Today, we take a closer look at the journey of a dear friend of mine, Jayden Hills, who just launched her highly anticipated artist project. With the release of her debut EP, Deathgrip, I thought this would be the perfect moment to properly introduce her to the Sheesh community and give her the space to share more about her incredible story and background. Her music, quite simply, speaks for itself. It’s no surprise, given that she’s been perfecting her craft for years – long before we crossed paths in college nearly a decade ago.

So, without further ado, I'm thrilled to introduce the one and only, Jayden Hills.

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How did you first get into music?

When I was in Kindergarten my teacher gave me a piece of paper. It was blank, except for one question on the bottom, “what do you want to be when you grow up?”. I drew a purple stick figure singing into a mic and wrote “a rorkstar”. 

I’m an only child. I spend a lot of time growing up alone in my room, singing and writing songs. My parents always encouraged me to lean into what I loved, so they put me in singing lessons, guitar, piano. 

Both my parents loved music, but my dad especially. I think a lot of my love for it comes from him. He would play and sing songs for me that he’d written on the guitar. He was really into group participation, and when he loved a song, he made sure everyone knew it. He had drum sticks and multiple copies of the lyrics to “Kentucky Rain” by Elvis Presley in the seat pockets of his Jeep. Blow up guitars in the trunk. We had a lot of car bands. 

Music naturally became a constant in my life. I had other hobbies too, but I had a tipping point in high school when I basically bullied the band Train into letting me sing with them haha. I performed with them the first time when I was 16. There were 15,000 people in that crowd, including my parents. That night I knew I wanted to drop everything else, and just focus on music. I performed with them again two years later. It’s a good story, I’ll tell it another time.

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Where did the name Jayden Hills come from?

I had to step out of who I was identifying with, to step into being an artist.

My full name is Jessica Schwartz, everyone’s always called me Jess. I thought that was the name I would release music under, and I was really resistant to changing that for a long time. One day I decided I was open, and spent some time brainstorming. I made a list. Most of them were “Jess” centered, I was still having a hard time letting go. Jess Jade was one of them. I was standing in the kitchen and shot a text to a friend, something along the lines of “I’m going to have an artist name. I made a list, I don’t know if it’s on there yet, but i’m going to do it”.

I’ll never forget this… I hit send, and the lights in the house all flashed. I got full body chills. They’d never done that before. I was like… fuck. That was a sign. Now I actually have to go through with this. I went into a bit of an identity crisis after that, trying to figure it out. I knew I was holding myself back. I needed a new, elevated version of myself to step into. I knew it would push me to do the things I wanted to do. Jayden Hills was on that list. 

This project started after my breakup, and I moved into the Hollywood Hills because of it. There’s a walk I go on everyday to this bench that's changed my life. The Hills shaped this version of myself. Jayden, J, Jess. Close enough, different enough. She was it.

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Having worked more behind the scenes as a writer previously, how has the transition into being an artist been for you?

It’s been amazing. I feel so aligned with myself. I always knew I was an artist, but I also knew it wasn’t time yet. I still wanted to be making music, so being a writer worked. It got me into rooms that I wouldn’t have gotten into otherwise, allowed me to get comfortable in the studio, and it’s how I met inverness, who I’ve worked with on all my songs with for my project.

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What’s it been like working with inverness on all of your tracks so far?

I’m so happy you asked about him. He’s amazing, this project wouldn’t exist without him. We were working together for a bit writing with other artists and doing songs for pitch before I started writing for myself. When it was time for me to make the jump, I knew I wanted to do it with him. 

He’s the most fun person to be in the room with. Everything he touches just becomes better. He’s really pushed me in a lot of ways, and has been a such a big part in shaping myself as an artist. He’s been my creative safe space. We’ve worked together through some of my toughest moments over the past couple years. I was in his studio within 24 hours of finding out my dad died.. I didn’t want to be anywhere else that day. That was probably the most important session of my life.

He’s become one of my best friends, and I feel so lucky that I get to make music with him. He’s going to be one of the biggest producers in the world. 

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How does it feel releasing your first ever EP?

I’m so happy. It’s really cool. I’ve gotten myself to a point recently where I’m really enjoying the process. I wasn’t for a bit… but now i’m like, "okay, this is going to be a journey." I’m so new as an artist, so I can’t expect to be in the same place as someone who’s been around for years. I can’t expect to be in the same place as anyone, because I’m on my own journey. That realization has been huge for me. It also helps that I’m really proud of the music.

Writing this EP just happened… because it had to. I got my heart broken, and I needed to process it. It made me pull the trigger on writing for myself. The heartbreak was the best thing for me, in so many ways. I got to process, heal, create, and walk out of it with this ?? Something that I love so much ?? And now I get to share it with… everyone ? Like, that’s so sick. 

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You’ve recently shared some stories with your mom who is a spirit medium. How has her experiences with mediumship and your own experiences influenced your music and life outlook?

Okay I love these questions. Yeah, so basically my mom talks to dead people haha. The medium mom, dead dad combo goes crazy.

It’s funny because people think I grew up with her like that, but she actually only tapped into it about 5 years ago. I’ve always been on a pretty spiritual journey, and it’s definitely made that a lot more intense. My life and my music go hand in hand. The Deathgrip EP is my heartbreak project. I have a couple follow up songs that are that vibe too, but the next project dives into a different space.

I didn’t know it at the time, but I started writing for it the night my dad died. It’s still in the early stages, but I have the title track. I think it’s the best song I’ve written yet. 

My mom is truly an angel on earth. I’ve watched her change peoples lives. It can be hard to believe until you see it in person or have a personal experience, but it's the most real thing there is. We’re so close, and I wouldn’t want to do this life with anyone else. I’ve learned so much through her and through some of the experiences I’ve had, that I can’t wait to share.

I could talk about this kind of stuff for hours, but to summarize, I’ll tell you this – heaven is closer than we think.

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What inspired the EP title, ‘Deathgrip’? 

I have a hard time letting go.

I wrote the song "Deathgrip" last summer, and I liked it but I didn’t know if it was good enough for the project. I don’t know why I ever thought that. It’s great. 

Once I realized I wanted it on the project, I knew I wanted it as the title track. Throughout writing each of these songs, there was still a part of me holding on to the person I was writing them about. While another part of me was desperately trying to get myself to let go, it was killing me. It just felt right.

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“Deathgrip” might be my favorite track on the EP, but I’m curious which is your favorite if you had to pick?

I love that. I love that song so much. I don’t know if i can pick a favorite honestly. I feel like they all serve different purposes. I love the feeling I get when I listen to "Love Me Alone." I love the outro on "Cry For Me." I don’t know. I don’t wanna pick.

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What’s been the coolest part about living and working in Los Angeles?

I love that people are out here chasing their dreams. The whole industry is here, and it’s smaller than it seems. It’s honestly just really cool to be around. 

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Where do you see yourself 5 years from now?

Touring, big tours. Reaching mass amounts of people. Making music I love. Being in love. Happy.

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What’s next for Jayden Hills?

I’m working on my next project, and it feels really special. I want to build a world around it … I have a lot of ideas. I’m just really excited to keep going. I’m excited for my music to find its people, for my people to find me. I’m excited to get on stage. Do my first show, tour. I’m excited to learn and to keep growing and creating, and see where it takes me.

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