Jade Alexis Talks New Music & TikTok Domination

Last year you released two very different singles, “Toxic” and “My Bitch.” Was your goal to showcase your versatility or was that simply your creative path in 2021?

Yes, it was to showcase my versatility. One of my managers thought that it would be a good idea to release “My Bitch” first because rap is what's poppin’ right now. I released “My Bitch” in June, so it was hot girl summer! It was giving those vibes. When it gets cold outside, girls are trying to sing and be sad and stuff like that. That's when I released “Toxic.” I'm really more of a singer. I was never really a rapper. I wasn't really forced into it, but one of my managers had the idea for me to rap on a song just to see how I liked it. I ended up really liking it! I think it's fun, but it's not really what I intended to do. So that's why I call myself an “artist” because I don't really want to be called a rapper.

“Toxic” has this chugging instrumental that offers a really nice contrast to the sultry lyrics and vocal performance. Tell me a bit about building that track.

The big thing about “Toxic” is the meaning behind it. It's about a girl becoming toxic because she's having to protect her heart from heartbreak. All girls can understand where I'm coming from when I say that. You’re dealing with a guy, and he's been talking to you, but you’re trying to be the good one in the relationship. So, now you become one of the guys and treat the guy like you don't really care. And he's upset [laughs].

As for “My Bitch,” it’s a really lively club track that has echoes of 2000s Southern hip-hop. What was it like releasing such an energetic song when we were still making our way back outside after the pandemic’s peak?

It was actually really fun! It was actually supposed to be just my song, but the song is featuring TZ and Charlee Lynai. We were all in the studio, and I had recorded my first verse, and then they were like, “Oh my gosh, it'd be really cool if we got on this!” It just became this fire song. I really have hype energy all the time, so it doesn't really matter. To me, you can release hype songs whenever because you can always be lit.

Who would you consider your primary influences and inspirations?

I would have to say the biggest one is Beyoncé. I know every artist says that their biggest influence is Beyoncé, but it's because she's so versatile. She's grown so much, and I feel like the key to being a great artist is having all of the tools to become a great artist. Being able to perform well, dance well, sing well, rap well, etc. Most of the greatest artists are great performers and artists all around.

You have a couple of releases on the horizon. Let’s talk about “Blueface,” what story are you trying to tell with that single?

“Blueface” is more of a club-type song like “My Bitch.” It's just me on it, and it's really catchy. Once you listen to it once or twice, it’s gonna be stuck in your head.

Are there any plans for a music video or remixes?

Yes, we shot “Blueface” back in July. There are some edits and changes that we have to go through before the release because I like to release songs and videos at the same time.

Would you consider yourself a visual artist?

Yes, II love to create different types of music videos and stories. I don't like any of my videos to be just a boring basic video that everybody else has done. I like to put a lot of thought into it even when it comes down to the hair and makeup. I really like the visual part more than anything.

Who are your favorite music video directors?

Well, my music video director is honestly the main one. Her name is Chastity Corset. She is so good. She's like one of the best DMV video directors in the local area that I'm in. She's done music videos for a couple of good local artists. I love the work that she does, and all the creativity and ideas she comes up with to help me with my videos.

I like how much you’re tapped into the local scene. Is that something that's important to you? Trying to bring up fellow local talent as your own star rises?

Yes, because we're all the same. We're all in the same boat. I feel like everybody should help each other. We should all help each other reach the top.

We know that the album is on the way. So what can we expect to hear on the record in terms of sounds, producers, featured artists, etc.? What can you tell us?

Versatility is really the biggest key. In my personal opinion, I feel like I don't have one type of song. There's going to be versatility in how I can rap, I can sing, and I can make different types of music. And it's not all the same thing. Yeah, so that's really what we can expect. The producer will probably be TZ. I don’t have any word on features yet.

When will we learn the title of the album?

Right now [laughs]! Me vs. Me.

What's the inspiration behind that title?

There are two different sides to me. The singing side, the soft calm Jade who is just in her own bubble, and the rap side that's very outgoing and talkative and fun and bubbly.

You have almost 70,000 followers on TikTok or something crazy like that. What's it like navigating such a quickly evolving social media landscape and marketing yourself as an artist on that platform?

I love it. TikTok is my favorite app. The algorithm is different than Instagram, so it's definitely way easier to get followers and likes on there. It's so much fun because you get to follow the trends, start your own trends, and have TikTok famous girls like making TikToks to [your] song.

Literally, my first viral video was of me and my best friend getting our belly buttons pierced to a song by Britney Spears. It got almost a million views. My second video was just a funny video of like “when my boyfriend comes to the party, and he's not supposed to be at the party” type of video. I just posted a video that has 7 million views. It was of me getting my hair done, and it's like all over all the national hair pages because I was at the hair salon and it took me from 5 AM to 3 PM to leave the hair salon, and everybody's trying to figure out why I was there for so long.

How do you translate the audience from videos that don't directly pertain to your music to videos that do pertain to your music to actually streaming the music?

All of my biggest viral videos have my music playing in the background. The one that has 7 million views has “Toxic” playing in the background. I also put a snippet of one of the songs that I recently recorded in the studio and just asked TikTok if they liked it. It got like 100,000 views and everybody's like, “Oh my gosh, when are you going to drop it?!” So, I have a pretty good buzz with my music too.

Has there ever been a time when you felt like TikTok was not helping you?

Yes, actually, The TikTok algorithm doesn't care how many followers you have, it just depends on if the video is good. That's really the difference between TikTok and Instagram. I have almost 70k followers, but I can still get only 1,000 views on a video if it isn’t a good video. You just really have to try to post the best video that's gonna grab everyone's attention so they can put it on the For You page.

With your prowess on TikTok and your clothing brand, how did those two avenues of entrepreneurship fit in your overall vision for your career?

I feel like Gem Mafia is another avenue to help my career. I'm multitalented and I have a lot of things going on. I put on my Instagram story “if you had one word to describe me, what would it be?” People always say “Multitalented, you're not always doing one thing.”

In the next five years, I plan to have a way bigger fan base than I do now. My clothing brand is really the next thing is to look forward to. And then “Blueface” is releasing very soon. So those and also way more shows because I'm just getting into the live shows actually.

Jade’s new single, “Spell,” is out on all digital platforms tonight.