Jean~Baptiste is a Haitian American hip-hop artist from Worcester, Massachusetts (Tampa Bay-based), known for his introspective songwriting style. He grew up listening to a variety of influential artists, such as Notorious BIG, A Tribe Called Quest, and Wu-Tang Clan. At the same time, growing up through the eras of Kanye West & The Neptunes and then the blog and mixtape era to discover artists such as J Cole, Mac Miller, Dom Kennedy, Kendrick Lamar, and Tyler, the Creator. You can hear all of these influences through his work.
While he grew up an avid hip-hop fan, making music wasn’t in the cards for Jean~Baptiste. After graduating college, he moved to Saint Petersburg, Florida, looking to focus on his career and settle down. It wasn’t until a series of humbling experiences that it seemed that he lost everything that he reunited with his first love, music. Slowly, he began to write music again and build a network. Before you knew it, he was booking studio sessions and releasing music. From there, he began hosting and performing shows.
Jean~Baptiste approaches nostalgic hip-hop with a forward-thinking headspace, lending to the grey area between eras the artist calls home. On his new single, “Maybe Next Year,” Baptiste seamlessly blends modern tropes with 90’s tendencies to create a fuzzy, head-nodding anthem. While the lyrics lean to the auto-biographical side, the artist can keep the writing relatable. Rather than focusing on his world, Jean~Baptiste’s empathy makes for touching poetry. He delivers these words with a smooth flow that would come off as villainous if it weren’t for the uplifting songwriting. The plush vocal samples and droning elements of the arrangement soften the venomous cadence of the artist, allowing every moment and emotion that went into the song to become palpable. “Maybe Next Year” is the storm cloud and the sun that breaks it apart. Jean~Baptiste’s new single introduces the artist as a refreshingly deep writer whose passion and prowess echo long after the song ends.
“‘Maybe Next Year’ isn’t just a song; it’s a mindset. It’s accepting responsibility for where I have gone wrong and a promise to myself to be better,” explains Jean~Baptise.
