{"id":177895,"date":"2021-03-10T12:17:13","date_gmt":"2021-03-10T04:17:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thehoneycombers.com\/hong-kong\/?p=177895"},"modified":"2024-11-20T19:38:24","modified_gmt":"2024-11-20T11:38:24","slug":"wesley-jamison-interview-rb-singer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thehoneycombers.com\/hong-kong\/wesley-jamison-interview-rb-singer\/","title":{"rendered":"R&B singer Wesley Jamison chats about his latest EP, embracing emotions, and his Engineering Degree"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hong Kong is jam-packed with musical talent. From the cult following behind My Little Airport<\/a>, to the haunting music of Life Was All Silence<\/a> and of course, who can ignore the shoegaze sensation Thud<\/a>? But one genre that has been slower to explode on the local scene (despite stalwarts like 24 Herbs) is hip hop\/R&B. Things are a changing though, and recently, we sat down with singer Wesley Jamison to find out about his path into music.<\/p>\n

Meet Wesley Jamison<\/h3>\n

My sit-down with Wesley Jamison was the first IRL interview since COVID. Over that year-that-we-shall-not-speak-of, I\u2019d been seeing more and more music pop up over Spotify and landing in my in-box from friends and music people about this guy from Paris who was creating songs they thought I\u2019d be into.<\/p>\n

Truth be told, I had already seen some of Jamison\u2019s work with local hip hop collective Xabitat, and my interest was piqued. After he dropped his EP: Going Through It in 2020, I knew that I needed to sit down with the 6-foot something gentle giant to find out more. Besides learning that he is an early-childhood teacher who shies away from the camera, what I also discovered was the deeply empathetic and thoughtful person behind the music.<\/p>\n

Engineering his future<\/h3>\n
\"Wesley
Wesley Jamison credits 90s American R&B artists as huge influences on his music<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After finishing his Masters Degree in Engineering, Wesley Jamison was on the hunt for jobs in Paris. A friend was talking about moving abroad, so he jumped on that opportunity and left for Hong Kong with no real plan.<\/p>\n

Growing up, his mother made a living as a singer, and had imparted on him the importance of a formal education. But those musical genes couldn\u2019t be suppressed, and it wasn\u2019t long after landing in HK that he started to meet people producing and making hip hop.<\/p>\n

\u201cMusic wasn\u2019t even on my mind when I came to Hong Kong, but then I met Kemikal Kris (@kemikalkris<\/a>) from Xabitat, and he needed someone for a hook, and I was like: yeah, I can try, and it worked,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n

It did more than work.<\/p>\n

Transforming into a musician<\/h3>\n

Influenced by 90s R&B stalwarts like Boyz II Men and Ginuwine, the genre had long been in Jamison\u2019s blood. Though his original foray into the local music scene broke with more rap stylings (and blonde dreads), it\u2019s clear that he is mos def a singer.<\/p>\n

Jamison explains: \u201cI like hip hop music in general, and when I first started writing stuff, it was naturally kind of rappish. I don\u2019t know why. But I actually always wanted to sing more than rap. So now I\u2019m really working on using my voice more with slower jams.\u201d<\/p>\n

Going Through It<\/h3>\n

Released in 2020, Going Through It is the name of the artist\u2019s first EP, am homage to family, the year of COVID, loss, and\u2013to an extent\u2013Hong Kong. The title track blends keys with heartfelt lyrics about the recent loss of his cousin. His ability to open up about such topics is both refreshing and inspirational.<\/p>\n