Today we’d like to introduce you to Jarard Arnold. They and their team shared their story with us below:
The Short Verison Jarard Kenneth Andrew Arnold, is an R&B singer, songwriter, producer, and engineer; born and raised in Saginaw, Michigan. Jarard has been exposed to music and singing since birth through his mother being a praise worship member at his childhood church, but he wouldn’t begin until the age of four years old. At age thirteen, he began to write poetry but was convinced by a childhood friend and later R&B group member to start songwriting. By age fifteen, the same childhood friend introduced a music-producing program for the PlayStation game system, MTV Music Generator; and Jarard began figuring out music production. Two years later, he was given the opportunity by a church member to record at their home studio. These moments lead to Jarard still working on his craft whilst living in South Korea as an Army soldier. While in South Korea, Jarard was introduced to Fruity Loops (now FL Studio) by a fellow soldier/ EDM producer/ DJ, while being self taught on the DAW, Cool Edit Pro (now Adobe Audition).
Language Lover
Since the age of fourteen, Jarard has always been intrigued with learning a different language. He initially began studying Japanese, but through discouragement, it was short-lived. When living in South Korea, he learned to read and write Korean; but it wouldn’t be until after getting out then of the Army and visiting a bilingual church in Kentucky that he would be immersed in the Spanish language. To incorporate Spanish into his songwriting, Jarard began studying Latin music, such as Salsa, Merengue, and Bachata. Having not studied Japanese for over twenty years, Jarard has recently taken it up again with the intent of becoming a trilingual R&B artist.
The Artist
As previously stated, Jarard has been singing since the tender age of four due to the initial influence of his mother. As a teenager, he was part of a local R&B group with fellow high school classmates called WET (We’re Entertaining Them) later called Men N Motion. The group lasted a couple of years, but in 2011 Jarard would release his very first project under the name J Da’ L.I.G.H.T. The project LOVE (Learning One’s Very Essence) was a blend of Neo-Soul, Hip-Hop, Contemporary Gospel, and Salsa. Though both LOVE and LOVE Do2 (Dose) were extremely amateur in their approach, the aim was to create relational music for churchgoers. In 2016 he drop the name J Da L.I.G.H.T. and released his third project, The Love Demo. Later, Jarard would release a handful of singles and cover songs, alongside occasional features. Three years after his last album, he collaborated with Hip-Hop group, Xoul City, on the EP – Xoul Sessions, Vol. 1. In December 2020, Jarard participated in a “music mixtape” called Just Vybes hosted by well-renowned R&B artist Tank. Lambada, produced by Puerto Rican producer Samylon92, influenced Jarard to produce Lamada (Remix) which featured Latin R&B artist Diana Feria the following year.
School Days
Like many artists with a home/bedroom studio, Jarard has been on the outside looking in when learning about music production and mixing, however, it wasn’t until 2020 that Jarard finally decided to take the leap to earn his Bachelor’s Degree in Audio Production via Full Sail University. Aside from music, the degree program introduced him to a section within the audio/entertainment world that most people neglect: Sound Design. Although he will continue with creating and mixing music, Jarard has a special interest in pursuing a career in Sound Design for film and television.
You Pod?
Since 2015, Jarard would occasionally host lives on Facebook discussing his experiences surrounding marriage and dating, which would lead to him releasing a book entitled “Why Love? We’re Created for Relationship” and his ongoing podcast Supposed To Be Different in 2018. During this time, his close friends would start a podcast as well. They requested for Jarard to mix later in the first season, but shortly he would be recruited as the fifth member of the pod that has conversations on Japanese anime and Sci-Fi films called The Anihoshi Podcast.
Business Man
During the fall of October 2020, via voice app Clubhouse, Jarard stumbled across a wealth of information from various individuals in the music industry. With additional research and fact checking, he filed with the state of Texas to make his business, WITSOL, official in late December 2020. He also registered for publishing with p.r.o. BMI in the following year.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It definitely has not been a smooth road. In fact, it’s been an uphill battle. I think the real struggle was understanding people and in various situations. Not everyone has your best interests at heart and in some cases most will try to detour from your path because they assumed everything is supposed to happen overnight, when that is definitely not the case. The true struggle is knowing who you are, knowing what you’re created to do, and knowing what you’re capable of; only be faced with situation that could potentially make you question yourself. You have push through it to reach your destination.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I was initially known for being a Christian Artist, but I decided to be a full fledged R&B artist as of 2019. Because of that, I’m more comfortable in getting the message of having a healthy relationship, marriage, and intimacy out without traditional or religious judgement. Being a bilingual speaker helps convey the message as well, because I’m able to present it in a more digestible manner.
How do you think about happiness?
Although I love making music, dancing puts me in a happy place. Being around my friends and family makes me happy. We tend to laugh a lot and I thoroughly enjoy that. Being around people who honestly accepts me makes me happy.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.jarardkenneth.biz
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/jarardkenneth
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/jarardkenneth
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/jayelprincipe
- Youtube: www.youtube.com/jarardkenneth
- SoundCloud: www.soundcloud.com/jarardkenneth
- Other: www.tiktok.com/@jarardkenneth
Image Credits
Photography by Charles Gilmore Jr. of Charles Glenn Photography
