Exclusive Interview: Pop Culturalist Chats with Chad’s Armani Jackson

We can’t get actor-musician Armani Jackson out of our brains, but we’re not complaining. The rising young star is gearing up for a massive 2021, with the release of his new television series, Chad, and tons of original music. Pop Culturalist was lucky enough to chat with Armani about his career, Chad, and how he poured his heart and soul into his latest single, “Out of My Brain”.

Career

PC: How did you discover your passion for the arts?
Armani: I always wanted to sing, but I was afraid to get out there and do it. I was afraid of what people would think of it. I would sit in my bedroom and write a lot when I was younger. I’ve been acting since I was six. I would get auditions that required singing, but I would actually turn a lot of them down because I was so nervous. I knew I had confidence in my acting, but I knew I didn’t want to hear the feedback regarding my singing.

I turned them down, and then one day I got an audition for a show that had a lot of singing in it. It was made by Simon Fuller, the creator of American Idol, and Ryan Tedder. It required a lot of singing. I was like, “You know what? I should just do it. It’s such a good project.” I went to the audition and sang “Painkiller” by Ruel. I sang in front of the casting director, and they ended up loving it. They called me into the producers’ round. I was like, “Wow. I didn’t think that would happen.” During the producers’ round, I sang in front of Ryan Tedder and a lot of other big names in the music industry.

I went from not wanting to sing at all to having to do this! I didn’t end up getting it, but Simon Fuller said I was his favorite pick. That definitely gave me some confidence in my singing. I didn’t actually start singing after that, but I started taking more auditions that required singing. Then, once quarantine hit, that’s when I actually started making music because I realized that there wasn’t much happening in the acting world. It was really slow, and I had to wait on other people. I thought, “If there’s any time to start doing music, it’s probably now.” I was just sitting at home doing nothing.

My sister was working with a producer around April, and I came in once. He played some tracks for me, and I was like, “That one’s cool.” That was the only song I made; it was almost perfect. I wrote it with that producer. It was my first song and we recorded it that night. I didn’t actually go into the studio knowing I was going to record.

I remember listening to it on my way home and I wanted to get back in the studio. It felt so good. It felt like this finished product. It felt like something that could happen immediately. Unlike acting, where you have to wait years to see it and months to find out if you got the role. It was really nice to have this finished product. I wanted to get in and do this more.

My sister started working with a different producer/composer, and I started working with him as well. That’s when I really started getting into music. I wrote a few songs, and he produced the beat for a few of them. One of them is “Out of My Brain”, which I released on April 2nd. I wrote that whole song. Everything I wrote about was very authentic to what I was feeling at the time. It was cool to be able to use melodies that I’ve always had in my head, but never utilized or showed anyone. Adding my own lyrics and being able to make a finished product felt so good.

PC: Who or what has had the biggest influence on your career?
Armani: As far as acting, my biggest inspiration is definitely Jake Gyllenhaal. I loved his work in Darko. I love all of his work. I love how he’s always switching it up. He’s definitely been a big inspiration for acting.

As far as music, I used to listen to weird stuff. I used to listen to dubstep. I didn’t really listen to anything lyrical. Then, I got into beats when I was younger, but I didn’t sing on them. Once I finally started singing, I was able to merge those two passions together and make something I love lyrically with the track that I loved, which ended up falling into the experimental hip hop genre. I’m still experimenting with tons of different genres to really find my sound. I want to be able to try everything.

Chad

PC: Tell us about Chad, your character, and what drew you to this project.
Armani: The character Chad is actually played by a forty-year-old. A lot of people have been confused by that. They’re wondering why they cast a forty-year-old for this role, but Nasim [Pedrad] actually made the show. She created and wrote it. It’s been her baby for a while. It’s interesting because I hadn’t noticed who created the show, but I actually worked with Nasim when I was nine in Cooties.

When she watched my audition tapes and booked me on Chad, she didn’t realize it either, because I looked totally different. She was like, “He’s the one for this role.” When we got to the table read, I looked at my mom and I said, “I don’t think she remembers me. I don’t think she realizes.” I went up to her and I was like, “Remember Calvin from Cooties?” She freaked out. She was like, “Armani! What happened? You’re so grown up.” It’s crazy how we reconnected through the industry without even knowing it.

My character in Chad is Joey. He’s probably the nicest to Chad because he does a lot of questionable things. He tries to be the coolest kid in school, but he fails miserably at it. I’d say no one enjoys what he does except Joey. You can tell for the most part he’s more disappointed than upset.

Chad was so fun to film because it was a very loose environment. We would have a script for each scene, but by the time we’d finish, it would all change. Everyone would get to give input, and we would do a lot of improv. Most of my lines came from me because we all had the opportunity to improv, and that usually ended up making it in. You could tell that they liked those the most. It’ll be fun for me to see what makes the final take because the script changed so much.

It would take a long time to film each scene because someone would break every time. [laughs] It would take hours to get one scene down because of how funny it was. We couldn’t stop laughing. We’d ruin a good take because someone would break.

PC: With this being your first venture into comedy, did anything surprise you about the experience?
Armani: When I was younger and doing dramas, I hadn’t developed my comedic skills. With this job, it was nice to not only show what I can do comedy-wise, but I was also able to create my own lines. This wasn’t a normal comedy experience. It felt like Saturday Night Live; it was almost like a sketch comedy. Everyone would get input, and the scripts were already so funny. We were spitballing. If you could make the script funnier, they wanted your input.

Music

PC: On the music front, you have a new single. Tell us about “Out of My Brain” and the inspiration behind the song.
Armani: I went through a pretty long breakup when I wrote this song. It was a little bit after quarantine started. I wrote that song about the need to get the memories of a past relationship out of your brain so you can move on. I poured out everything that I had in my head the day that I went to record it. It felt really good because it was the first song that I wrote about something that I experienced. It was very authentic to me. Ever since then, I really made sure that each song is about a certain experience of mine.

PC: You’re dropping a few singles this year. If you had to pick one song that best encompasses who you are as an artist, which would it be and why?
Armani: It’s definitely “Haunted”, which is going to come out after “Out of My Brain”. “Haunted” is a song about sleep paralysis, which I have. I’ve suffered from it since I was five. I have Lyme disease, and sleep paralysis can be a side effect of that. I was bitten by a tick when I was three years old in the woods—I think that’s where it came from. I don’t think I’ve ever heard a song about sleep paralysis, so I wrote the song about battling sleep paralysis while simultaneously battling the memories of a past relationship. It’s about how they’re still haunting you, even though they’re already gone.

I fell in love with the song when I made it. I made it with Composer. It was the first song that I made with them. I love those producers. They really got me—they knew exactly what I wanted and exactly how I wanted the track to sound and fit the theme. They killed it.

Pop Culturalist Speed Round

PC: Guilty pleasure TV show?
Armani: American Vandal.

PC: Guilty pleasure movie?
Armani: A24’s Waves.

PC: Favorite book?
Armani: Dark Matter.

PC: Favorite play or musical?
Armani: Hamilton. I saw it with my dad in Chicago and it was amazing.

PC: A band or artist that fans would be surprised to learn is on your playlist?
Armani: Kid Cudi.

PC: Dream role?
Armani: My dream role is in a horror film…an A24 horror film or any A24 film.

To keep up with Armani, follow him on Instagram. Pick up or stream “Out of My Brain” today.

Photo Credit: Shane McCauley // Stylist: Dev Alexander