybrid theory of sorts.” That couldn’t be more apparent on the his new track “In My Head,” which tells a psychedelic tale with ethereal, yet rhythmic, music to back his lyrics.
There was a time period where he was dabbling in substances, and while this part of his life is behind him, “In My Head” dives into the world of drug psychosis.
“I’m not in this state of mind anymore, but I love alternative music and poetry, and I figure even though this was something happening to me psychologically, I can put it into trippy, poetic form,” Medina said.
He sings:
“All my friends are in my head
Right where I want them to be,
Right here with me,
All my friends are in my head.”
“I say, it used to be so simple then, when everything was black and white,” Medina said referring to other lyrics in the track. “That means before I was losing my shit. I am communicating with these trees, and trees are alive, so it kind of came to this.”
During one of these experiences, his connection with the trees around him was palpable, and they are the friends he was referring to in the lyrics. The way he was seeing them was unlike what anyone else could see.
“Basically I’m just saying it is all in my head,” he said. “That is the whole sum of everything. And in actuality that’s really what it was. It was all in my head and wasn’t even real.”
While he was recording the song, a friend of Medina’s passed away. While “In My Head” isn’t about his friend per-say, he certainly put the passion and energy into the new track.
“This song embodied that emotion because I was going through it,” Medina said. “The emotional delivery part, and the music, are things I’m proud of.”
Medina works with Barry Bones, his producer, and guitarist Ronnie Steele, to put out a number that has a hypnotic, bassy rhythm that complements perfectly with the vibe of the lyrics and vocal expression.
“It came out kind of exactly how I imagined,” Medina said. “I’m really proud of it because I love alternative hip-hop, and it completely sums up the alternative part of hip-hop in my mind musically.
Medina grew up in the same neighborhood as Bones, and Steele is a buddy of his, who Medina said fits his style perfectly. The two of them also have the project Steele Bones, so their ability to jive together musically is clear.
When Medina hears the music, a lot of times the lyrics will just come to him. Other times he will piece lyrics together, and it might take two weeks to a month to polish up. He tries to go straight off the emotion of the beat, and sometimes he hears a cadence in his head. Other times he will have a concept that he’ll be able to mesh together with the cadence.
“Sometimes I’ll hear a song and it just immediately spills out, and other times I hear music and it’s not as quick,” Medina said. “It might come out just as good later, but sometimes the music is so good it just bleeds out of my head.”
Medina was born and raised in San Jose and spent most of his time in the San Francisco Bay Area. From a young age he was exposed to the his mother’s music including Prince, Rick James and Isley Brothers
“She showed me music early on, like cleaning the house, vacuuming,” Medina said. “But I was listening to rap and rock that was separate from her generation, but early on it was my mom’s music. I don’t know if maybe she was playing music for me as a baby, but it’s soothing.”
He started writing music when he was just 10-years-old, trying to emulate other artists, but then through the trials and tribulations of growing up, he began writing about his life. To this day, this is how he writes, saying it might just sound like a cool song but there is always something behind it.
“I just started writing and putting my life into music, and making it art,” he said. “Everything is basically about something. I’m not just randomly talking about nothing. It became like an outlet, like an open diary.”
He added, “Everything is cut and dry with me. One thing about me is that it will always be the truth.”
“In My Head” is the first single off his upcoming album titled Extrasensory Modes of Perception. This is a play off of a quote by author Napoleon Hill, and he said it relates to his style on the record.
“I have so many different things I’m doing on there, it’s just like different modes of perception,” Medina said.
On the horizon is a rap single called “No, Ma’am” featuring Q-Timer, which alludes to Al Bundy’s group in Married with Children. He plans to pump put more singles, leading up to the album’s full release within the next month.
Be sure to keep up with Jesse Medina and check out his new single “In My Head” available on all platforms.
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