Visionary J re-releases mixtapes ‘Cloud 90’ and ‘Messiah Child’

Jalen Smith

Jalen Smith attended NIU, where he studied art and illustration (Courtesy of Jalen Smith)

By Madelaine Vikse, Editor-in-Chief

Jalen Smith, also known as Visionary J, re-released his first two mixtapes earlier this year that are about being a kid, shooting for the stars and wanting to succeed.

Smith graduated from NIU in June 2021 with an art degree. Smith released “Cloud 90” on Feb. 28 and “Messiah Child” on March 4. He originally created and released both mixtapes in his last two years of high school.

“Both mixtapes are about a kid wanting to shoot for the stars,” Smith said. “There’s definitely like this childhood innocence almost and even if the songs aren’t necessarily innocence, like there’s explicit lyrics and content in it, but it’s about being young and having dreams of wanting to succeed.”

Smith said he realized he wanted to pursue a career in music when he was a sophomore in high school.

“I used to think about how I might’ve been more passive in my behavior and I always just wanted people to listen to me or like, feel like I was heard so I was like, ‘what better thing to do than to express myself through speaking?’” Smith said.

Smith said he started making music in 2015, although he grew up rapping with his family members. 

“When I make music sometimes it starts with a feeling or a concept,” Smith said. “I end up like trying to find beats that I think associate the type of speed of the song or sometimes I hear a beat first and I’m like ‘oh my god I gotta write to this’ and sometimes I can just start off with a freestyle and it becomes a song.”

Courtesy of Jalen Smith

 

Smith re-released “Cloud 90” and “Messiah Child” to commemorate the anniversary of his last album “Jalen,” released Feb. 29 of 2020.

“‘Messiah Child’ is a mixtape, it was my second mixtape and ‘Cloud 90’ was my first mixtape,” Smith said. “I finished ‘Cloud 90’ at the end of 2016 and I finished ‘Messiah Child’ in April of 2017.”

Smith said the songs he is the proudest of include “Big Bank Take Little Bank,” “Summer Blues,” “Validation” and “First Friend.”

“Big Bank Take Little Bank” was my first studio song that I ever did and it’s still one of my top five like biggest songs ever,” Smith said. “I recorded that when I was 15 the day before my 16th birthday and it still holds up.”

“Big Bank Take Little Bank” is the eighth track on “Cloud 90.”

“My most recent album, my most recent project that I released was the “Jalen” album in 2020 and that was my most personal deep project,” Smith said. “I feel like I needed those first two mixtapes to step into my own.”

Smith said he is trying to get back into performing and recording new music, as he’s been busy writing music recently.

“I do have a lot of personal music and if people listen to that music it’ll help them know me better and also understand themselves better because I know a lot of people experience the same things that I’m going through.”

Smith said that some artists who have inspired him include JAY-Z, Kanye West, Eminem, J. Cole, Kendrick Lamar, Benny The Butcher, Conway the Machine and Playboi Carti.

In addition to making music, Smith said that he is very passionate about art and is an illustrator and painter.

“My paintings also relate to my personal life the same way as my music,” Smith said. “Art was probably my first love that I was able to pick up on and go through with it.”

You can listen to Visionary J’s re-releases as well as the rest of his discography on Spotify, YouTube and Apple Music. Follow his Instagram to find out more or to keep up with upcoming releases or performances.