GRAMMY Album of the Year Nominee, Djesse Vol. 4, Quincy Jones, Herbie Hancock, Tori Kelly, John Legend
There is no one in music quite like Jacob Collier. A multi-instrumentalist, arranger, composer, and performer who taught himself everything, went viral on YouTube as a teenager, and then spent years quietly becoming one of the most celebrated musicians alive, Jacob has redefined what it means to make ambitious, boundary-defying music in the modern era. His Djesse series, a four-volume project spanning genres, languages, collaborators, and continents, earned him an Album of the Year GRAMMY nomination for Djesse Vol. 4 and cemented his place among the most inventive artists of his generation.
In this 71-minute conversation, Elmo goes deep with Jacob on the completion of Djesse, his approach to musical arrangement and composition, collaborations with Tori Kelly and John Legend on reimagined classics, and his profound connections to Quincy Jones and Herbie Hancock. They also go personal: Jacob's reflections on fame, family life, what it means to stay grounded when the world is watching, and a special message he had for Zedd recorded right after their episodes back to back.
Jacob brings the same extraordinary curiosity and warmth to this conversation that he brings to everything he touches. This is a conversation about music, love, and what happens when someone with an unlimited imagination decides to follow every single idea all the way to its end.
"Every song is a world. My job is to build that world as completely and honestly as I possibly can."
The full story of finishing Djesse Vol. 4: what it meant to close out a project that spanned years and albums, the emotional weight of that final chapter, and the Album of the Year nomination that followed.
Jacob's philosophy on musical arrangement: how he hears a song before it exists, why he thinks in colors and textures more than notes, and the six consecutive Best Arrangement nominations that tell their own story.
The process behind reimagining classic songs with Tori Kelly and John Legend, what each brought to those collaborations, and how Jacob approaches working with vocalists who have completely different artistic identities from his own.
Jacob's deep connections to two of the most important figures in the history of music: what Quincy Jones meant to him, what Herbie Hancock taught him, and how those relationships shaped who he is as an artist.
Jacob's honest reflections on what life at this level of recognition actually feels like, how he protects his sense of self, and why family and connection remain the most important things to him regardless of what the industry does around him.
Jacob on music as world-building: his belief that every song is a universe waiting to be explored, how he follows his goosebumps as a creative compass, and what he thinks music is ultimately for.
Jacob walks through the emotional experience of finishing Djesse Vol. 4 and the series as a whole: the relief, the strangeness of letting it go, and what it felt like to receive an Album of the Year nomination for a project he had lived inside for so many years.
His masterclass on arrangement: how he thinks about harmony, texture, and space when building a song, why he believes most musicians leave enormous amounts of beauty unexplored, and the specific instincts that have earned him six consecutive Best Arrangement nominations.
On Quincy Jones: Jacob's tribute to a mentor and friend, what it meant to have Quincy in his corner, and the specific piece of wisdom Quincy shared with him that he carries into every creative situation he enters.
The Tori Kelly and John Legend collaborations in depth: how those sessions came together, what happened in the room, and what Jacob learned about the difference between a great vocalist and a truly great musical collaborator.
Jacob on following his goosebumps as a creative strategy: why he trusts that physical sensation more than any external opinion, how it has led him to ideas that seemed impossibly ambitious, and what happens when he ignores it.
His special message to Zedd, recorded back to back with this episode: the mutual respect between two artists operating at completely different ends of the musical spectrum, and what Jacob wanted to say to someone he admires deeply.