Destin Conrad didn't expect to release a jazz project so early in his career, let alone just a few months after releasing his debut album, “Love on Digital.”
The 25-year-old singer-songwriter, who made millions of people laugh on Vine as a preteen, entered the music industry as a fresh-faced R&B artist, following in the footsteps of artists he grew up listening to, like Brandy, Musiq Soulchild and Usher. Their first official EP “Colorway” (2021) and the slew of small projects that followed were melodic and honest meditations on love, lust, queer identity and simply having a good time.
But over the summer, Conrad found himself drawn to jazz, the genre he was introduced to in high school when he was enrolled in a jazz choir. She was inspired by all the greats and contemporary work of artists like Vanisha Gould, and decided it was time to put a slight spin on her own sound.
“I feel like it's always been in me,” Conrad says over Zoom during a day off from her second headlining tour in support of “Love on Digital.” “It's always been a tool that I never got around to using that I really knew I wanted to do.”
After a whirlwind two weeks in Los Angeles filled with studio sessions with some of his bucket-list collaborators like Gould, trumpeter Keyon Harrold and beloved L.A. saxophonist Terrace Martin, Conrad unveiled “Whimsy,” an 11-track alt-jazz detour. Rich in compositions tinged with sensual winks, live instrumentation (piano, trumpet section and drums) and a spoken word interlude by Bay Davis (reminiscent of Meshell Ndegeocello), “Whimsy” is a masterclass in following your own intuition and creating freely – a testament to its Cancer sun.
“I think it's some of my best work,” Conrad says, adding that it was the most fun to make, which is evident in tracks like “Whip,” a cheeky double entender about swapping places in the bedroom, and “A Lonely Detective,” which explores the life of a man living a double life. “I don't feel as connected to the things I've spent the most time on, but I really love “Whimsy.”
Conrad, who will perform at the Wiltern on Nov. 14, phoned in the day before the Grammy nominations were announced to talk about why he was nervous about releasing “Whimsy,” why he thinks jazz deserves more attention, and what he's still learning about being an artist in the digital age. Little did he know that the next morning he would receive his first solo Grammy nomination for progressive R&B album.
Now that your debut album, “Love on Digital,” has been out in the world for a few months and you've experienced fans yesnorthgramGiving it back to you at shows, how does it feel to look back on the journey of its release?
It's been amazing. I think it's made me want to release more music. I feel like this tour taught me a lot. While making this album, I had touring on my mind, so I'm really excited that it's being well received. Also, it's a little crazy that he published another project ago [few] months later but I'm glad to have such great fans who receive me in a good way.
Speaking of which, you guys turned around and released “Whimsy” in August. Can you talk about how that all came about and how your single “Wash U Away” inspired it?
I did most of it in a two-week span. I had “Wash U Away” and “Whip,” but they weren’t jazz songs. So I had “Wash U Away” on the fold for years (I think I did it in like 2021), but real musicians repeated it because before it was just a very simple beat. Then I did the rest in those two weeks. I also had “The W” with James Fauntleroy and Joyce Wrice, but same thing: it wasn't a jazz song. I knew I wanted to make a jazz album. I didn't know I was going to do it so soon after my debut album, but I was a little crazy and thought, “Why not?” But I'm really glad I did it because I feel like my fans really like that album and so do I. I think it's one of my best jobs actually. I don't feel as connected to the things I spent more time on, but it's something I'm very proud of.
Take me back to those two weeks in Los Angeles when you started working on this project. Was it summer time?
It was summer, yes. I live in Brooklyn now, so I thought, “I'm going to fly to Los Angeles and stay there for two weeks to do this project.” I told my managers, “Get me in touch with everyone. Here's my list of people I want to work with. Let's figure it out.” We flew with Vanisha Gould, who is one of my favorite jazz musicians. I was so excited that she was depressed. She is a jazz head. She was like, “What the fuck am I doing? Are they going to kidnap me? I'm just flying here to work with this random R&B singer.” But I'm so glad she came and we became best friends. The same with Terraza Martín. I've been a fan forever. He is the GOAT James [Fauntleroy]. All of these people I was very adamant about working with. And eventually I want to do other jazz. [project]. Maybe a “Whimsy 2” and just keeping that world alive because I feel like jazz is such a special genre that gets overlooked and it's something that I'm really passionate about. Especially because I was in jazz choir in high school and that taught me more about soul music and its origins and how there are so many synchronicities within other genres like gospel, and how R&B and all of them just relate to each other. I think it's really cool.
What was going on in your world when you started making “Whimsy”? Were you listening to a lot of jazz at that time?
Yes, I was listening to a lot of jazz music. I was listening to a lot of Vanisha Gould and I thought, “I need to make this jazz album.” I thought I was going to start and say, “I'm not done.” But I said, “No, I'm done. This is it. This is what I have to say.” But yes, I always listen to jazz. Like I said, I was in jazz choir in high school. My jazz instructor, Mr. O, recommended hella jazz to me. He showed me Frank Sinatra and all those jazz standards. I have videos that I will eventually show to the world when I perform in my Christmas jazz show. I feel like it's always been inside me. It's always been a tool I've never been able to use, but I knew I really wanted to. But like I said, I didn't know I would do it in two weeks and that it would be so fast. It was very fun to do. It's probably one of the most fun projects I've ever done.
You can definitely hear how much fun you had on songs like “Boredom” and “Lonely Detective.” I feel like jazz was once seen as a genre that older people listened to, but that has been changing in recent years. It seems to be becoming more popular with younger audiences. What do you think about this?
Personally, I don't think it's getting more popular. I would love to be a part of some kind of push to make it bigger and I feel like a lot of my fans are younger. I'd like to say in my head that I'm helping push the genre forward.
It's just not very prominent. There aren't many new jazz artists. If you look at the jazz charts, a lot of what's still on the charts is like Frank Sinatra. [and] Miles Davis. Laufey is one of the newer faces of jazz that I feel is taking him away from Robert Glasper. But I don't know. I feel like a lot of the jazz I listen to is old stuff. There are a very select few jazz artists that I say “Yes” to. Like Vanisha Gould, a perfect example. I'm obsessed with her. I think she's one of the most talented musicians I know, period.
How did you feel releasing “Whimsy”?“? Were you nervous about how people would receive it?
Mmmm I thought about it [but] What I really thought about were jazz directors. I thought people who were really crazy about jazz would be like, “This isn't fucking jazz,” because I consider it an alternative jazz album. I remember talking to Terrace. [Martin] about that because he's a jazz fan and he's also older than me and has been around longer. I was telling him [that] I feel like people are going to have something to say about it because it's not traditional and I'm not a trained musician. I don't know how to read music. I'm just going with me [gut]and he said, “That's why it's so fire. That's what makes people feel it.” He said, “I can see you're young and when I hear this, I hear a 25-year-old,” and I was like, “Tight.”
Basically, you've grown up online and in the public eye. How has that evolution shaped the way you see yourself as an artist and what have you learned about navigating visibility over the years?
I feel like it's an advantage. I always talk about it, especially with my artist friends. I was an Internet baby, so I have a slight advantage because I knew very early how it worked. I feel like I'm still learning how to promote my music because I know how to go on the internet and be an idiot all day. I can literally do that in my sleep, but being an idiot who knows how to promote his music is different. [laughs] So yeah, I'm still learning that. I used to think I was hurting myself because I was so afraid that people wouldn't take my music seriously. But no, I sure use it to my advantage.
We are at a time in music where it is common for artists to be open and proud of their identity and sexuality without feeling the need to use coded language. I think of artists like Frank Ocean, Steve Lacy and Durand Bernarr. Can you tell us why it is important for you to talk about your queerness?
I feel like I'm a pretty honest person overall. I try not to lie and feel like the only thing I can do is move on. Most of the time I try to write about my personal experiences and deal with men, so that's my truth. [laughs]. I also write from other perspectives, like things my friends tell me. I don't always write from my point of view, but when I do, it's about a man and that's all I can really do.
