Jacqui
Strutting onto the Korean soul scene armed with a silken voice and a penchant for sass is KPOP’s latest initiate, Jacqui. Born in South Korea, Jacqui spent her childhood in China before moving to the U.S in her teens to study and was introduced by a friend to the captivating sounds of Erykah Badu. Erykah Badu’s music was soul-stirring and instantaneously awakening and it was then and there that Jacqui decided to finally pursue her lifelong adoration for music.
A few years into the artist's life and the destined twenty-something-year-old has never looked back.
Now based out of Seoul, Jacqui sees music as a deeply spiritual process of self-actualisation and fulfilment; as something fate has always buoyed her towards, and something intrinsic to her very being. As a straight-edge advocate, vegetarian and holistic, health-conscious human, her life has always sought to attract balance and inner peace. The Jacqui moniker itself is a direct extension of this. Tapping into her own essence or ‘soul’ by meticulously chiselling away to unearth the pure substance within, is central to Jacqui’s music practice. Her songs ooze self-love and confidence, traversing themes of reflection and growth; of unleashing, facing, accepting, healing, returning, and repeating.
Jacqui’s soundscapes of nu jazz, neo-soul, RnB, and pop are offered with integrity and wisdom beyond her years. With only a handful of songs to her name, including the recent three-track release ‘Mama told me’, featuring collaborations with O’Domar, G2, and Q the Trumpet, plus last year’s celebrated ‘White Clouds’ single, which appeared on the hit Netflix series My Holo Love, Jacqui has already earned her title as a force to be reckoned with and is growing ever stronger with each release.
The rising young artist’s anticipated debut EP, ‘생일’ or ‘Birthday’ in English was released on Feb 25th 2022. The EP marks Jacqui’s emergence from creative incubation, soundtracking the bold next steps in her undoubtedly vast career ahead. A sonic metamorphosis, ‘생일 (Birthday)’ is a celebration of rebirth in every sense of the word. Soullete says about the release, “Life is a journey; a big mixture of unexpected experiments and experiences to find my own true self. I am constantly re-existing and ever-evolving as a new being, shedding layers of whatever I was before.”
The EP, serves the same slick production and staunch lyricism that Jacqui has come to be known for, with a renewed energy that is sure to cement her as Korean soul’s most exciting new export.