Jesse who was born in Chicago on February 20, 1985 spent most of his childhood in Jamaica and Miami before spreading roots as a teenager in New York City. In his youth Jesse spent most of his time outside of school learning valuable life lessons from his family. His aunts and uncles taught him the value of setting goals for himself; his grandmother a respect for spirituality; his mother a sense of passion and the importance of staying dedicated and focused in order to reach his goals and from all of them was grown an adoration and reverence for music.
Jesse’s own musical creations began in the 4th grade. He developed a talent for hearing sounds in his environment and using them as a guide to create melodies that he would record on his karaoke machine. It was around this time that he began to seek out music outside of what he had been exposed to growing up. He sought out soul artists such as Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye and Donny Hathaway; enigmatic artists such as Bjork, Sade and Pink Floyd and realizing from them the impact of words in their songs he began to delve into the writings of Shakespeare and Langston Hughes. From them he learned how to create depth in his lyrics. He studied their use of metaphors and imagery, and examined how they used these techniques to create stories and worked these methods into his own personal style.
At 16 Jesse was selected out of the nation to be 1 of 13 singers in the Grammy Jazz Ensemble, where he was discovered and later recruited by The New School University for Jazz and Contemporary Music. While studying at The New School University, Jesse worked on refining his skills as a writer, performer, arranger, producer and vocalist. He studied with classical trainer Kenneth Kamal Scott and soul artist Bilal. He also created bonds with other talented creative people who became integral parts of his team and dedicated musicians forming his supporting band, The Beauty Created.
In early 2008 Jesse entered into the mainstream music scene with his first release Dopamine: My Life On My Back. His first single from that album, Tabloids peaked at #2 on the Billboard Video Monitor. His ambitious follow-up release later that year, The Beauty Created affirmed critics’ acclaim for Dopamine while solidifying Jesse’s defining place in the history of soul music. With the success of both albums, music videos and many collaborations with contemporaries such as The Foreign Exchange, Theophilus London, MeLo-X, Machine Drum, and Phantom Lover he has gained international recognition and built a loyal worldwide following.
Jesse’s talent and hard work was also recognized by BET in 2010 when they tapped him to be a major component in their BET Music Matters™ campaign granting him the distinction of being one of the first Independent Artists to premiere a video on their popular show 106 & Park. Jesse was further rewarded by earning a nomination for a 2010 Soul Train Award, which can be largely credited to his release of the video, Amorous (dir. Jarrett Woo) and his worldwide Romantic Movement Tour that year.
Currently Jesse is completing his third album Love Apparatus with producer Machine Drum. With the lead single B4 the Night is Thru, released on Robert “Bobbito” García’s vinyl label Alala Records, they delighted fans and critics alike with the evolution of his sound. Jesse considers himself a musical explorer. While recording Love Apparatus Jesse traveled worldwide marking new experiences and exploring new sounds and incorporating that into the project. In his own words he says, “I create World Soul that marks moments in time. Each time I introduce new music to my fans I want it to become a defining part of their lives as much as it is a part of mine.”
plain
Jesse Boykins III Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Never thought youd go and find yourself a new trend
Shouldve known I was always in the dark with you
Shared less words than even secrets do
Plain
This feelings feeling plain
Plain
I always knew wed be plain
This feelings feeling plain
Plain
I always knew wed be plain
Did you ever even feel some kind of way
Cause now when I look at you, yeah, I feel plain
Our kisses never hot, never cold
Thought you were the one, you were just her mold
Wouldnt call it stale, wouldnt call it fresh
Doesnt tip the scale, it aint seasoned yet
Wouldnt say its good, wouldnt say its bad
But I guarantee youve already had it
Plain
This feelings feeling plain
Plain
I always knew wed be plain
Plain
This feelings feeling plain
Plain
I always knew wed be plain
The song "Plain" by Jesse Boykins III is a deep portrayal of post-breakup feelings that arise when you realize that the person you thought was going to be with you for life has left you for someone else. The song talks about how the singer never thought he would be alone again, but his partner chose to find a new trend instead of being with him. He reflects on their relationship and realizes that even though they shared fewer words than secrets do, he was always in the dark with her. The repetition of the word "plain" throughout the song emphasizes the monotony of their relationship and how predictable it was.
Jesse Boykins III also draws attention to the fact that their relationship lacked passion and was too plain. The singer mentions how their kisses were not hot or cold, and he thought his partner was the one when she was just a mold of someone else. The song's lyrics reveal that their relationship was not stale, but it wasn't fresh either, and it didn't tip the scale. It was an uninspired relationship that left the singer feeling plain, and he always knew deep down that they were always going to be plain.
In conclusion, "Plain" is a complicated and soulful song that explores what happens when relationships go wrong. It showcases the range of emotions that accompany a breakup such as regret, disappointment, and sadness.
Line by Line Meaning
Never thought Id ever be alone again
I never expected to be alone again
Never thought youd go and find yourself a new trend
I never thought you'd go and find someone else
Shouldve known I was always in the dark with you
I should have realized I never really knew you
Shared less words than even secrets do
We shared very little, even less than secrets reveal
Plain
There's an unmistakable simplicity to this
This feelings feeling plain
This feeling is plain, uncomplicated
Plain
There's an unmistakable simplicity to this
I always knew wed be plain
I always knew we wouldn't be anything special
Plain
There's an unmistakable simplicity to this
This feelings feeling plain
This feeling is plain, uncomplicated
Plain
There's an unmistakable simplicity to this
I always knew wed be plain
I always knew we wouldn't be anything special
Did you ever even feel some kind of way
Did you ever have any real feelings at all?
Cause now when I look at you, yeah, I feel plain
Now when I see you, I feel like we were never anything special
Our kisses never hot, never cold
Our kisses were never passionate, never cold
Thought you were the one, you were just her mold
I thought you were unique, but you were just like all the others.
Wouldnt call it stale, wouldnt call it fresh
Our relationship wasn't old, but it wasn't new either
Doesnt tip the scale, it aint seasoned yet
It wasn't good or bad enough to make a difference
Wouldnt say its good, wouldnt say its bad
It wasn't particularly good or bad
But I guarantee youve already had it
But I'm sure you've experienced something similar before
Contributed by Owen K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Fredrica Bre Hazel
This man is always so Happy!! Why is he not on Tv yet!!??!. This is my GO-TO song from now on. Great way to start your morning :D !!
Cruelty Free Tri
By far my favourite of his songs! Hope he does more like this!
Owen Edwards
this deserves a billion views. The sort of accessible and AWESOME song that deserves to be number one
R311D4D0N
"I thought you were the one but you were just her mold"
I'm feelin that line
AyotaL SamoTH
One of the most underrated artist. I love you Jesse!!!!!
Jupiter_Star
Anything this man does he makes it look and sound great. I really enjoy his beautiful spirit. And he is so versatile with his music.
Halil
Every time I listen this, I feel hyped and plain. Some reason i happy that not too much people know about this song.
blessed100
He dances like the black napoleon dynamite :) Love it :D
MamaLouWhatItDo
YESS YES YES!!! Jesse Boykins iii, you really are something special. So is this song. And especially this video. I've never seen a music video like this before so hats off to you for being an original cool cat. Can't wait to see more of your work. You so DOPE!
Bruna AJs
Sempre atemporal!! adoro!!!!