After Hours with Cade Episode 8: Jaden Pierce

LAWTON, Okla. (KSWO) - On After Hours with Cade, I sit down with local artists to discuss Lawton and Southwest Oklahoma’s impact on their career and how it’s helped shape their artistry.

My eighth guest is Jaden Pierce, an emerging artist who’s been making an impression in the Lawton music scene well before graduating high school.

The artist and music producer began playing the drums when he was just three years old, advancing to the organ and piano at the young age of five. By the time he was 12, he had started making his own music, and since then, he hasn’t stopped.

“My dad is a musician. He plays the bass guitar, drums, piano, and anything you can name. So, I watched him growing up, and he’s the reason why. When I first got into it, I knew that I wanted to make a change in the world. And I knew to make a change in the world, I had to be able to do some form of work. You know, I was raised on old school, so listening to them guys inspires me more to make music,” Pierce said.

Pierce says that his parents have supported him from the beginning, pushing him to be whatever he wants to be.

“They told me at a young age, if your heart is into it if you feel like that’s what you need to do, then go ahead and do it. They have been everywhere with me. With my video shoots they’ve been there with water ready for everybody who was acting. They’ve just been so supportive of me, and I really appreciate them for that.

He says that the defining moment for him that solidified his decision to pursue singing full-time was at nine years old when he was invited to sing at the children’s rally.

“The children’s rally is where all the kids in the United States come together, and they sing. It’s Baptist-based, and I had enough talent to make it to play, and ever since then, I knew that I could do anything with God in my life because I trusted God to get me there. I prayed hard,” Pierce said.

“To be honest, man, stay in my lane. I don’t put myself first, I put God first, and I pray every night for him to make whatever needs to happen come true. God is a big key to what I do.”

“When people hear Jaden Pierce, I want them to know Jaden Pierce, like, ‘he’s got this type of music. He does pop.’ I don’t want them to be like, ‘Jaden Pierce, he the rapper.’ I want people to know when they hear my name that I have something good to provide for them,” Pierce continued.

He says that growing up in Lawton has significantly impacted his life, and the constant support of his peers means everything to him. “I’m still in high school and go to school every day to, ‘JP, when’s your new album coming out?’ ‘JP, I can’t wait for it to come out, bro.’ You know, it just keeps me going when I feel like giving up.”

Despite his collaborations within the community over the past three years and three albums, he says that his age and time availability has significantly strained his ability to make the connections he would like.

Pierce released his most recent album, ‘Life of a Rising Star,’ on April 30, 2023, an accumulation of his past years’ experience.

“I started ‘Life of a Rising Star’ in 2022, August 5, right after dropping my senior album. I started with the first song, which is called ‘Life of a Rising Star Intro,’ and I was talking about how I’m coming, I’m bringing the heat, and I’m ready. I’m about to be grown; stuff is about to get real, and I’m just telling the world what I’m thinking, how I feel, and how I believe in myself,” Pierce said.

On the cusp of high school graduation and becoming a college freshman at the University of Central Oklahoma (UCO) in the fall, Pierce has accumulated over ninety-one thousand followers on his artist Instagram profile, which is quite the feat to accomplish at such a young age. But he doesn’t let that get to his head or his ego.

“It feels good, but at the same time, I’m staying humble because you can lose anything at any given time. To be honest, it feels very good. I’m not ready for it to end yet, man, you know, but no matter what, I’m still staying humble, and it keeps me pushing.”

“I just think about like, ‘I can be in that man’s shoes right now.’ Or, you know, that could be me. I can get stuff taken away from me, and I just think of that. I think: what would God do? I got to stay humble, and keep my mouth shut, even though things are going good, but stay humble because I’m not where I want to be yet. I’m trying to go farther,” Pierce continued.

He says what he’s looking forward to during college is growing his connections, building his fan base, and working hard to get his degree. In five years, he sees his name on the national level.

“I see myself working with major artists, on the billboard top 100, and, you know, just working. I see myself up there with the greats.”

Pierce says what makes him stand out amongst the long list of artists in Southwest Oklahoma trying to make it is his humbleness and the fact that he has an original sound.

You can find Jaden Pierce online at jaden_pierce_the_goat on Instagram, theofficialjadenpierce on Facebook, and Jaden Pierce on Apple Music, Spotify, and Youtube.

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