Interview: Jester Jacobs - ‘Insert Coins’
Whilst holidaying in Malaga, London based rapper, popular podcaster & stand-up comedian Jester Jacobs spoke to Wordplay Magazine about his forthcoming 12 track album called Insert Coins - entirely produced by the prestigious Forest DLG (High Focus), due to drop October 25th; also reminiscing lessons learned from his comedy career.
A product of passion, Insert Coins comes after four years of Jester sending guide vocals, ideas back-and-forth whilst allowing Forest to build the production from the ground up, allowing a more consistent project. “I prefer to work with one person on each album - it is a good partnership when producers are free to do what they want,” said Jester. “Forest had full reign on the finished project, just fucking going mental, always surprising me.”
“Every time I make an album, I'm pretty certain it's my last one,” laughed Jester. “That's kind of where we're at with this.”
“Insert Coins refers to the fact that at this point I sometimes feel like an avatar, going through the motions. Chasing clout, infamy and chasing the money, but more jaded as it's becoming less feasible. There is the video game user experience of collecting coins, a funny motif on a rap album. Trying to talk a big game but focusing on something small fry and effectively obsolete.”
The album topics derive from Jesters own critical self-perceptions whilst navigating the spontaneous game of being a rap artist. “You're not where you want to be, but you're still the thing you are attempting, with mixed results,” explained Jester. “I still explore all the tropes of rappers - the casual sex, the drug use, the misery, the taking potshots at imaginary adversaries and all that shit. But now I see it as a sitcom in song form at this point.”
“It is lyrically and conceptually the strongest project I have done,” asserted Jester, who pulls no punches by enlisting the notorious Sonnyjim for a collaboration, as well as his known affiliates Jack Danz, who produced Jesters prior full-length album, Moose Solutions and Mnsr Frites of Jesters Moose Funk Squad collective.
The release of Insert Coins comes off the back of a fulfilling year as a stand-up comic, recently opening for Paul Chowdhry at the London O2 Arena. “It was very surreal to perform to a crowd that size - especially because they're seated,” reminisced Jester. “There was 17,000 seated people expecting to laugh at me; it looked like a fucking Nazi rally, but a friendly one.”
Jesters stand-up performances boosted his comic reputation whilst co-hosting the hilarious Bad Boys Done Good podcast alongside Tom Ward - portraying Ray Winstone & Tony Soprano simultaneously. In recent months, Jesters social media profile was catapulted into mainstream algorithms due to releasing another series, where he portrays what music ‘sounds like as a 40 year old’ - gaining attention from Dizzee Rascal, Earl Sweatshirt and Vybz Kartel amongst millions of other online users. “To be honest, it’s been really validating when I see someone who has spearheaded and pioneered that genre replying to my reels,” admitted Jester. “It's mad because I've made music for 20 years and the first of these videos I made got more views than anything I've ever done put together - so that just shows you that I was probably following the wrong path all these years.”
“Who would I like to tour with?” Jester paused, thoughtfully. “I love touring with the friends I started out with like Jamali Maddix and Tom Ward. I'd like to tour with my pal Red Richardson, but he's now in America being an A List Hollywood celebrity - very well deserved.“
Pre-order ‘Insert Coins’ ft. Forest DLG, Sonnyjim, Jack Danz & Mnsr Frites - HERE
Words by Evo
Photography by Claire Haigh