so·lil·o·quy
\sə-ˈli-lə-kwē\
noun
an act of speaking one’s thoughts aloud when by oneself or regardless of any hearers, especially by a character in a play
Colorful lives don’t always equate to meaningful music, but in the case of Jake Otto McDonald, better known as ATL producer and rapper Astroknot, the two are inextricably linked. A born performer, McDonald has been writing and recording music since he was 14, immersing himself in a broad range of music, from math rock and punk, to reggae and various forms of electronica. But as time went on and his musical proclivities began to sharpen, he found himself increasingly drawn to trap and hip-hop. What follows next, and what is outlined only briefly in McDonald’s soliloquy below, is a long journey of self-discovery that winds through the halls of high school and college, through the murky corridors of the 9-5 corporate rat race, into a rabbit hole of copious psychedelic drugs, and down into a dark pit of traumatic depression.
Having confronted some of his blackest thoughts and deepest fears, McDonald now seeks to wrest control of his career by unleashing his debut album, Ground Control to Astroknot. Due out this summer, the LP features collaborations with the likes of Curtis Williams, Goldyard, Pancho the Great, and Just Neeks, as well as a handful of producers including 808 Mafia’s MP808. This morning, we’re excited to bring you the first peek at the forthcoming record with the premiere of “Cookin,” an ominous ode to trapping in East Atlanta that glides along a sinister beat. Unlike many of their contemporaries, Astroknot and his cohorts Just Neeks, Spun, and L.A. the Mad Titan don’t seem particularly interested in lacing the track with half-sung melodies or Auto-Tuned hooks, choosing instead to channel the production’s grimy darkness into a back and forth onslaught of strong-arm flexing and black-hearted bars. Give it a listen, and then dive deep into McDonald’s lurid backstory below.
Hola, my name is Jake Otto McDonald, aka Astroknot. Born in Long Branch, New Jersey and raised in Atlanta since I was 5-years-old, I can confidently call myself an ATLien. I’ve been infatuated with music and being a performer since I could walk and talk. There is a home video of me at about 4-years-old, where I sit my entire family down in the living room, and perform a jig for them on my stage of the living room coffee table. It really had no rhyme or reason. I started off by saying something like “Radios and genamin!” (Ladies and gentlemen!) “Lend me your eyes and ears for this spectacular performance!” Then I’d do about a minute-long arm flailing and tap dancing performance in my footie/onesie pajamas, humming something like “Sabre Dance,” by Aram Khachaturian.
No one in my family ever picked up an instrument or really performed at all; but [they] were very, very into all varieties of great music. My mom told me she picked me up from preschool one day and my teacher was extremely concerned that all the other kids were singing church tunes and I was screaming, “I’m a loser baaabaayy! So why don’t you kiillll meee!!” from a Beck song we were both super into at the time. She didn’t care, she always let me listen to all the awesome shit other kids weren’t allowed to hear.
I picked up my first instrument, an electric guitar, in eighth grade, and started my first band in ninth. From there, I played guitar, bass, and drums in different bands throughout high school and college—mathcore, punk, ska, then later funk, reggae, electronic, trap, and hip-hop… I’ve experimented with it all. My first foray into hip-hop was in eleventh grade when my friends and I took some ecstasy and wrote a rap. After that, I started producing hip-hop and trap beats to sell and have really been in love with hip-hop ever since. I started to really pick up rapping around 2013, [and] started my first hip-hop project called Leftovers, which was a group of musicians, artists, and producers all just writing real ass lyrics and melodies over nasty ATL trap beats and live instruments.
For my current project, I came up with the name Astroknot for two reasons. First, because I was basically going to space every weekend when I worked as a mechanic for BMW. Everything I do, I do 100%. That meant during the week I was 100% committed to my job, and on the weekends I was 100% committed to experimentation. I was working my ass off Monday through Friday for about 50 to 65 hours, in bed by 10 p.m. every night, really taking pride in my work. But on Friday evening I would smoke a blunt on the way home from work and then dive head first into every psychedelic drug known at your average American festival until late Sunday night. By Sunday nights I would be so twisted on a mixture of psychedelics that I would start to get paranoid that I wouldn’t come down in time to work on these complex German race cars by Monday morning. I felt like a balloon attached to Earth on a long, long string. Like an astronaut in space, I had to reel myself back into the atmosphere by my oxygen cord since I’d floated so far away. I’d do whatever it took to be level-headed again by the time the work week started up, though. I wouldn’t always sleep, but I would never go into work without knowing I was completely capable of performing my job at an acceptable or safe level because I was responsible for other people’s cars and well-being.
The second reason, the “knot” in Astroknot refers to a knot I tied with my brain and heart on psychedelics when I was 18-19 that I am still currently trying to untie. I have always dealt with severe depression and suicidal inclinations, both personally and in my family history. It was something that I was really unprepared for when I was young. I turned to psychedelics in my teen years to cope with that but ended up making it far worse. When I was 19, I made a suicide attempt that miraculously was unsuccessful. The reality of it helped me change my life for the better and I’ve been on a much better path since then. I still do psychedelics today but I feel like without guidance you can end up making those mental issues worse, whereas now with the proper guidance and experience I can actually slowly help correct those mistakes I made in my past. It’s not for everyone and it’s not a permanent cure. Hopefully one day I won’t need them anymore to understand this crazy world we live in, but I’m not ready for that just yet.
I started working on my first solo album Ground Control to Astroknot at the beginning of 2017 after being fired from BMW. It kind of worked out that right around that time I was considering quitting to pursue music full-time anyway. I think getting fired right then was God’s way of telling me it was time to move on and get the ball rolling. God works in mysterious ways; it was one of the best things that happened to me because now I’m doing what I want and love. I spent all of 2017 and the beginning of 2018 working at a bar in Grant Park and spending all my other time in the studio. I fully produced or co-produced six of the tracks, and the other ten were done by producers Tyku (Tyler Kumpee), Niles (Niles Roberts), Ace Taylor (Taylor Roarabaugh), and MP808 (808 Mafia’s Terrell McNeal).
I’m feeling like this record will stand out in Atlanta ’cause I’m just not interested in adhering to one genre or style. I make world music, not just Atlanta music. Every song on this record is super different—I’m no one-trick pony.
Going forward, I’m trying to get on the road, start performing for a living, [and] making a difference and an impact on people’s lives who have dealt with similar struggles to those I have. After my suicide attempt at 19, I believe that I was kept here on Earth to have a second chance to tell my story and help others that feel lost like I did. I realized after coming back how selfish I was and how many people in my life I had affected negatively. I want to reach people in similar situations and help talk them off the ledge so they can help me spread the word. If I can convince a handful of people to turn their lives around, then I can feel fulfilled in my journey. Only time will tell.
More Info
Facebook: @astroknotatl
SoundCloud: @astroknotatl