New Artist Spotlight: Jared Evan
February 16, 2017
It can take a whole lifetime for someone to find their purpose, but, in rare instances, some people are born with it. Jared Evan, a pop/hip-hop artist, was born with a passion for music, which he has since developed into a thriving career. Evan has experience working in the studio with major artists such as Pharrell, Dr. Dre, collaborations with Pharrell and Hoodie Allen, and has even written songs for Rihanna, Eminem, and Kanye West. In November, Evan released his first official album The Blanket Truth. The album is a 10-track testament to Evan’s life so far that highlights Evan’s strengths as an artist.
Evan was signed to Interscope Records in 2009 and left two years later in 2011. The label worked with Evan to push out hit single “In Love With You,” played during the end of an episode of Entourage and charting on Billboard. The music video has reached over 10 million views on his official VEVO channel, but Evan didn’t find this success fulfilling: “It was a manufactured thing,” Evan explained. “I didn’t have a cult following then, so I was relying on the label to make me a fan base, but if I put that song out now with those people who know me… they would be very confused.”
The Blanket Truth is an introspective album that perfectly captures Evan’s style, which he describes as “introspective poetry that incorporates pop and old hip-hop sensibilities.” Evan’s lyrics are intimate and accessible for people of all ages – they are “the same things [Evan] would say in conversation… There’s a song [on the album called] ‘Big Brother’ which has the line ‘I remember when I stole stuff from your room,’ and I would say that… They’re not forced… You want to approach it like you’re rapping– you can almost write a rap rhyme but sing it, and if you have the same wittiness and cleverness in songwriting, that’s what makes your stuff poetic.”
“Big Brother” is Evan’s favorite track from The Blanket Truth. The song is an open letter to his older brother. An infectious beat, honest lyrics, and Evan’s soulful voice come together on the track and create a beautiful tribute.
“But you gave me the light it’s shining in my hand/I could die if I knew that I could be just like you.”
This approach to songwriting has earned Evan opportunities that he never would have imagined. Evan was called into the studio to write with Dr. Dre in 2010 when Dre was working on his album Detox. “A lot of people don’t know about my past in general or that [this event] happened, but I can live peacefully now… I was in the vocal booth in front of Dre as he was tracking me for like 6 hours… I’ve been with him multiple times, but nothing could ever replace that moment.”
After all of Evan’s success, he still identifies as Charlie Brown, the awkward protagonist of the Peanuts cartoons who is constantly fighting his strokes of bad luck. He makes this parallel with the song “Charlie Brown” from his EP, The 4th Chapter. Evan’s humble beginnings of being an outcast and causing trouble in school shaped him into the earnest, hard working artist he is today.
Evan continues to honor his past on The Blanket Truth. The concept came from the 2004 cult classic I Heart Huckabees, starring Dustin Hoffman, Mark Wahlberg, Jonah Hill, and Jason Schwartzman, among others. Evan watched the film and found that one scene in particular resonated with him:
There’s a scene where Dustin Hoffman is explaining to Jason Schwartzman that random things seem to not have a connection but they do. He’s holding up a blanket and says that we’re just on this spinning globe in space, with tons of other galaxies – billions – that everything happens for a reason. Instead of calling the album Everything Happens for A Reason, I called it The Blanket Truth. It’s a metaphor… It’s me talking to my past self, and it’s kind of philosophical.
— Jared Evan
“There’s a scene where Dustin Hoffman is explaining to Jason Schwartzman that random things seem to not have a connection but they do. He’s holding up a blanket and says that we’re just on this spinning globe in space, with tons of other galaxies – billions – that everything happens for a reason. Instead of calling the album Everything Happens for A Reason, I called it The Blanket Truth. It’s a metaphor… It’s me talking to my past self, and it’s kind of philosophical.”
“We’re just at a time where the Internet is so big,” Evan continued, “and there’s no way to hide who you are… I think it’s cooler to show people I’m not truly cool. I’m not the badass, cool dude that gets all the girls. I’m Charlie Brown. Be who you are, be honest. The truth will set people free, you know? The Blanket Truth is my way of showing that. The truth will set you free.”
Follow Jared Evan on Twitter and SoundCloud @JaredEvan