Viral TikTok star Jufu's music is a breath of fresh air and he hopes it inspires you to 'chase your dreams'
After achieving viral fame on Vine and TikTok and dropping his debut mixtape 'Get Used To Me' in May this year, you'd think Jufu would be taking the time to rest on his laurels. But the emerging sensation is just getting started. His album demonstrates a glimpse into what he has to offer, but Jufu thinks there's many more sides of him he has yet to showcase. As his audience grows exponentially, the young rapper is already stepping back in the studio to work on his next project.
MEA WorldWide (MEAWW) got to chat with Jufu about his mastery of social media and viral content and his musical journey thus far, which began with an interest in meteorology and progressed into viral fame before landing in a blend between parody videos and rap.
You finally made your debut after signing onto Island Records with 'Get Used To Me'. What has the journey been like for you thus far?
It's been a long journey. Well, not that long! But in 2014, I was just a senior in middle school, and I started Vine because I wanted to have lots of followers, impress my friends, and make comedy videos that would make people laugh. I never imagined myself ever being where I am today.
Do you think your background as a social media breakout star helped you transition more easily into making music amid a lockdown?
Not as much, really. Throughout the quarantine, I didn't really record as much music as I really imagined I would. I was more focused on the content I was putting out for my audience, cause they're very into that. But the last few months have been super crazy and fast-paced for me, off-camera, particularly in a self-progressive way where I've just been learning about myself. And now that I'm exiting that phase, I'm applying everything that I've learned and that's going to be seen in my upcoming music. Everything that I do is going to appear as if I'm working ten times harder, which isn't really the case, but it'll appear that way because I'm working a lot more efficiently.
You're obviously no stranger to platform-hopping, seeing as you went from Vine to YouTube to Musical.ly. Given your current success with TikTok and the precarious position the platform finds itself in, will we see a shift in how you create and share your content?
Jufu: I don't think so. I think it's only gonna just make me want to make more content. Thankfully, there are only two formats for making content — landscape and portrait. So even if TikTok were to go away, I'll still have Instagram and all the other portrait platforms to post my content on.
You’ve managed to strike a balance between your own brand of humor and your musical style, all while still managing to stay on trend across everything you put out. What is the process of creation like for you when it comes to blending your different areas of interest?
My creative process is pretty simple. I'm very rhythmic. I grew up around melodies and sounds. I play the guitar. When I hear a beat I just freestyle, off the top of my head, in the moment. Sometimes words don't come out but when they do, I record myself and lay down a cadence. Then I write down the words that I'd been recording and leave the gibberish parts out and then figure out a direction to this song based on what I was freestyling. After I fine-tune all the words into actual lyrics, the song kind of comes to life.
One thing that helps me is visualizing a music video and then writing the song based on the music video that I see in my head. For me that works a lot because I have a background in film and I absolutely love being by the camera.
Being your "authentic self" is definitely something you touch on with your content. How do you strike a balance between authenticity and creating viral content that people are actually going to want to watch?
The type of content that I've made over the last few months has been super authentic, almost like reality content because it's just me interacting with people. It's just recorded with no filter or acting. So, I guess it's been easy for me to be my authentic self with that type of content. But anybody can be themselves, it's just about being original to yourself and doing something you love, and knowing you love it because you genuinely feel creative when you're doing it. The best way to tell that you're being authentic is to see if you feel fulfilled.
You often tell your audience to "manifest their desires". As you continue to manifest yours, what advice would you give to young creators like yourself trying to navigate the world and make their dreams come true?
I would say to find peace within themselves by not looking outwards. Once you're at peace with yourself, you can literally do almost anything that you desire. The world would just be a happier place if people were pursuing their dreams instead of like I said, looking outwards all the time.
You've got a YouTube live stream coming up, an unplugged session that's out on August 30. Could you tell us a little bit more about that?
I'm very, very, VERY excited about that! The first day that I went into rehearsal was about two weeks ago. My team surprised me, it was my first time seeing them in months outside of FaceTime, and they completely caught me off guard because I walked in and there were live instruments. And I already had a voice in my mind that went "rehearsal, ugh," but I tried to stay open-minded.
I got there and heard what they'd been preparing for me over the last month and just went "what?!" Just feeling my music, from my own project, live, it just felt like I was listening to something completely new and I was blown away. If it made me feel like that, I can only hope other people feel that way too when they hear it. It's really unfortunate that the world is the way that it is right now and I can't physically perform it for people but this is better than nothing.
Is there a track off of this release you really wish you could have performed live?
I really enjoy performing 'What's The Vibe?' live. I really enjoy performing 'Surreal' too.
Outside of the recent mixtape and upcoming live sessions, what's next for you?
I'm really looking forward to all my upcoming projects, and that's because I've grown a lot over the last few months at an accelerated rate, so my music is going to be very different. Not crazy different from what I had before but it's definitely a different direction. And while I'm creating the music, the intention is very different and that's something I think people need to be mindful of. The intention you have while creating music also plays a role in how it affects people because your thoughts carry energy. If you have good intentions when making music, then your music's more likely to have a positive impact on people.
What is the one message you want people to take away from your content?
Continue to be in pursuit your dreams, no matter what obstacles are in the way. You'll feel and know when you're off track. When that happens, just get back on track and do what you gotta do. Also, just be very open-minded. A closed mind does not progress. It just stays in a process of repetition. And that's not fun for anybody, because if you're in that loop, it's hard to be happy. So open your mind and explore life. And never stop chasing your dreams!