The WSN office was transformed into a cozy, quaint coffee shop when Steinhardt sophomore Jasmine Niquel Jackson visited earlier this year to perform her three original songs.

Although Jackson doesn’t come from a particularly musical background, she and her siblings have all taken to music with a full heart and an open mind — her vocal prowess and skill on the guitar was evident even from the short set.

After her performance, WSN sat down with the Music Technology major to discuss the roots of her songwriting, how her family has influenced her music and her hopes for a future in the industry.

WSN: How did you get into music and songwriting?

Jasmine Niquel Jackson: I started songwriting a long, long time ago. I don’t even remember when. My older siblings are also singers and songwriters, so I started songwriting with them and I taught myself guitar in sixth grade so I really started songwriting then. Ever since then, it’s just been going I guess.

WSN: Sounds like you have a musical family. Is this something you credit your parents with or is it something you found in school?

JNJ: No. Not my parents. My dad played some instruments in high school; my mom isn’t really musical at all. I think … I don’t know where it came from. It was very random in my family.

WSN: You say you like to write sad pop music primarily with an acoustic guitar. Where did that style come from or where did you get that sound as your singer-songwriter track?

JNJ: I have no idea where that came from, honestly. I think from just listening to so many different kinds of music growing up –– my dad played everything under the sun. I think just having influences from so many different genres; my sound is still evolving, it’s still forming. I’m not sure where it will end up, and I like to keep the door open to keep growing as an artist.

WSN: What interests you about Music Technology and where are you hoping to take that?

JNJ: The reason why I picked music tech was because for the last three, four years of my life, I really got into production and stuff like that. I really wanted to learn that and learn how to do it better for myself, and so I started studying music tech. As of right now, I mean, my career goals are to be a songwriter and a singer, but I love having a tech background and I think it’s really helpful for the future.

WSN: People need to learn how to produce their own tracks in our current music industry. With that being said, with everything you do on SoundCloud and outside, are you the producer, singer and songwriter for all of the content you make or do you collaborate with others?

JNJ: I do collaborate with others, and I hope to do a lot more of collaboration in the future. I think, for me, I’ve tried doing the singing and songwriting and production, and I do enjoy producing and I definitely want to get more experience doing that. But I think for me and my music, it’s good to have someone else do the production.

WSN: What is your next goal as a singer and songwriter?

JNJ: I think my very next goal is to, hopefully soon, start working on an EP. I really want to, kind of, get a body of work out there that I’m proud of and can call my own. Ideally, I think that’s where I would be going next. I don’t really have any plans for that right now, but hopefully very soon.

Check out the rest of Jasmine Niquel Jackson’s time at Washington Square News through her video interview and live performance.

Email Michael Muth at [email protected].