<\/p>\n
\n\tWhen 25-year-old Jordan Adetunji stumbled upon Logan Paul\u2019s IMPAULSIVE<\/em> podcast episode with Kehlani last year,<\/em> little did he know that the Cali-raised singer would become the unexpected muse for the biggest song of his career.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cI was watching an interview on [Logan Paul\u2019s] IMPAULSIVE <\/em>podcast. It was in my living room, and I remember saying to my brother, \u2018Damn. [Kehlani] looks great,’\u201dsays the Northern Ireland native. \u201cBut it wasn\u2019t just that \u2026 It was how much she\u2019s done over the years, and still been able to be such an uplifting person and a boss in her own way. I have always wanted to write a song about a woman who is a boss, creative in her way, and leads in her strides. For me, it just made sense. She was the picture of that. That\u2019s why I put her name in there.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tReleased in May, \u201cKEHLANI\u201d pays homage to the singer\u2019s boss-like demeanor, and has soared on social media, becoming a go-to summer bop. Adetunji\u2019s shifty vocal mastery over the slippery beat \u2014 based on a sample of Summer Walker\u2019s \u201cPotential\u201d \u2014 helped spin \u201cKEHLANI\u201d into TikTok gold when the R&B star shared clips of her singing the song herself, igniting the flame for the track.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cIt\u2019s funny \u2019cause I just kept posting it so many times, and I was like, \u2018She\u2019s definitely gonna see it eventually,’\u201d Adetunji remembers. \u201cWhen I saw the video [of her singing to it], I was sleeping. It was U.K. time. When I woke up, I had seen it in the morning. I was like, \u2018Oh damn!\u2019 Someone sent it to me. She actually did two videos instead of one, too. I was gassed.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tWith a summer heater and a new deal with 300 Entertainment and Warner Records U.K. in his pocket, Adetunji looks to make his next move as soon as this week, when he unveils the song\u2019s remix \u2014 with, you guessed it, Kehlani. <\/p>\n \n\t\u201cWorking with an artist like Jordan, who has such a strong vision for \u201cKEHLANI\u201d and the music space he is creating for himself, has been amazing,\u201d says Adetunji\u2019s manager, Dan Jenkins. \u201cThere have been a few challenges and lessons over the past few years, but I\u2019ve watched Jordan grow massively as an artist and it was only a matter of time before this moment happened for him!\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tBillboard<\/em> spoke to Adetunji about the song\u2019s climb up the Billboard Hot 100, teaming up with Kehlani for his biggest hit, and why he wants to work with Cash Cobain.<\/p>\n \n\tAre you from Northern Ireland?<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tI was born in London and I moved from there when I was 10 years old to Northern Ireland. So I grew up in Northern Ireland. I did all my life in school there \u2014 still live there \u2014 but I go back and forth from London. That\u2019s currently where I do my music, where I started, and that\u2019s where home is for me for now.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tWhen was your first period of discovery with music?<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\t[My early days on] the internet. The internet was my best friend. It\u2019s funny because before that, when I first started listening to music, I used to have this green iPod Nano. That\u2019s kind of how I used to listen to music. I used to have a family friend \u2014 he would put all these new songs on my thing, like early Drake, early mixtapes [from him] and Meek Mill. That\u2019s how I first listened to [music]. He listened to\u00a0a lot of R&B from female singers. That\u2019s kind of what I started really listening to at that time a lot. A lot of Jhen\u00e9 Aiko. It was funny. A lot of stuff like that.<\/p>\n \n\tWas there a specific Jhen\u00e9 song or project that opened that gate up for you?<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tI remember hearing \u201cThe Worst\u201d for the first time. One of the first projects she did, I really loved. A lot of that stuff. Even The Weeknd, House of Balloons<\/em>, that was the first kind of R&B stuff I was listening to when I was young.<\/p>\n \n\tWhen did you decide that music was ultimately going to be your life\u2019s passion?<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tWhen I was in school and I didn\u2019t like doing work. I was like, \u201cYeah, I\u2019m gonna be an artist.\u201d That was from then when I was like 15, 16. That was the only thing on my mind. I was like, \u201cI\u2019m gonna make it happen, no matter what.\u201d It\u2019s a thing that I was motivated in. I played the trumpet in school. I only did that to get out of class, so I didn\u2019t have to do school work. I used it as a thing. I enjoyed music. It set me free from anything. At that time, it set me free from school work since I didn\u2019t like to do so.<\/p>\n \n\tWhat were the conversations like with your family about pursuing music, despite your school work suffering?<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tMy mom was always supportive about it. She understands what\u2019s it like to be a creative, because she\u2019s a very creative person herself. So I did have freedom in that. As long as I did try my best, she was always happy and I\u2019d try my best at anything that I put my mind to. As long as I was doing that, I think she was very supportive in that. They\u2019d make sure to have structure in my life. That was always an important thing for her. I always felt like I\u2019ve been able to do that. We\u2019re here now. Everything is timing. That\u2019s my favorite saying. I was ready for this moment and I\u2019m ready for the next moments to come.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cKEHLANI\u201d has climbed to No. 52 on the Hot 100 so far. You recorded that song in your bedroom. Take me back to that day and the creative process behind it.<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tIt\u2019s funny because I was watching an interview on [Logan Paul\u2019s] IMPAULSIVE <\/em>podcast. It was in my living room and I remember saying to my brother like, \u201cDamn. She looks great,\u201d but it wasn\u2019t just that. It was the fact of how much she\u2019s done over the years and still been able to be such an uplifting person and also a boss in her own way. I always wanted to write a song about a woman who is a boss and also creative in her own way and leads in her strides. For me, it just made sense. She was the picture of that. That\u2019s why I put her name in there.<\/p>\n \n\tAt the start, I was feeling like, \u201cOoh. Should I do that? How is it gonna go? This can go wrong,\u201d but I\u2019m a risk-taker. I don\u2019t care. I\u2019m gonna post this. It is what it is today. That\u2019s why I\u2019m happy I took that risk. Writing a song about someone, they might not mess with it, but she was a good sport. She\u2019s really been supportive this whole process. Shout out to her for that, for real.<\/p>\n