Tips for Creating on the Internet with Yung Jake

Yung Jake has a SoundCloud page full of rap songs and a series of successful music videos. By definition, Yung Jake is a rapper.

He also makes websites, emoji portraits, interactive art, apps, installations, and other internet creations. Yung Jake is more than a rapper. "I started making rap 'cause I was tired of explaining my art," he says. "So I just rapped so the explaining became the art." Known for experimenting with new mediums and platforms, the label he gets described with the most is "internet artist." It’s a term Jake embraces, although he acknowledges that he has more peers by the day: "Everyone makes shit for the internet."

In the spirit of sharing some of the things he's learned over the years, Yung Jake spoke with us about his art and passed along some tips for other young internet creators. At his request, the conversation took place via iMessage.

Yung Jake has always been willing to share his tools. When his emoji portraits became popular, he created free software so others could make them, too. Earlier this year, when Kanye West's Ye album was released, he built a website called yenerator.com that allowed people to create their own cover art memes. Instead of just making one meme for himself, he created a tool that was later shared by Kanye, spreading his art to millions of people.

"That adds to the mythology," he explains. "The more stuff out there that shares the same genesis eventually cosmically makes its way back to you. Yenerator had over a million unique visits. Out of those visits how many of them made memes? Out of all those people that posted memes, imagine how many impressions those images had. Now that cover is seared in peoples' retinas."

Jake doesn't stick to one medium. He's constantly looking at what's next and experiments with new platforms to find new ways to express himself. Instead of dropping a forgettable music video on YouTube back in 2015, he experimented with Snapchat and used their unique technology to create a music video that you needed two phones to fully experience. More recently, he was one of the first artists to make and release a music video exclusively for Instagram's new IGTV feature.

"I try to think outside the box and use existing platforms in ways you wouldn’t expect," he says. "I think humans assume they are supposed to behave certain ways and when you step outside that, audiences wild out."

Explaining why he's always exploring new mediums to create on, Yung Jake says, "I think i do mad different things for my sanity. I can’t be stuck in a box just 'cause society makes it easy to do that." He also acknowledges, "If I was one of the things I’d be more successful, but fuck that I want to do it all."

"Rap is just an extension of personality," Yung Jake says, pointing out why internet personalities like Bhad Bhabie and 6ix9ine end up rapping. Jake says he was drawn to the art form of rap because he could be himself without having to over-explain everything: "You just say shit." He points out that in order to be a compelling personality, though, many artists have to do more than just rap. "Ugly God got huge 'cause he put lizards on his nose and he's really good at memes," Jake explains. "6ix9ine has fire hair and tats and runs with a gun in briefs."

Artists who create on the internet often don't get credit for their work. If something goes viral or gets repurposed, most people have no idea who made the original. It's a fact that Yung Jake has come to peace with. He understands that it's a part of the game and he isn't stressed by it enough to deface his own work with watermarks. "I don't care. If you know, you know," he says. "My orthodontist told me I should watermark my portraits. I’d probably have more followers. But my work would have watermarks on it."

Yung Jake is always ahead of the curve on new technology. So what's the next big artistic platform? "Not [anything] that I can think of," he says. "And I don't want to spoil anything." He does have some opinions on virtual reality and augmented reality, though. "I hate VR," he says. "I think it’s a corporate scheme that’s pushed and annoying and hard to experience. Maybe when it’s like Ready Player One, I’ll fuck with it. The hardware isn’t there yet." He adds, "I sorta fuck with AR when it’s done right."

"It might sound generic but be as you as you can because everyone is trying to do everyone," Yung Jake says, offering general advice for young artists. "You're only gonna stand out if you look and seem different and you are different. We look at others peoples' success and we try to follow the same footsteps but if you stop thinking about their success and caring, you're gonna make your own path."

As for artists who hope to avoid the distractions of the internet while they're online creating their art, he says, "Be on the internet but don’t let it be on you."