Jordan Adetunji’s dizzying run of success is now guaranteed to continue into 2025 thanks to the release of his second project A Jaguar’s Dream. The 10-track grants a home to his breakout hit song “Kehlani” which arrived last summer and was elevated by a later remix with Kehlani herself. Adetunji’s life quickly turned into a dream-come-true as the Belfast-bred singer seemingly checked off achievements at a daily rate. He’d make is debut on the Billboard Hot 100 charts with “Kehlani,” a record that also gave him his first Grammy nomination for the upcoming award show next month. Adetunji also joined Kehlani on last summer’s Crash Tour where he performed in large venues like Brooklyn’s Barclays Center where I personally saw him perform live for the first time.
A Jaguar’s Dream is the recognition of one’s growing dominance and their ability to make their fantasies a reality. That’s what the past six months have been for Adetunji and it seems like he’s headed for higher grounds thanks to the project which boasts features from Lil Baby and Bryson Tiller in addition to Kehlani. “A Jaguar’s Dream is an entry into my love life and my world of thoughts through sound and emotion,” Adetunji says about the project. “A real manifestation of my dreams I wish to make reality.”
With the project’s release today, Uproxx caught with Adetunji to discuss A Jaguar’s Dream, how Bryson Tiller surprised him, the Grammys, TikTok, much more.
You described A Jaguar’s Dream as an entrance into your love life. What story do you hope listeners take away once they get through these songs?
[I hope] they take away reality as it is. With situations, love, [and] lust, I feel like you will take the raw feeling from it. I’m speaking very raw in every single song on there, raw thoughts and emotions, seeing someone or not seeing someone, or one [foot] in this, one in that. It’s like trying to find a solution, but I’m just expressing all my emotions there.
Your songs dive heavily into infatuation and lust. What makes these topics fun for you to write and sing about?
It’s fun because it’s something that every human being goes through at some point in their life — some people don’t, but I feel like a lot of people do. For me, it’s always important for me to express that and be that vibrant person about that. On the tape, I start to break it down about bitter moments, I have a song called “Bitter” on there where I’m talking about how it feels to be bitter that someone’s moved on. Then I’ve got songs about manifesting going somewhere, and experiencing things and experiencing different type of emotions that you feel when you’re going through the journey that I’m going on. It’s my dream world, that’s why I call it A Jaguar’s Dream.
You once told a story about an art piece you made when in school and how being labeled the “bad kid” affected the way your teachers graded it. As the genreless artist you are, do you feel like you’re that same sort of rebel in the music space? How or what helped you to embrace that role?
It’s the same thing, really. The thing with the art piece is I created a piece of art that had no face [or] no title to do with me. It was the raw art that captured people. People were so infatuated by the piece of art and that [also] shows with music. Most of the people first heard “Kehlani” without seeing me, they heard the sound and they drew to the sound. It’s art, it’s undeniable. If someone likes it, they like it, you know? That’s how I see the music and that’s how I express myself in the music, it’s free sound and frequency. If they’re on the same frequency, they’re gonna love it.
In an answer for our Uproxx Music 20 column we released last year, you said that The Weeknd’s Kiss Land pushed you to take music more seriously. Michael Jackson also had a big influence on you as well, so much so that you have a song called “Dirty Diana” on the project. The Weeknd has earned some MJ comparisons, so as a fan of both, what is the overlap in their work that draws you into them and how do you aim to emulate that in your music?
The rawness and the evolution of the sound, especially with The Weeknd. I feel like a lot of the stuff he dropped on Kiss Land is a very futuristic sound and it’s stuff that I took a lot of inspiration from. It’s one that I really delved into when I was in school, I always used to listen to it, and I felt like it inspired me a lot. Then Michael Jackson’s rawness, his style, his uniqueness, and his ability to never be pigeonholed — he was a superstar in terms of music, sound… everything around him. He constantly evolved and changed his looks, his image, and his sound. He never just stuck to one thing that people told him to, he was always evolving in his artistry and I thought that was amazing.
You’ve spoken about the great experiences you’ve had with artists, whether it be as collaborators with Lil Baby and Kehlani, or just as fans like you noted with Oli Sykes. As you’re moving up in the industry, did it surprise you to see how open and welcoming artists were to you as a previous outsider?
I feel like what they’ve heard was enough for them to reach out and show me love, and I think that’s so crazy. I think sometimes people on the outside perspective don’t know how much artists genuinely love art, they’re real human beings, they do reach out to people, and they can be fans of people. Not everything is some manufactured setup thing. Some things are legit just a DM and I think people distance themselves from that sometimes or don’t get it and that’s really what a lot of this stuff has been. It’s just people reaching out and just showing genuine love or really loving the music, it’s crazy. I’ve just embraced it, both as ways to evolve my music and [with] collaborating. This year, I’m big on collaborating and exploring that this year, 100%.
Where were you and what was your reaction when you found out that “Kehlani” got a Grammy nomination?
I was in the studio. I thought it was like a prediction list, and then the actual list came out. I was like, “Oh, that’s crazy.” I was excited, I was just jumping about.
Tell me about your Bryson Tiller collaboration “305.” How did that come about?
It’s so funny. I recorded most of the song, I sent it to him, and I was like, I don’t know if he’s gonna respond to getting on the song. I linked him in Miami, went to his place, we kicked it, we played video games, and I was like, “Oh, that this is amazing.” He’s working on a game at the moment as well, which is going to be amazing and yeah, he loved the music man, he loved that track. He was like, “Yeah, I’m gonna do something with it.” He recorded on it, but I already shot a video because I thought he wasn’t going to do anything, so I shot a video [and] everything on the single. Then, he came out with some fire. I was like, “Oh, my days. I’m gonna have to change my plans.” “Options” was actually supposed to be a double drop. I was supposed to drop “305” and “Options,” so a feature and then a solo song. But then, Bryson Tiller man, I had to change my plans.
It’s funny because when I saw that feature, I said I’m willing to bet that this has something to do with video games. Just off knowing that you both are gamers. On that note, how do you see or how would you like to push the connection between gaming and music in the future?
I’ve been trying to do it with visuals so far. So like making everything cohesive and everything part of a simulation type of thing, and lots of VFX, that’s kind of what I’m trying to showcase. I feel like with soundtracks to games, that’s the one thing I wanted to get more into because that’s how I discovered a lot of new music. That’s a big way to bring the two worlds together. While you’re playing a game, there’s always sound to it and music and theme songs that live with you. The FIFA soundtracks, we know them and that’s how a lot of people discover new music.
TikTok has played a big part in your career. You said you’ve used it as a testing ground for your songs. How do you think a possible ban might affect artists in terms of what they’re able to do and how they’re able to grow??
They’ll just change, everything’s an algorithm. People [will still] discover new music. I think it was only a beneficial tool. I think people that hate on TikTok are just mad that it hasn’t happened for them yet. Honestly, because I feel like people forget it’s an algorithm. There are real people that are picking the songs they like and pushing these songs, it’s people, real people that listen and use these sounds. These aren’t imaginary fairy people. People genuinely like these songs, you can’t blame people. It’s the same way people like something, they like it. It is what it is. I think TikTok and these platforms, you can make it how it is. The same way you post on YouTube, you post on TikTok, you just post the same content. It shouldn’t be a tool that affects people musically.
Fans who have followed your career for a while know that you can do many genres. From Rock N Rave to the sexy drill of A Jaguar’s Dream, where do you want to take things next in terms of your sound?
Definitely into a futuristic space, more futuristic R&B mixed with some elements of drill, like drum patterns or drum sounds. But yeah, definitely more of an R&B sound. I feel like that’s where it’s going right now.
We’ve just started the new year, so what are some big goals and resolutions that you have for yourself in 2025?
I’m going to the Grammys, so hopefully something with that, winning a Grammy? That would be sick, but definitely releasing more music and reaching the people that have inspired and been supporting the music, [and] performing more.
A Jaguar’s Dream is out now via 300 Entertainment/Indigo Kid Ltd. Find out more information here.
