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Actor Jharrel Jerome is officially picking up the microphone. In an exclusive premiere with Billboard, The When They See Us star drops off a fiery new single called “Chu Know,” the first preview off his upcoming mixtape More Than a Bronx Tale.
While Jerome has dabbled in rap over the years, things got serious this past year when he partnered with Feeture to make his hip-hop dreams come true. His debut tape, which drops Oct. 9, explores Jerome’s New York upbringing through raw penmanship and plenty of bars. Aided by beats from 6ix and Rob Knox, Jerome is also partnering with Feeture to help carve out his own lane in the rap game before the year is out.
“I’ve had a ton of moments, too many to count, where it is actually harder to find the right collaborator than making the music itself,” Jerome says in a statement to Billboard. “Especially collaborators who don’t believe jumping in with me is a risk. I know some other artists who are always jumping in with other people because they have a community, I’ve always wanted to plant myself in that community but it’s tricky. But then I put my pen to paper or I explain the stories I’m trying to tell and that when I get the collaborator on board.
“But that’s also tricky as well,” he continues. “I love when I can find a collaborator who off rip is just like, ‘Listen man, I don’t care about the music. I don’t care about the TV. I care about you, I care about your story. What is your story?’ Because that’s what feeds the artist in me. That’s what made me want to become a Feeture Artist Partner so I can identify collaborators who are as hungry as I am and are looking to change the game.”
Feeture CEO Jareiq JQ Kabara adds: “Jharrel is an extraordinary artist whose vision continues to shape the pulse of culture. He embodies the true power of collaboration, and we couldn’t be more excited to stand alongside him as he evolves.”
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