Rising Stars: Meet Jeromy Delgado of Atlanta

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jeromy Delgado.

Hi Jeromy, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Growing up, I’ve always been a creative. Whether it was making little videos with my Bionicles on my phone when I was little, learning animation, video editing, making video games, or making music, I’ve always been drawn to creating. I’ve always had a lot of ideas and energy, and over time I’ve found ways to manifest those ideas into reality.

I grew up in the Northeast for most of my life, in a Dominican household, before moving to Georgia over six years ago. Because of that, embracing my identity has always been a foundational part of my craft. Not just my cultural background, but the experiences, influences, and perspectives I’ve picked up throughout my life. The things I see every day, the people I’ve met, and the places I’ve lived have all shaped the way I create.

I think a lot of people don’t realize that no one can ever live your exact life. People can arrive at similar conclusions, but no one has your exact perspective. That nuance is inherently valuable, and bringing that into your work is important. For me, that’s always been a guiding principle. I try to be honest about who I am and where I come from, and I let that naturally find its way into everything I create.

Music became the medium that tied all of those ideas together. I started making beats when I was about fourteen years old on my school laptop. At first it was just curiosity, but over time it became a passion. I remember discovering concepts like chopping drum breaks, selecting drums that carried the right emotion, building basslines with groove, and studying how arrangement alone could tell a story before a single lyric was ever heard. I’ve always felt like a storyteller, and music gave me a language to express that. I want people to feel something from the production before I even open my mouth. The emotion should already exist in the room through the textures, the melodies, the rhythm, and the space between the sounds.

Over the years, I continued building my craft piece by piece. Learning how to engineer my own music, record myself and other artists, collaborate with producers and creatives, intern at recording studios, and eventually study sound design professionally all came from that same passion I discovered as a teenager. Every new skill became another tool that allowed me to express myself more honestly. More importantly, it taught me how to stay aligned with my purpose rather than simply chasing a destination.

There has always been something special about sitting alone in a dark room late at night, creating for no reason other than the fact that it feels honest. Those moments taught me the importance of vulnerability. Some of my favorite ideas have come from allowing myself to experiment without worrying about whether something was commercial or whether other people would understand it. I just wanted to make something that felt true to me. Ironically, I’ve found that’s usually when people connect with it the most.

Being from New Jersey and moving to Georgia also taught me how important it is to embrace every part of my identity. Music has become one of the main ways I express who I am creatively. It’s helped me heal parts of myself, and I hope it can create that same feeling for others. Every project I make is an opportunity to better understand myself while hopefully giving someone else permission to better understand themselves too.

As my career continues to grow, I hope my work expands beyond music alone. I want to build something that contributes to my community in tangible ways. One of my long-term goals is to create programs and resources that support young people, particularly around emotional intelligence and mental health. I genuinely believe every student should have access to mental health resources and therapists, regardless of where they come from. If my music and creative work can become a vehicle that helps make those kinds of opportunities more accessible, then I’ll feel like I’ve created something much bigger than an artistic career.

No matter what I’m creating, or how I’m navigating life, surviving in Georgia, building a life for myself, chasing my goals, and trying to leave a positive impact on the world and my community, that’s what keeps my head up at the end of the day. No matter what obstacles or adversity come my way, having something bigger than myself to work toward keeps me moving forward.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I’ll never forget how much the South became a rude awakening for me as I grew into a young man. Moving away from everything I knew forced me to confront parts of the world and parts of myself that I probably wouldn’t have otherwise. It meant learning how to navigate this country as a person of color, understanding the complexities of the diaspora, studying the psychology of people, and recognizing how greed, envy, and power can shape the spaces we move through.

It also meant learning how to survive. There were times when I barely had enough money for food or a place to stay. I dealt with landlords who seemed more interested in squeezing every dollar out of tenants than treating people fairly. They hoped you didn’t know your rights well enough to stand up for yourself. There were seasons where I worked three jobs while going to school full time, without a car, getting around on a friend’s childhood bicycle because that’s all I had. None of it was glamorous, but it taught me resilience.

Beyond the financial struggles, there was the internal work. Learning how to navigate friendships, relationships, family, and the weight of generational trauma. Learning to heal instead of simply carrying what had been passed down to me. Learning to stay grounded spiritually through both the highs and the lows. Prioritizing my health even during seasons that felt mentally, emotionally, and physically exhausting. Investing in myself, not just financially, but psychologically too, through therapy and a commitment to understanding myself better.

Along the way, I watched people I cared about face their own hardships. Some became homeless. Some went to jail. Some passed away. Experiences like that change the way you see the world. They remind you how fragile life is, but also how important it is to remain compassionate and present.

One of the hardest lessons was learning to forgive myself for my own mistakes. I’m still growing, and I’ve realized growth isn’t about pretending you’ve always had it figured out. It’s about giving yourself the grace to become someone better while taking accountability for who you’ve been.

Looking back now, I can see that every challenge, every setback, and every season that felt isolating was quietly building a stronger foundation beneath me. At the time, those moments felt like they were breaking me down. In reality, they were preparing me for the person I’m still becoming. And for that, I can only be grateful.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I’m primarily a music artist and producer under the name J’DÉGO. Music is my main creative medium, and through it I make genre-blending, alternative hip-hop that pulls from surrealism, introspection, and my Afro-Caribbean background. Every project I create is an extension of who I am. Whether it’s an album or the EP I’m currently rolling out, I want my work to feel authentic, emotionally honest, and visually distinctive.

Ironically, it was my passion for making music that led me to pursue sound design professionally. I attended a creative school in Georgia where I studied sound design, and on paper I’m a sound designer. Throughout that journey I’ve specialized in post-production sound, on-set sound mixing, supervising sound editing, sound design, ADR, Foley, and recording engineering for artists. Those experiences gave me the technical foundation to work across film, music, and other creative mediums while continuing to build my own career as an independent artist and creative entrepreneur.

What I’m most proud of is my authenticity. I never want my work to sound or look like it’s chasing what’s popular. I’ve always believed it’s not about being the best person in the room. It’s about being the person people remember. I care deeply about building a distinct artistic identity, from the color palettes I use, to the bounce of my drums, the whimsical textures in my synths, the tone and inflection of my voice, and the introspective subjects I choose to write about.

For example, my latest project, “Lemme Recount”, reflects that philosophy in every aspect. The visuals, production, songwriting, and sonic palette are all intentionally designed to feel cohesive and unmistakably mine. I enjoy approaching surrealism through an Afro-Caribbean lens, allowing those influences to shape both the sound and visual identity of my work.

I also believe artists have a responsibility beyond simply making good music. We’re living in an era where every niche can find its community, but I think our responsibility is to genuinely serve those communities. I want my music to help people feel understood, inspire them to create, and encourage them to embrace who they are. If my work can contribute something meaningful to the people who connect with it, then I’ve done far more than just release another project.

We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
I’ve always been a risk taker. Even as a kid, I was the type to jump off things, try new tricks, explore places I probably shouldn’t have been, and question authority, ideas, and the status quo. Looking back, I think that curiosity shaped a lot of who I am today. I’ve never been someone who’s comfortable accepting something just because everyone else believes it or because someone told me that’s how it has to be.

That mindset carried into how I learn. Whenever someone discouraged me from trying something, one of the first things I’d ask myself was whether they had actually done it themselves. If they had experience, I listened closely. If they didn’t, I’d still hear them out, but I’d take it with a grain of salt. At the end of the day, I felt like I had to find the answer for myself. Whether I succeeded or failed, I always believed there was something to learn from the experience.

Some of the biggest risks I’ve taken weren’t single moments. They were long-term decisions. Moving away from New Jersey to Georgia to pursue a creative education was a risk. Choosing a career in music and sound instead of a more conventional path was a risk. Working multiple jobs while going to school full time, often with very little financially, was a risk. Building my own brand instead of waiting for someone to hand me an opportunity is still a risk that I choose every day.

That said, I don’t think of myself as reckless. I don’t believe in taking blind risks. I believe in calculated risks. I’ll spend time thinking through my options, building a strategy, and preparing as much as I can. At some point, though, there will always be uncertainty. You’ll never have every answer before making an important decision. If you wait until everything feels guaranteed, you’ll probably never move at all.

My faith also plays a big role in how I approach uncertainty. I try to stay grounded in God while doing everything I can to prepare myself. Once I’ve done that, I’m willing to take the leap. I believe that if a risk aligns with who I’m becoming and the purpose I’m pursuing, then it’s a risk worth taking.

Ultimately, I think growth requires risk. Every meaningful opportunity I’ve had came from stepping into something that wasn’t guaranteed. Even when things didn’t work out the way I expected, they still gave me experience, perspective, and resilience. Looking back, I don’t regret taking those chances. They’ve shaped the person I am today.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/iamjdego
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamjdego/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeromydelgadosd/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/jermjoe
• Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/jdego