2015 was the year of the “Classic Man,” and it’s all thanks to one man. Jidenna had everyone singing and dancing along to his anthem, and even inspired The Game’s Halloween costume. Looking ever the “Classic Man” in a suit and cane, he caught up with Rap-Up TV backstage at 92.3’s “Real Show” in L.A., where he reflected on the success of his breakout hit.
“The highlight is every three-year-old, every seven-year-old, every 37-year-old, and every 73-year-old coming up to me and saying I love ‘Classic Man,’ I love your record, because that means more to me than the Billboard charts,” said Jidenna. “That means 20 years down the line, they’re gonna love the record as a classic. That’s very important for where I’m going and where my team’s going. Nobody on my team thinks less than 100 years.”
He plans to continue the timeless trend on his debut album, due in early 2016. And make no mistake about it, he’s no one-hit wonder. “You can expect swank. You can expect an album that feels like the adventures of classic man. What does a classic man do when he’s in his hotel? What does he do when he explores South Central L.A. all the way to Dubai?” he said. “You can expect the best album in 2016, hands down, feet down.”
Before the end of the year, he plans to release his next anthem, “Knickers,” which he performed live on “The Eephus” tour with Janelle Monáe. “I’m a big fan of knickers. I’m a slim guy. Slim guys, we don’t really like shorts too much. So knickers fits us right. It makes our hamstring look a little bit bigger.”
He hopes to start another trend with the song named after his favorite undergarment. “I also believe in 2016 it will be a little trend that all the youngsters and the hipsters will get with.”