(singing)
When I found out Soul Train wanted me to perform,
I was like, "Damn, for real?"
(singing)
’Cause you know, I always hear big news,
but it don’t never set in until I get around it.
I feel overwhelmed, like I just don’t even know how to feel.
Like I feel like dream come true. I just feel like, damn,
everything I used to be thinking,
and dreaming of, I’m just walking in it.
(singing)
Performing live to me is,
showing the people that listen to your music what you do raw.
So, performing live to me is being raw.
(singing)
I think you bring the rawness to the stage
by being who you are in your music,
and being yourself.
Like just living in the sound that you created,
living in the music that you created,
and expressing that to the people live.
(singing)
How I chose my song selection for Soul Train,
I just went with the fan favorites right now.
But B.E.D. being one of my biggest records ever,
I gotta pop it off with that. So, I’m doing B.E.D. first,
and then I’ma do my new single, "You".
(singing)
The offsite rehearsals, it’s a big part of the show,
it’s a big part of my show, anyway.
I always rehearse, I always been an artist to rehearse.
We always do that, just make sure we come in clean
because of course, we know that we professionals,
so we know that whatever we do the people gonna accept,
but we always like to make it like, crispy, like, on point.
And this being my biggest performance of my life,
you know, we made sure that we rehearsed a lot.
(singing)
The background singers who you see for my show,
the background singers, that’s a R&B group,
that’s Bluff City, they’re from Memphis.
But you know, they came up with the music in Atlanta,
and you know, I done knew them since I was like, 18.
But my whole time knowing them,
I would always put them on my records in the backgrounds,
you know, write records with them.
So I always just keep them with me.
(singing)
Well, me and the boys,
we was just trying to figure out how to end it,
’cause we was just figuring out, do we wanna end it clean,
or with a curse word for real?
Hold on, let me get on a ... How the hell we do this?
(singing)
So I’m just saying, you still ...
(singing)
Okay, I see what you’re saying. I gotcha.
So, what I’m doing? Uh, ad lib.
(singing)
So ♪ I rather be with you, oh, ooh ♪
Yeah, I like that better.
(singing)
Let me hear, Tim gonna come in ...
(singing)
Here we go, last time.
(singing)
I'll have them feel that out. We're gonna clean it up.
All right, cool.
You know, this being the Soul Train,
let’s just end it real clean, you know?
And I’m gonna just come with a run over the top,
and just make it, you know, I just put the Jacquees on it.
(singing)
Dude, we practice so hard, it’s like football or something.
It’s like, we practice so hard in practice,
when we get to the game, it feels so easy.
So it’s like, that’s how we kinda do it with this.
... Don’t worry about it,
’cause by the time of the show, it'll filled in with ...
So, it makes it feel crazy ...
But by the time we put him in the show,
it’s gonna be a monster moment, all right?
Look out. Look out. Don’t put your head down.
Put your head up. Put your head up.
Look around. That’s right. Put your head up.
Coach! Coach! Put me in! Put me in!
When I was on stage, and they told me that, they were like,
"Now, we wanna give you a real entrance, like you know,
we wanna put you in this hallway with all this glass,
it’s gonna be like there’s like 10 of you, it’s gonna super hard,
like we wanna give you a real introduction."
And just based off that, I was like,
oh, they really with me.
Everybody with me, I was telling everybody yesterday, like,
I could tell everybody want me to win.
But just me being on stage, I felt that type of energy.
Like, I felt like ... I perform every weekend, like,
I do shows every weekend, non-stop.
So, I’m used to performing, but of course,
I always know how to prepare myself
for the next levels of performances,
and like I was just soaking it all in.
(singing)
Trying to take my time,
trying to really just mark my steps
and know where I’m gonna be at for my big day,
but I just know I felt comfortable.
Like, I was telling my boy today like, I’m in it now.
It’s easy. It’s second nature now.
(singing)
I’m sorry.
Not to sing all out, but just sing right?
Yeah, you don't gotta sing all out,
but I just want you to make sure you’re hearing the right thing,
’cause I don’t want you to rely, and drop out,
and that vocal still be playing, you see what I’m saying?
Yeah, you can’t drop out.
Dropped out a couple times ... Oh, no, no, no, no.
He’s just doing, I know, he’s good. He’s good.
Was because I just wasn’t trying to sing.
Yes.
Got you. I was just saying-
I wasn’t trying to like, let that play for me.
No. Got you. Okay, cool.
No, he’s not that guy.
They was just telling me, "You already cool so, you know,
you ain’t gotta be cool, just sing that shit.
You know, just like, hammer everything, you feel me?
Just express yourself because you killing it,
but just take it there, that’s it."
They were like, "’Cause it’s all there."
(singing)
I’m leaving rehearsal, now I’m just gonna go get some food,
get some grub, fill my stomach up.
What’s going through my mind right now
is, you know, tomorrow, what I’m gonna do at the show,
like, what I’m gonna do on stage,
how the people gonna take in my energy,
how the people gonna look at me.
’Cause I know they been thinking,
and listening to Jacquees for a long time,
and they been like, "Damn, I wonder what he gonna do
if I see him live, if I see him raw."
So, I’m gonna just give them what they think they gonna see.
Like, it’s gonna be like, everything you thought.
Like, if you was thinking good, it’s gonna be great.
If you was thinking bad, it’s gonna be great.
(singing)
ATL.
Yep, and that’s what it is. There you go. I like that.
I’m sorry! Celebrity coming through!
You’re doing a documentary for Jacquees, right?
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
This is the part of people
that’s in the documentary that he did not pay.
He ain’t pay me to do this damn documentary.
He’s awesome. We love Jacquees.
Performing tonight at the Soul Train Awards,
we have Jacquees joining us on the carpet.
I am standing here with my brother, Jacquees.
What’s up, son?
What’s up? What’s up? What’s up? What it do? What it do?
What it do?
Soul, right here. Now, I need to find out from you
what makes Soul Train so special, brother?
Well, to me, what makes Soul train special is, you know,
it just bring everybody together,
you know, everybody with soul.
You know, it’s some of my favorite artists
that’s always on Soul Train performing,
and you know, they always honoring a legend, so ...
And you just dropped an album, I heard.
Yeah, yeah, 4275, in stores right now.
Yes, sir! Yes, sir!
Listen man, like you know, I love what you’re doing.
Thank you.
Keep up, hold that down for the R&B,
you know what I’m saying?
That soul.
Yes, sir.
(singing)
Soulful R&B is in real good hands with our next performer.
His star is rising,
and music from his Cash Money Records debut album, 4275,
just surpassed 100 million global Spotify streams.
Please welcome Jacquees!
ATL, Decatur, Soul Train.
(singing)
That was a career making performance.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Remember I kept warning you like,
"At the end, they may not give you no love,
so don’t worry about it"? Did you hear that shit?
Hell yeah.
Did you hear that shit?
Yes, sir.
Did you hear what they- Hey.
Did you hear when they came up, when the dudes came up,
and did that harmony? Did you hear the audience?
But I looked on the right, they were like ... they went crazy.
When y'all came up-
I had to catch myself though, look. In the beginning ...
Oh my God. How was the beginning?
No, no, no, no, no, everything.
Dude, it was everything.
No, no, no, no, no, everything.
That shit felt so good.
Jacquees, you killed it.
Hey, did I kill it gentlemen?
From the beginning beat, it sounded good?
Soul Train Awards with our bro, Jacquees.
It was an amazing, amazing experience.
The vibes were so right.
It was electric, man.
Know what I’m saying? History in the making is happening tonight.
There’s nothing like a new artist who is hungry,
and does all the work.
Like, this man rehearsed for an hour and a half the other day,
and then did another three hour rehearsal.
I’ve seen a lot of young folks who wanna come in,
do rehearsal, like run off, and then do something else.
But he stuck with it.
I left him today after dress rehearsal,
he’s watching it on an iPhone,
making sure he knows what his ending’s gonna be,
how he’s gonna look at different points,
like, that’s the mark of an artist.
My boy, Stephen Hill, you know what I’m saying?
AKA Coach, the meanest coach in the world.
The best coach ever.
Wait, wait, no, no.
There was a show called Music Mogul on BET a while back.
And when we first started that,
Baby ... was doing a promo, and he said,
"Jacquees next superstar."
Exactly!
And three years later, Jacquees next superstar.
I killed it.