This is Jackson Wang and you're checking out the Crucial podcast. Make sure to subscribe, like and share. Oh my god, is that Nico Bliss. I made a past again.
I got the rosy.
You cut the juice, playing time, never caring. I didn't even know what that means. I don't knife is great just sometimes you extra days trauma try got Okay, okay, that's fris Shore you roll dress now.
Dress real Day two three, Jackson Wang back on the croch.
Thank you so much?
What what?
How long has it been? It's like five years?
Five years? Thanks for having me back, crazy man. Thank you. We're intro by Nico Blitz there what yees intro? Really together for you man.
Crazy intro, the remix and the shirt. Thank you man, thank you you know what?
Thank you?
That's right?
Oh, thank you, thank you.
Thank you so much, so much. Thanks for having me back.
Love No, thanks for being here. We appreciate it always man. You know, our doors, our studio, the show is always open to you.
Man.
Thank you.
And do you have like an Asian show here?
No?
No, right now. So if this ship doesn't work out, let's go like, please hire me. I think I'm good at it to replace us, No, no, like an Asian an Asian show. Yeah, probably.
I think I'm the only Asian on the station in Filipino.
We can do something together.
Let's do it.
Yeah, right the East the East show? Yeah, come on now, what they're.
Saying, how high far east coast? Right? That'd be crazy? Man? Are your songs played on the radio back home?
What songs?
Your songs like the recent album? Yeah? Is it out?
Is it recorded? Is this live?
It's out by now right out Friday in Storts Friday? Okay, But it's your music played on the radio out there.
And Asia sometimes sometimes not not that often.
When it does or when it happens, is it like one of those moments, right, because when artists get their music played out here, it's a it's a movie. You got to put it on TikTok, you got to celebrate it.
Yeah, man. Sometimes my a lot of times my music play in shopping malls, like in pet stores. Yeah, which is great. Hey, why are you laughing at? Why are you laughing? Guys?
What you said? Come on now, it's why you said it. But hey, yode therapeutic you know for yeah? Yeah?
Yeah?
And cats?
Yeah, cats, it helps you know, I think The biggest flex is having your music played at like pet stores, malls, forever, twenty one.
Universal, it's universe than blessed and blessed.
No, yes you are man, magic Man too, magic Man to. The first one was in twenty twenty two, right, yes, so it's it's been some time, but there's been a lot of growth. You can tell in the music. The sound. It sounds really sound.
You listen to the entire thing.
We listen to a lot of it. Yeah, sank, thank you, thank you, appreciate it, thank you. Nico has the entire album.
Only Nico Asians Asians.
Man, it might be on a CD somewhere, but you know what I mean, Oh man, damn. But the evolution is there, right, there's growth there obviously, right, And it's very personal.
How so one hundred percent because I took a year off last year because I just needed to stop, you know, after like just ten years, more than ten years, you know, I felt like I didn't even have time to think.
You know.
It came down to a question where am I the Jackson Wang that people know of? Or am I who I think I am? You know, And I could even I couldn't even answer that, so I just needed to stop and start to give myself room, you know, give myself time to think, like what do I want to say as a person? And I realized a lot of the songs in the past that I released, what does that even mean to me as a person. For example, there's a song called one Hundred Ways. The first line
is like you turn over the hour glass. When I was recording that, I didn't even know what's an hour glass, you know, so I don't even know. Like so I'm like, hey, I need to stop this. Maybe it's time for me as an artist, you know, as a person to put out something that, you know, writing songs for myself, creating for myself, what do I want to say as a as a human.
As a creative. Was it tough to take a year off, did you? Yeah?
A lot of people around it. Yeah, a lot of people around me told me, especially my team, they're trying to convince me not to do it. In industry people, business people, they're like, you can't, you know, you're just going You're just going to disappear. And you know, with so many information every day, with social media's and stuff, you just gonna be forgotten. Right, But wow, Yeah, but I just felt like I needed that break. I needed that break to realize what my visions are and who am I.
You order to yourself, it's.
Good that you stood on business with that. I was like, no, I need this time, yeah, to rediscover myself.
It was hard. It was a hard conversation, and you know, a lot of partners kind of like, uh left, you know a lot of partners left because Yeah, but I think I had to go through this. That's why I took a year off, you know, started started writing journals, started writing things that, you know, just getting closer to myself, giving more time and effort to to my internal self, you know. So, and I think and this album is
all about how I feel about humanity and reality. And this is one of those albums that I feel like as an as a as an artist, I just needed it out there. And and after that, I can make like ear candy stuff. I can talk about lollipops, I can talk about whatever you know about. I can talk about your shirt is corruption, right, I can talk about Yeah, I can talk about anything. So I just needed this album out there.
Yeah. I think you needed it out of your heart, and you needed it out of your you know.
With taking like a year off and everything, is there something new that you discovered about yourself within the past year.
Yeah, a lot, Like for example, my family. There's one song about my parents. How I feel like, you know, as as as a kid, we never think about like we always think like our parents will figure everything out, you know, They're always there. That's that's why a lot of my friends just visit their parents only on Christmas or in like New Year Chinese New Year, and and we tend to always think that they're always going to
be there until it's too late. And also another thing where I feel like our parents and us, it feels like we're on the same street. They're just further up, you know. And you think when we were born, we always think like you think our parents they were ready to be mom and dad. They weren't ready. You know, they had dreams, they were no idea what they were doing exactly, and they probably was was like having parties,
you know. They they they they played around, they flirted around, you know, but when when they had us, everything changed for them, you know. So we we tend to not think about that a lot of times. And even in that year, I spent a lot of decent moments. It's quality time with my parents. That's why I chose to also live with them in China. Now, whoa, whoa, whoa whoa. Good.
Yeah, that's connection right there.
Man, it's important.
I don't know if I could, I don't know if I could live with my parents, But.
Your parents, I mean, it's it's good, uh honest, honestly, it's good. And and sometimes it's it's those moments that really triggers me when they slowly they start to behave like kids.
When they when they parent, right yeah, yeah, I.
Was just telling Crews that the other day, like we're raising our parents too now.
Yeah, And it feels it's super I feels super emotional. Like it's just the way that when they especially when my moms starts to be more and more like a princess, like you know, girly where because I always think of my mom like as a as a female warrior, you know. But then the more they age, you know, the way that they walk up the stairs, the way that they you know, like and I feel like, oh this is I gotta you know, protect and and and it's it's it's my turn to give back.
Yeah, yeah, I see my parents now and they're very playful with my kids. Never playful with us really, but that's because there was no time to be they were raising us. Now they have time to be playful, so they're making up for lost time or just yeah.
Yeah, that that's on the family side. And also, like the song Gbad, it Got to be a Dick is also like you know, obviously throughout the ten years and eleven years in this career, there's very good moments also
the bad moments. I wasn't ready. It felt like I was introduced to this jungle at an age of nineteen with I wasn't ready for it, you know, and after going through a lot of stuff, betrayal and this, and I just realized, you know, every single song has a message on hey, life is so great, so beautiful, but sometimes you really have to be a bad person, you know, to protect your.
Own bright you have to be song with that.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, So every single song is straight from my journal.
That's crazy made me a man? Can you break that down for.
Yeah, that's the last song of the album where it's whatever that ha happened. It's the conclusion of the album whatever that Happened to good and the bad. What's good without the bad. You know, sometimes good doesn't mean good, bad doesn't mean bad. But whatever it was, it's meant to happen. And at the end we just accept it and move on and and and it made me who I am today. And that's the story of that the last song.
Yeah, as man, I think there's several moments in life that make us men. Right. Of course, there's like the sexual component of it, but there's also definitely definitely right, but certainly certain levels.
No, no, no, I'm sorry, stop it. You could have told me that, you asshole. I mean.
No, no, no, no, no, no, no no.
Delete that delete that delete. We good, it's fair, man, my album is ruined.
He looks at Nico like you and me later on, we're gonna do it.
No, you're totally sorry.
We have a lot of fun on this show. It's uh. They fight all day on the air, they're on the same show, and they're they're engaged. They live together. You know, it's thank you an open book here.
It's a different thing when you can work with your partner.
Yeah.
Amazing, man, I'm fucking amazing.
I love it. I love it.
Yeah.
Yeah, so the album, man, it was all so magic Man to man to the artwork. Yeah, but the artwork, No, the artwork. Honestly, you were saying this off the air and hope you don't mind, But no, I.
Don't mind because a lot of people don't even understand. Your fans are not understanding a part of my UH supporters community, My fans do not understand this, Like why do you all always have to put like, since magic Man one, what what is the black makeup? With the dark makeup, the devil makeup? You know? And and this means magic Man means my internal self. The internal It's
just a name for that. And it's like today I meet you, I'm I'm engaging with you, but I don't know who that person is in your heart, you know. So that represents magic Man, represents my internal emotions. And it's a it's it's it's a thing that I kept avoiding for you know, a long time, because I'm I just didn't have time to think.
You know.
It's packed schedules, schedule after schedules. I didn't even have time for myself. That's why I always say I missed out a lot in my youth, you know. So, so I just had to you know, deal with it. And that's that's why I took a year off and and spend time and give love and and try to understand who who this person is?
So does that reflect a breakthrough?
It represents how I felt. I was all like, it's all wound, it's all like, yeah, I mean it's it's it's it's fucked up, you know. So that's who I felt inside, but I just didn't want to admit it.
Since you've come to that realization of like, Okay, I've been avoiding you know who I truly am, And like because you've had this life of just schedule after schedule, what do you do now that is for you that just.
Makes you happy? Now it's more like I think back then it was just like rapid fire and like it felt like machine gun, you know, But now it's more like simplicity. But like this direction that I'm going at, I go all the way I can focus and go all the.
Way I have.
It's about decisions, right It's it's I have choice choices right now. And I think the next route that I'm going I'm focusing on is just being a creative. You know, even a lot of partners and brands that I'm working with. It's not just as an ambassador where hey, this is the product, look at this product, look at this guess eight Like it's not It's not just that, it's like we have like deep relationship where I create the creatives
and I help them to shoot videos. I direct videos for brands, and also recently I just joined Nike Inc. Becoming one of their creatives for Nike and Jordan. So I'm also like getting ready prepping for the nixt ip that I'm going to do for them. It's immersive experience because I think like just globally, yeah, and I think I think it's to me, you know, this generation. I think people consume and buy stuff not because it's like you buy this shirt or buy this product, not because
of the fabric. It's you're buying a feeling, you know. And I think, yeah, yeah, it's like for example, the shirt or a Supreme shirt or a off white shirt. It's the feeling that you're buying, you know. And I think that comes with experience, the immersive experience, and that's
what I'm focusing on. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. L V. Cardier Hennessy that we all have deep relationship, right, now where whereas I at least, you know, the headquarters feels like, oh, we can maximize Jackson not just for photo shoots, but also be a part of the creative on some other projects. And that's what I'm working on, and I feel like that's my next next chapter for for me to really dig deep in and and focus on.
Yeah. No, it's great that they see not just as a face and a body, they see the creator.
That's nice too, But like what's next, what's more? Yeah, one hundred percent the genius for real? Big fan. Yeah, so this is brain works differently. There's a difference between an artist and a superstar and like a super brain. I feel like he's a super brain.
Yeah.
Yeah, it's like for real, you know, like everything that you touch, whether it's fashion, whether it's music, whether it's just you know, any product or even human race. You know, like everything that they touch, it's just there's something, there's a there's there's stepth in it.
Yeah. Crazy is that like when people question those kind of brains, right, and it's like we don't understand. We we have to trust their process and allow them to take us wherever they want to go.
Yeah, a big fan.
We shouldn't question it.
Next time if they visit, please tell them there's an Asian kid named Jackson wayang right there, Like, please teach me and let me be inspired, let me absorb.
You know.
Yeah, man, I want to talk about I didn't get the chance to hear not for me, but I do did get the chance to read the lyrics. How what's that sound like? What is the story behind that one?
Yeah?
Yeah, I think like I was saying, you know, I was, I was avoiding whoever that was inside me for a long time. And you know, during the process of that, I was just like I try to avoid with alcohol, you know, I try to avoid with just like putting more people around me, just living that lifestyle of like very corrupted, you know. And and and during that one year off, I realized, you know, I don't think this this this is for me. I don't feel like this life lifestyle is for me anymore.
That's definitely growth, though, because I feel like everybody goes through that at some point. Whether it's just like realizing that if you surround yourself with the right people, nothing else matters. If you sound surround yourself with the wrong people, nothing else matters.
Yeah, it's just super crazy during that experience where you know, verbally, you know, it wasn't even I felt like I wasn't even me and I was saying things. I was hurting people too verbally and I didn't even I forgot. I forgot what I said, you know was just uh bro Yeah yeah and uh a time that I don't want to revisit.
There is your buck is a vibe?
Man, Thanks man, nobody noticed. Nobody noticed, Like nobody noticed because like, yeah, it's just it, that's what it didn't hit. Yeah, but I loved it. I love it.
Yeah, No, that's a dope song, man.
Thank you for when you like have you know, your team obviously having their input into the songs that you're.
Thank you so much. That's my new song, right, that's my new song featuring featuring Nico.
In the interview.
When you have like your team also putting their input on like such an emotional album like this too, how hard are you finding to make sure that songs that you want.
Are on there?
I mean I'm the a n R. Like my team, I don't even have a manager. Yeah, it's only me and Troy.
This is team Wang.
Yeah, this is team Wang.
This is it.
Yeah, I feel like that's why. You know, when you work with a lot of artists, right, it's always like there's like millions of filters in the middle, like the management and who else, random people just coming in and like you can never reach the artist. But for my deals, like any collaborations, partnerships, you talk to me. Yeah, and I feel like, yeah, I feel like that's more. It's super tiring, but it is what it is because that's how much I care.
Yeah.
Yeah, control, But at the same time, like it's just more work I'm doing. I'm my own manager, you know, Like it feels like us too, we're just like taking on like what a company needs to do.
Yeah.
But also one other thing is we don't know who to hire, so yeah, like we don't know, like and the thing is, it's been like five six years already, and I feel like I maybe I need a label now, I need a label. I'm i'm I'm, I'm open for the market. I'm on sale, free agent, I'm on sale.
Guys, so bidding more starts now?
Yes, please please please? I need help now.
So you would you would like to sign to a major?
Yeah, well I am with eighty Rising, but eightie rising. It's more like it's more deep now because like I'm also one of the creators, you know, like and and we're doing other projects. Definitely not that shirt anymore, but yeah, I mean, like just a lot of stuff that we're doing, and it's it's also tied in with the Nike and Jordan stuff.
Is there a la that you have in mind?
I don't know, like whoever that's willing to accept me. It's just a it's just a deal, right, It's just a give and take and this is what I want. I just need to I just need arms and lakes and that's it, you know. The I feel like I'm confident in being a brain.
Let's get it, yo. Introverts get on your nerves.
Oh I love your research, bro. Thanks. They don't get on my nerves. But it's just I can't crazy.
You know.
I'm an extrovert. Obviously, if I talked to an an introvert, the entire conversation feels like I'm trying to like, yeah, come on, come on, come on. At the end of the day, I I'm just like, yeah, I don't enjoy as much, but I'm okay with it. I'm neutral. I'm neutral.
Yeah, I'm an introvert.
No, I don't think so. Yeah really yeah, deally what I said, just take it all. Fu man. Now I had this moment and I have fucked. My album is fucked.
No, no, it's not Magic Man too our Friday Jackson Wang. Appreciate you, dog all the time. Man, thank you for the time. We appreciate it. Let's get it. The Cruise Show, Real ninety two three.
The Cruise Show on Real ninety two three,