Interview: Jester Jacobs
Joe ‘ Jester ’ Jacobs performing on Channel 4
London based rapper and stand-up comedian Joe Jacobs aka Jester Jacobs emerged as a lyricist over a decade ago, before pursuing comedy as a profession. His stand-up career highlights include performing on Channel 4, and he also received acclaim for creating a radio documentary called ‘Hip Hop Laughing Stock’ with DJ Maj Duckworth. Jester is currently set to release his third solo project, Grimefulness which is overseen on production by Shadow Player Records founder Formz. Out on Revorg Records in the coming weeks, Grimefulness contains features from UK hip-hop icon Sniff, Revorg founder Big Toast and Jester’s long-term affiliate & Moose Funk Squad member, Mnsr Frites. In anticipation for the release of Grimefulness, Jester agreed to reveal exclusive insight into his musical journey and upcoming projects, which includes a finished solo album with Jack Danz.
A comedian before he knew what emceeing was, from a young age Jester would use humour as a defence mechanism for what he describes as ‘very fucked up situations from early,’ developing a dark sense of humour which he was raised with. “I was a pretty troubled kid,” began Jester, reminiscing his upbringing. “I have got a pretty strange family, a lot of drug addicts, weird crooks and various lunatics, so from a young age I was always laughing at things that are objectively bleak.” After discovering rap music in his teenage years, Jester decided to move to Leeds between 2007/08, making the city his base whilst trying to blow up in the rap game. “But obviously it wasn't to be,” laughed Jester. “Leeds is a great city. I was finishing off the album around 2008 up in Leeds, then I stayed for another year making extra tunes and being a pizza delivery driver, smoking weed and listening to Ludacris.” Working alongside his close friend, a producer called Organised Mess, Jester was able to create his debut album, Mental Disorder which was released in December 2008. With only a handful of musical affiliations to call on, Jester wasn’t particularly inspired by people directly. Instead, he was driven by a passion for creating music which was original. “Do what you want to do and always enjoy the process,” said Jester, revealing what he learnt over the course of creating Mental Disorder. “Stay focused on what you want to achieve, because that is how the best starts are made.”
During this time, Jester made friends with a collective of emcees who had formed a live hip-hop group called Granville Sessions: Mnsr Frites, Luca Brazi and Archetype. Mnsr Frites would record in Organised Mess’s studio, which is how Jester became introduced to them. Over the following years, Jester would perform alongside Granville Sessions, before they decided to create a new live rap group called Moose Funk Squad. “Fourny P was still knocking about rhyming and Sugai was always our DJ,” recalled Jester. “We were on flyers as like, 'Granville Sessions emcees featuring Jester Jacobs and Fourny P' for ages, which is a fucking mouthful so eventually we just called ourselves Moose Funk Squad and started making tracks.” Over the course of 2014, Jester released three projects: Moose Funk Volume 1, The ‘Please Download My Mixtape & Purchase My Album’ mixtape, and Chicken Souped Up. Although over time each of these releases made a profit, the result of his work rate ultimately left Jester feeling uninspired. As well as this, Jester was suffering in the grips of various addictions which were affecting his mental well-being. “My second album Chicken Souped Up was made in the grips of drink and drug addiction, clinical depression, different studios,” confided Jester. “It is just a fucking mess - an audio recording of an artist in decline. Watch the video for Everyone’s Vanessa Feltzing and see what I mean.”
“I was always writing, always trying to make songs” continued Jester. “But I just couldn't really stay motivated musically, I was more interested in being a stand-up at this point. The solitude of stand up appealed. Other people can let you down. At least this way, any success or failure is on my own terms.” Although stand-up comedy and performing rap music are not world’s apart, Jester certainly found himself in more surreal scenarios through stand-up - from performing in car parks to cars, to performing for an audience of dogs. “I did a show in Amsterdam where a bodybuilder threatened to murder me. He wasn’t kicked out either, because he was too massive. I used to do gigs next to an old people’s home. The old boys heckled me for the duration of the show, I walked them all back to their flats after it ended,” laughed Jester. “It never ends man, it is all crazy. The degradation of a comedian is consistent.” Recently, Jester began hosting his own comedy rap nights in Soho, London - Comedy Bars, where he brings his two favourite art forms together. Although at the time of writing Comedy Bars had only done three shows, Jester revealed they already had their fair share of drama. “After the second show, I had an email from the venue saying, 'We have had reports of vandalism, threats to staff, open drug use and a print was stolen out of the toilets.'” sighed Jester. “You don't usually get that at regular comedy shows, so we are trying to work on increasing our great audience while rooting out the fledgling art thieves.”
Following his hiatus from rap to focus more on stand-up, around 2017 Jester became introduced to a producer known as Formz at a gig in Finsbury Park. After their first conversation, they decided to try and record some tunes. “We were at Sumgii's studio I believe,” reminisced Jester. “I did a couple tracks with him, but it just wasn't happening. I felt like everything I was doing was derivative and shit.” At the same time, Jester struggled to adapt to Formz’s unique production style, which doesn’t follow typical hip-hop conventions. “He is actually quite hard to write to and it's weird to get in that mind-state,” continued Jester. “So I didn't see how it was going to work because mentally I was a mess.” To make matters worse, Formz was used to working in the moment during long late-night sessions, which Jester wasn’t accustomed to. “I like to be sensed up and just work on it for a while, show up and just get it done. Formz likes to have about 4 cups of tea, 3 spliffs and 7 moans before he starts making bangers.”
‘Pre order my new album and get your exclusive scented candle…’
Nonetheless, off the back of those sessions and a batch of tunes, a single track survived which both artists decided would become the first track on their State Of The Art EP. “That was the only one that I thought was quite interesting,” said Jester. “Because that marked the change in style. I wanted to make a trap sounding album for a laugh. I always knew that.” That single is called Thick, which Jester felt was a nice document of that time-frame. But with regards to the other music they made, Jester believed it was ‘rubbish’ - “Formz wasn’t feeling it,” added Jester. “So yeah, we didn't really do much. Maybe a year or two passed, then around 2018 I started linking him and making more music - we made about 30/40 songs before finishing up this album.” Their upcoming album, Grimefulness only features 10 tracks. This is partly due to Jester wishing to make a very specific type of record, whilst Formz was naturally strict in not putting out any music he wasn’t feeling himself. The State Of The Art EP was an accumulation of songs which followed a theme surrounding digital alienation, as Jester raps about toxic masculinity, good email practice and pornography addiction amongst many more subjects. “It wouldn't have fit with the album,” explained Jester. “So I put the State Of The Art EP out as a separate, throwaway project and to show that we were back at it as well.” The Grimefulness album has been ready since 2018, however Jester has been preparing a proper release since, which is yet to be confirmed. “Everything is done,” confirmed Jester. “We have got records, tapes, scented candles and CD's ready to go.”
From there, the conversation led into Jester’s inspiration for the album title, Grimefulness. He explained that whilst writing his first album, Mental Disorder, he was still in the grips of undiagnosed mental health issues, which caused him drug and relationship problems. “Then by the time the second album is done, I am probably in an even worse place,” confided Jester. “All the worst aspects of my personality had continued. By the time the second album is out there, I am in the grips of a lot of bad shit and I am not in a happy place.” Jester then revealed that the process of creating his third album, Grimefulness, was when he began to get back on track by making efforts to look after himself and the people around him more often. “So, it is that duality,” continued Jester. “I am more mindful but I am still a grimey guy at the end of the day - some things never change. The Grimefulness album I think is me writing at the best of my abilities with the clearest head, so that’s the theme – self-care rather than self-destruction. I didn’t anticipate a global pandemic either so that adds some jeopardy into the mix. It makes some of the album themes more relevant.”
The details of his experiences were initially heart-breaking to hear, however they became motivational after Jester explained how he essentially flipped the script on his addictions. After being thanked for his honesty, Jester was asked if he had any advice for people who were struggling with similar problems that may read this article. “If you are struggling with addiction or mental health issues, the best thing is speak to people and seek help,” replied Jester. “Don't try and self medicate, there is no chemical solution to a spiritual issue. Don't be afraid to speak to professionals, speak to people that you trust - because there is a way out of all of it, but it does start with you.”
Although Jester’s earlier music which was full of self-depreciative satire still remains, he uses Grimefulness to also make some suggestions which instead could help benefit a listener’s mental well-being. One such song is called ‘Pills,’ which is a take on rappers who boast about abusing pharmaceuticals, Percocet and Lean. “The song 'Pills' is in that style,” explained Jester, “But it is talking about SSRI's and antidepressants - getting hooked on the right kind of pills, sorting yourself out, the unfortunate side-effects of those and how it can save you. The song sounds corny, but it works.” More enticing features of the project include collaborations with UK rap icon Sniff and Revorg Records founder Big Toast, as well as a verse from his Moose Funk affiliate Mnsr Frites. “We have also got a Sumgii remix on the vinyl,” added Jester. “Which is an exclusive track on the vinyl only. He is one of my favourite producers and picky, so that was a result.” At the time of writing, a release date for Grimefulness hadn’t been set in stone, however Jester revealed he hoped to drop it around September. “I have never had to do such a disorganised album roll-out in my life,” groaned Jester. “But hopefully it will be worth it. There is a single, I’m A Man with a video out now - Honey JD on the video - and there are two more coming.”
The news that Grimefulness was set for release on Revorg Records was somewhat surprising - some may have assumed it would be released on Formz’s own Shadow Player label, considering that Formz produces the project entirely. During the COVID lockdown, Jester caught up with an old friend, Revorg’s founder The Strange Neighbour, who spoke about releasing on the label. “I just shouted them and asked if they could put it out for us,” recalled Jester. “They said fuck yeah and it’s been very straight-forward and simple. It was great because without the label, the album probably would have been download only.”
“I have also got another album coming out on Revorg that I did over lockdown with Jack Danz,” added Jester. “That is all finished.” Jack Danz is a world renowned rapper and producer from Leeds, who put his city on the map alongside his homegrown Defenders Of Style collective. Jester last saw Danz around 2008, when they were put against each other in a live rap battle contest final. “Then all these years later, in 2020, we made an album together and it is fucking banging,” beamed Jester. “I wrote it during the lockdown, I was smoking myself stupid just writing the craziest shit.” Covid was devastating for artists world-wide, Jester felt the impacts after being stripped of live gigs and effectively becoming unemployed. “Everything I had was taken away from me,” sighed Jester. “All I had were these absolutely disgraceful beats that he was sending me, so I was just writing in isolation. Most of the songs were done in one take too, for the rawness and energy. I wanted to make an album that was kind of like that Slim Shady LP era/style - just quotables and shit that makes you want to rewind. I didn't want to have concepts, there are no concepts and no features.”
Working with producers such as Formz, Sumgii and Jack Danz puts Jester in an enviable position for most UK rappers, however were there any producers he hadn’t met yet that he would like to work with? “I would love to do anything with The Purist, that guy is a genius,” replied Jester. “I also want to work with Chemo / Forest DLG. I ask him every few months to make a project, just wearing him down. He’ll crack eventually.”
Jester Jacobs, thank you for your time.
Words by Evo
Pre-order Jester Jacobs x Formz - ‘Grimefulness’ LP - HERE