Meet Jack Jaymier Manikoth, known professionally as zJakkies. Jack is responsible for producing tracks for some of the industries biggest names like, Sahbabii, Yung Bans, Lil Gotit & Destroy Lonely. Before all the big placements, zJakkies began producing in the city of Sacramento, CA. The Laos and African American producer was born on April 22, 2002 and found himself in love with R&B and Dance Electronic music. The influence from R&B and Dance Electronic transferred into zJakkies creating feel good music. A lot of his inspiration to create music in general came from artists like Michael Jackson & Drake.
ZJakkies first interaction with music production began when he tried buying beats from producers DJYOUNGKASH & MEXIKODRO when he was just 14 years old. However, due to the high cost of buying beats, zJakkies decided to make his own. When we asked him who his biggest inspirations were early in his producing career zJakkies said, “Playboi Carti, Mexiko Dro & Oliver Francis were definitely the biggest”. We also asked him if he always saw him as a producer the whole time, He added that “ I’ve always seen myself being a rapper or musician. I don’t know what it was, that was all that interested me when I was younger but ended up falling in love with production.”
As zJakkies career developed, Jack ended up joining the producer group Surreal Gang. The group had a huge impact on his music style and development. The group was originally started in 2016 by Xangang & Rob $urreal. Both Xangang & Rob $urreal played a role in the development of zJakkies producing career early on. ZJakkies love the creative process that happens between artists and producers. He said, “ when it comes to working with artists I look for somebody with the drive and ambition for creating good music. You can be completely new to music but if you have the drive I’ll take a bet on you and be motivated to work together”.
ZJakkies drive to create has not been lost over the years. He is currently still producing Sacramento, CA and has a number of various projects coming out in 2022. Jack emphasized his plans on growing his brand in 2022 to work with new artists and grow his influence. Be prepared to see him having a breakout year.