Today we’d like to introduce you to Ezra Jacob.
Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
I was born in Chicago and lived there for the first seven years of my life. I moved over to Georgia when my mom married my dad (technically stepdad, but he’s incredible, so I just call him dad) and I gained a brother and sister. We grew up not super poor but definitely struggling. Thank God I had phenomenal parents who worked so hard to provide a stable home for us. When I was around 12, I was introduced to Relient K, Switchfoot, Panic! At The Disco, Fall Out Boy, Paramore, all of those super “punk rock starter pack” bands and picked up a guitar so I could try to learn some of my favorite songs. I wrote my first song for a girl I liked and around that time, I started getting into leading worship and playing with the band at the church I grew up in. It was then I realized my passion and gift for playing and writing music. Since then, I’ve written more worship songs for the local church, and I’ve put to melody a lot of my deepest thoughts and fears in an attempt to give a voice to the things people are often too afraid to talk about.
Please tell us about your art.
I’m very passionate about writing songs about Jesus and inviting people to experience the love of God in a truly profound way. I also love writing about whatever the heck else I feel like talking about because life is just so complicated and beautiful that, even though most likely, every topic has pretty much been covered by now, as the great Bob Dylan once said “The world doesn’t need any more songs…but someone who has something to say. That’s a different story.” In both cases, whether my songs are about the secular or the sacred, as an artist, I’ve been given the privilege and honor to “deepen the mystery” and stir emotions in people in a very reflective and meditative way that is very rare in the hustle and bustle of everyday life. From me, you can always expect a deep connection and story along with each of the songs that I’ve written. I try to put a bit of my own personal experience into each song I write, and if I haven’t personally experienced what I’m trying to write about, then I gather stories from close friends or do some reading to try to capture the essence of the emotion or thought.
As an artist, how do you define success and what quality or characteristic do you feel is essential to success as an artist?
Success, as complex of an idea as it is, really comes down to your values and what those values are rooted in. Are they rooted in truth and do your values seek to help, not only yourself but your community? If so, then success can include even something as simple as being a man or woman of virtue and dignity and helping others find their own sense of worth. It’s not the means by which you do something that determines success. It’s the heart of why you do what you do that is guaranteed to make a lasting impact on the world around you.
How or where can people see your work? How can people support your work?
If you’d like to find a bit of my music online, you can search “Ezra Jacob” wherever you typically get your music and if you’d like to connect online, you can either visit my website at ezrajacobmusic.com or follow me online @ezrajacobmusic.
As far as concerts or things of that sort, I don’t have anything currently lined up except for a few coffee shop events from time to time.
Contact Info:
- Website: ezrajacobmusic.com
- Instagram: @ezrajacobmusic
- Facebook: Ezra Jacob
Image Credit:
Christian Phares, Amanda Mills
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