Tim Jackson recently impressed me with his debut album Next Of Kin. Like most musicians who finally release their debut album he makes music for a long time and if Lady Luck would’ve been a little more kind we may all know Tim as part of the group N2Soul. So if you want to know more about that episode of Tim’s life, his love for music and what the songs on his album mean to him, then keep on reading what Tim tells in the jazz-not-jazz interview:

Q: You’ve started singing and playing in the church choir. When did you start listening to secular music? And who or what situation influenced you to pursue a professional career as musician?

Tim Jackson: I was introduced to secular music when I was a baby. Man, my house was full of Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, James Brown, Marvin Gaye, the Motown Sound. I was influenced the most by Stevie Wonder as a kid. The texture of his vocals and the movement of his chords were timeless to me. To top it off his lyrical content was always on point. The political side of me was into Curtis Mayfield’s focus on societies issues. I mean I felt what he was speaking about because he was talking about where I lived and the people that I saw everyday on the corners and at the store, at the park etc.

Q: How would you describe your music to someone who haven’t heard it yet?

Tim Jackson: It’s my life. I only write about my thoughts and desires. It’s from my heart. Conscious music that speaks of family and my hood. The ghetto, our purpose and what we can do to change it. It’s feel good music. Chocolate Paradise is not only my family and neighborhood, but it’s about every ghetto across the America.

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