Since 2017, has primarily stood as a fixture of beloved K-Pop group THE BOYZ, a crucial piece in a tight-knit performance powerhouse. From the group’s beginning, fans were drawn to the Korean-Canadian’s gentle, soft-spoken presence and honey-sweet vocals, literally becoming known as “Jacob, the sweet voice of THE BOYZ”. As years passed and he further refined his talents and artistry, Jacob began releasing songs through THE BOYZ’s Soundcloud, making a space for his creative voice. After nine years, his artistic growth has culminated into his very own solo album, j. For the first time, Jacob stands in a spotlight all his own. 

The first official solo project to come out of THE BOYZ, ‘j’. is a vivid picture of Jacob’s artistry: Soft, warm, and quietly dazzling. The album is a night drive under a sky full of stars, a warm blanket, a steady and comforting hand to hold in a moment of uncertainty. 

Jacob met with CLASH over zoom to discuss ‘j.’, artistic freedom, and his plans for the future. 

Tell us a bit about ‘j’.

Jacob Bae: The album is something I’ve always wanted to do. Even as a kid, I was always listening to pop music, to these kinds of songs, so I wanted my first album to be similar to those. The name ‘j.’ is just taken from Jacob. I thought of different ways of making a cool album name, but everything felt like it was too much. It’s an introduction to who I am as an artist, and I like being a simple guy. In the future I’ll be doing different kinds of sounds, but I wanted this to be for the fans, so I didn’t want to scare them away with something totally new. 

How did the album come together? Did you have a vision of the album as one collective work front to back, or as individual pieces that were put together? 

J: This goes back three or four years. I was introduced to the producer , who helped me with the album. Ever since we met, he said to come to his studio whenever I had time so we could make songs. Since then, I’ve made around 10 songs with him. I was making music because I wanted to, thinking that one day, I’d release everything into the world. But when I made ‘Young And Confused’, I realised that I wanted to make an album that centered around it. After we listened to the songs we made in the past, Kwaca said he had a song he could give me that would suit the album. That ended up being ‘Slow Dancing’, and I decided that it should be the title track, because it combined the songs much better. 

How has the experience of releasing your own album compared to that of releasing music through The Boyz? How has your thought process differed?

J: It’s very different. As a member of The Boyz, I wouldn’t say I had to put too much of my own personal thoughts into it. We have so many people working with us to make sure everything’s right, and it’s a lot more of just practicing and going with the flow. Here and there we would give our opinions, but for the most part, it was just going for it. Doing a solo project, I had to be hands on with every single aspect, even more than I thought. Not just the music, but the music video, making sure I could find people to help with every part of the album. That was actually the hardest part for me, communicating with everybody every day, having nonstop meetings and confirming everything, versus our company confirming everything for us. It was a new experience, and a lot more work, but it was a lot more fun. Group work is also fun, but being and working with the members is the most fun part. For my solo, doing what I wanted and being involved 100% really made a difference in how fun it was.

This album feels like a seamless upgrade from your Soundcloud releases. How have you grown as a songwriter since you released your first track ‘I Belong’ on Soundcloud five years ago? 

J: When I released ‘I Belong’, I didn’t really know any producers or songwriters. It was just me, doing what I could to make music with limited knowledge. I feel like I’m still in the learning phase. I always will be. But having these people around me to show me the professional side really helped me refine my music and its quality. At some point I learned that I don’t have to make music all by myself from start to finish. I can work with others, learn from others, and it helps me come up with music that’s even better. One thing that helped me move away from my old mindset was realizing that no matter how much I do all these sketches and work on music, how many years would it take for me to reach those professionals’ level? I may not even reach that level. I’d rather focus on things I can do better and leave that to them.

What is your songwriting process like? 

It differs from time to time. For this album, especially working with Kwaca, we’d meet up and talk about the kind of music we wanted to work on, talk about style, and then he’d whip out his guitar and make a track. As I’d get the feel of how a song would sound, I’d think about what I want the song to be about. Once the track was done, I’d work on the melody and lyrics, and try those out with the track. Each song took around four hours to make.

As you wrote all of the songs on this album, which song(s) do you feel the most connected to?

‘Misunderstood’ and ‘Young and Confused’. They’re the negative songs in the album, but I feel like that’s more me. I’m a pretty negative guy when it comes to myself. Of course, when I’m out and about or talking to others, I do my best to stay positive, but in my head, I tend to get very negative. I feel like those songs really came from my experience as a negative person, and as a very shy person. 

Going back to before you were even a member of The Boyz: What was the moment that you knew you wanted to be an artist?

J: The first big one was guitar class, in high school. I already kind of knew how to play, because I would play guitar at church. But our teacher would have us make songs and share them with the class. When I did that, I got a lot of positive reactions, and I wanted music to keep being a part of my life. Back in the day, I’d make a lot of CCM (Contemporary Christian music) songs. Then in grade 12, it really hit me. Right before second semester, I thought about what I wanted to do with my life. I really enjoyed physics at the time, but I asked myself, is that what I wanted to ? Would I be able to do well? It hit me that I just wanted to do what I love, and that was music. I started taking lessons, and through that, I got an audition, so that’s really where I started. 

How do you view Jacob the solo artist and The Boyz’s Jacob? Are they the same or different?

J: There’s similarities and differences. No matter where I am, whether it be with the group or not, I am Jacob of The Boyz. That’s something I don’t want to get rid of. But I think the difference is as a member of The Boyz, I tend to use my voice to fill what the group needs. If it’s more of a rap style, or high vocals, I adjust my voice to that. As a soloist, it’s a lot more free. I can use my voice to show the style of music I love, and be the kind of vocalist I want people to see me as.

How does this album differ from your previous releases on SoundCloud? What made you want to give these songs a proper release? 

J: Whenever I would meet people for the first time, I’d say that I’m an idol and that I make music, but I never had any songs of my own out. I wanted to release music and maybe, one day, be able to hear it on the streets or at a cafe. It’s funny, because one of my friends messaged me and he said, “Oh, I think your song’s playing at a cafe.” Obviously that doesn’t happen if it’s just unreleased SoundCloud songs.

You have two features on this album: your groupmate Sunwoo, and Thai singer Wonderframe. What was behind your decision to work with each of them? 

J: Since this is my first solo album, I wanted a member of The Boyz to feature on it. When I was making ‘Back And Forth’, I realised I could ask a member to rap in the 2nd verse, and immediately thought to ask Sunwoo. Since I know how good he is at making songs and writing lyrics, I didn’t even bother asking him how it was going, I just waited for the final product. With Wonderframe, I’d been looking for someone to feature in ‘Promise’ and was sent her songs. I thought her voice would give a very new sound to the song, so we met up online and I asked if she’d work on it. I was glad her part was so different from what I’d made for the song, because it made it a lot more fun. 

If you could speak to your younger self, what would you say to him? What advice would you give him?

J: When it comes to music, you can’t be cheap. Five years ago, for ‘I Belong’ and my other SoundCloud songs, everything was done by me, and I would send it to someone to rearrange it. I would try to look for the cheapest person and hope that it sounds good. But when it comes to music, you have to put in the time, effort, and money to make sure it sounds how you want it to sound. I’d tell myself not to hold back, to go all in, or I’ll regret it. 

Switching gears to the future: You have your own tour coming up. What are your thoughts and plans for that?

J: This tour is actually something I had on my mind since the beginning of my album prep, back in February. I would make the album, then go on tour. Aside from releasing my own album, something I’ve always been dreaming of is performing my music for the fans. We’re starting in Korea on July 17th, then going over to Japan, Indonesia…We’re in talks for a lot more places, especially places we couldn’t go as a team, because I feel like there are a lot of fans that haven’t been able to see us in person. I would love to be able to go and meet them and say thank you. 

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.