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Jerome Anthony Kendricks, also known by his stage name JKendricks, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In 2019 he officially released his first demo entitled “Notice Me Original Demo” on multiple major music distribution platforms such as Apple Music, Spotify, Tidal, and Pandora; which he wrote, vocally arranged, and co-produced.
Early life
Jerome Anthony Kendricks was born December 7th, 1989, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His biological parents are unknown due to him being an orphan and ward of the court in Allegheny County (Pittsburgh), Pennsylvania. In 1994 he was adopted by a single man named Donald Kendricks, where Jerome adopted his legal last name. Once adopted doctors told his father that Jerome may never be able to walk properly due to his lack of attention and care while an orphan which caused him to be behind in his physical development; therefore his father would spend extra time walking Jerome up and down the stairs in their duplex until he eventually learned how to walk correctly. Although his father constantly struggled to make ends meet he would give Jerome arts and crafts to practice painting & drawing, sports equipment such as basketballs, footballs, and baseballs; and electronic pianos to explore music at a young age. Donald was a regular and very active member in the church at Deliverance Baptist Church in Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania where he played piano and organ for the church choir. This caused Jerome to be heavily influenced by music through his father. At age 8 Jerome sang his first solo in church for the children’s choir. Although Jerome showed a natural talent to sing, create songs, and had some athleticism, his father was unable to afford any sort of professional training or coaching which gave Jerome no opportunity to record music or get involved with any type of youth organized sports teams or programs. Also due to the high level of crime and violence in Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania along with the cold fall and winter seasons in Pittsburgh,this forced Jerome to be indoors where he developed his skills for writing and became a standout English student in elementary and middle school. Jerome recalls times where his father would make him write book reports over and over until they were well structured and there were no grammatical errors, which irritated Jerome at the time but he later recognized set him up for success later in life. Jerome recalls his journey with his father somewhat similar to the motion picuture film Pursuit of Happyness in the way he constantly saw his father fighting to keep them afloat and trying to hide their reality from him while simultaneously hardening Jerome to be ready for a life in which he would have to grow up faster than his peers as a disadvantaged orphan with less, and inconsistent support. In early 2001 Donald passed away suddenly to pneumonia.
In 2001 Jerome moved to Carson, California with his aunt and uncle. Distraught by the loss of his father, Jerome stepped away from music and focused on sports since music caused him to think too much about his father. During his sophomore year at Junipero Serra High School his aunt told him that she didn’t have money saved to pay for his college and that he would have to leave the house at age 18 because he would then be a legal adult. Jerome then started running track because of the success he noticed from the program at Serra High School and thought he could use track as a tool to secure a future for himself towards college. By the end of his senior year Jerome earned the team captain title, earned First Team All-League honors as a 300 meter Hurdler[1], won a Del Rey League Championship[2], and a C.I.F. Southern Section Div. IV Championship[3]. He graduated ranked as a top hurdler in the state of California[4] and made the Junipero Serra High School All-Time Track & Field List as a 300 meter intermediate hurdler and 110 meter high hurdler. Also while in high school Jerome got back into music through a friend who encouraged Jerome to sing once he made mention of his ability to be able to do so. Once he heard Jerome, he urged him to get into the studio and this allowed Jerome to develop his songwriting skills and fine tune his creative process in song making.
After sending out hand written letters to college coaches across the country during his senior year in high school, Jerome caught the attention of California State University Fullerton in which he started to favor in committing to[5], but ultimately picked California State University Chico (also known as the Chico State Wildcats) where he was heavily recruited by Hall of Fame coach Kirk Freitas who’s program was widely regarded as a NCAA Divison II track powerhouse. There he majored in Psychology and for a short time held a double major in Music Industry Technology, which he eventually decided not to proceed with. While a student-athlete at Chico State, Jerome balanced school, track & field, and music. After track practices Jerome would record music or practice in jam sessions with other music majors to hone his craft as a singer, songwriter, and producer. He even performed at multiple talent shows in Chico and even in Los Angeles, eventually landing opportunities to collaborate and open up for a number of notable celebrities. By 2012 Jerome won a 2008 Men’s Track & Field California Collegiate Athletic Association Championship [6] and a 2010 Men’s Track & Field California Collegiate Athletic Association Championship[7]; also becoming ranked 32nd in the nation in the Men’s 400 meter hurdles. Musically, around this time frame he also worked with artist such as The Dream on his Kill the Lights Tour, Betty Wright, Omarion, Slim from 112, Mario, Marques Houston, and Bei Maejor.
Jerome would eventually decide to refrain from signing any recording contract offers as the landscape of the music business started to evolve and he focused more on sharpening his songwriting/production skills, studying financial literacy, studying music business law, and also developing a foundation and long term plan to tour and distribute his music independently. As well as focus more on his personal life and family. He also joined the United States Army where he earned 7 service ribbons honorably as a Sergeant. Jerome took this new collection of knowledge, understanding, and experience and applied it in ways to positively impact his musical journey.
Career
2019: Notice Me Original Demo
Jerome wrote and recorded a single entitled “Notice Me Original Demo” which he co-produced with guitarist Reese Weil and released independently on multiple major music distribution platforms such as Apple Music, Spotify, Tidal, and Pandora. This single was instrumental in growing Jerome’s following on social media which started to gain significance due to the songs wide range of appeal to a diverse audience world wide.
