Life can change in an instant. No matter how much we control, fate steps in from time to time. In 2016, Jevon Doe picked up the music mantle for his hometown of Houston and ran with it. After years of independently grinding, he landed a major label deal with Atlantic Records and unleashed his first official project, Story of My Life, to critical acclaim from The Fader, XXL, Music Connection, HipHopDX, and more. He traded H-Town for the City of Angels, settled in, and dove in to creating what would become his follow-up EP,My Life Changed – Pt. 1.
Then, all hell broke loose.
“I stopped seeing this girl I was with,” he recalls. “There was a lot of regret. I don’t know why, but she, her brother, and three other guys decided to break into my spot. They had a gun to my head. They made me put my hands on the dresser, and they broke them. They beat me up badly and stole a lot of my stuff. Thank God, I was okay. That situation took a toll on my character. I want people to know who I am and where I’m trying to go.A lot of this project stemmed from what happened.”
Recovered and ready again, he put his head down and continued recording. Along the way, he honed every skill that turned him into a quiet sensation the year before. The bars became more bulletproof, the singing became more soulful, the storytelling became more cinematic, and the songwriting became sharper. Echoing influences as diverse as Houston icon Z-Ro, Lil Wayne, Childish Gambino and Drake, he picked up right where he left off without missing a beat.
“Story of My Life is pretty much everything that it took for me to get to L.A., get my record deal, and get my career going,” he explains. “My Life Changed shows how my life is different. I’m dealing with different things. The last job I had was at Red Lobster. Now I’m recording out of Atlantic Records in L.A. I’ve had to change as a person in order to maintain my dignity and go through this career. At the same time, people around me have changed.”
After the intense “Intro,” he kicks off Pt. 1 with the confessional and catchy “Angels Protecting Me.” He recounts those traumatic events in visceral verses before belting out a soulful hook, setting the tone for the entire project. Meanwhile, the accompanying music video brings everything to life on screen.
“Throughout everything, I know I have angels still protecting me,” he admits. “Because of that, I felt like this journey must mean something.”
From the Houston anthem “24” to the bold banger “All I Ever Wanted,” Jevon shines on each moment of the journey. The lead single “Ran Out” [feat. Kap G & TK Kravitz] racked up over 239K Spotify streams straight out of the gate fueled by his raw and real rhymes and a blockbuster-size chant.
“It’s another braggadocios record,” he smiles. “It basically says, ‘Y’all ran out trying to keep up with me. I’m moving on now’.”
Pt.1 thrives on Jevon’s honesty. He doesn’t hold anything back, confronting his darkest moments and demons head-on and twisting and turning them into songs.
“I want to portray who I naturally am,” he says. “I love to laugh and make everybody in the room feel comfortable and included. I’m also in this industry trying to push forward, stay strong, and make this happen so I can take care of my family. Who I am has gotten me this far.”
No matter what things change around him, Jevon remains steadfast in the end, and that’s why he’ll make a big impact.
“I want everybody who listens to feel like they almost know me now and where I’m at in my life,” he leaves off. “I want them to know the challenges I went through with the break-in and what I’ve had to overcome dealing with friends changing. I want to show them this how you push through and maintain who you are at all costs. It’s the next chapter of my story.”