J.Drew is the first and youngest producer/songwriter signed to the Pharrell Williams imprint StarTrak. On his debut EP “Never Coming Back,” the Detroit native personifies the term “triple threat” by singing, writing, rapping and producing his way into your speakers. J.Drew comes from a strong lineage of talent, his mother Karen Clark Sheard is one-fourth of legendary gospel group The Clark Sisters. J.Drew’s controversial foray into secular music plays out every Sunday on the BET reality series “The Sheards”.
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Considered a prodigy – playing the drums, piano, bass along with other instruments –J. Drew began producing music for some of the industry’s most sought-after artists, landing major production deals, receiving several Grammy nominations and winning Dove and Stellar Awards concurrently. Check out J. Drew’s stats and why you should have him in heavy rotation in your iPod this summer.
Name: J.Drew
Age: 23
Hometown: Detroit
Who Are You Listening To: Kanye West, Jay-Z, Drake, A$AP Rocky and Kendrick Lamar
Musical Inspirations: Stevie Wonder, Jay-Z, Kanye West and Quincy Jones
Biggest break: I’ve actually had a few big moments that stick with me so far. Playing drums for The Clark Sisters was a great experience. The fact that they’re family and so heavily respected in music is a honor. I want to keep that legacy going, just in my own way. Signing with Pharrell as a producer in 2009 and signing my artist deal with Live TMG last year were also huge steps for my career.
Being able to step outside of what people expected was extremely important for me. The last would be doing the BET reality TV series “The Sheards”. I had a lot of fun and giving people a closer look at my family’s life hopefully inspired people in one way or another. Having those cameras around all the time was definitely an adjustment!
Biggest fear as a new artist: None
Name for your sound? I’ve been compared to Drake, The Weeknd, Frank Ocean just to name a few. I would describe the sound as Musical Chords meeting Trap Beats.
If you had two musical parents, dead or alive, who would they be? Karen Clark-Sheard, who actually happens to be my mom [laughs] and my dad [laughs]
Check Out J. Drew’s EP “Never Coming Back”:
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