Majid Jordan

With their debut album, Majid Jordan proved that the Afterhours mixtape and A Place Like This EP they put out were no flukes. They were able to musically, put together a body of work that their fans could hold dear and put right up there with the previous two projects in their hearts. It put them on two North American tours and one tour of Europe where they had diehard fans screaming their lyrics at every show. All the makings of success in the music industry were there, except when it came to the commercial aspect of things. The album failed to reach a wider audience than those who were already fans and didn’t sell too well, sitting at only a few thousand copies first week. I’m a proud owner of that debut album, but I don’t know anyone else who is. At the end of the day, those kind of achievements are only as important as you make them for yourself, especially when you’re signed to the biggest rapper in the world. I might have watched and read every single one of their interviews and I can confidently say that neither Majid nor Jordan have ever seemed to place much emphasis on the numbers aspect of making music. When asked by Complex whether they cared their music sold, Jordan replied “no” and Majid replied “if we’re being very honest, I don’t give a fuck.” Fair enough. Their only charting song is their appearance on Drake’s “Hold On, We’re Going Home” at #4 and I’m sure that they’d appreciate more chart success but their main focus has clearly been their music since their entrance into the music world and signing to OVO Sound. The train was never going to stop anyway and about a year and a half after liberating their self-titled debut, it was time for the sophomore album, The Space Between.

Contrary to popular belief, Majid Jordan is not the name of one artist. It is a duo named after Majid Al-Maskati and Jordan Ullman, two friends, a singer and a producer respectively, who stumbled upon the opportunity of a lifetime when 40, Drake’s close friend and collaborator, found their music at random on SoundCloud. It was their Afterhours mixtape, a project which encapsulated the first music they ever made together in a dorm room, though you’d never know it based off of the music alone. At the time, they were called Good People, the perfect name for them, their charm shining through in all of their interviews. The pair’s chemistry was high even back then in 2013. It must have stood out to 40 because it gave them the chance to work with Drake. Those sessions saw them in the studio, literally in tents, yearning to make the most of a once in a lifetime opportunity, soaking up knowledge wherever they could, hoping to become a part of history. The dedication spawned the #4 single “Hold On, We’re Going Home”, their A Place Like This EP and their deal with OVO Sound. Fans of Drake listened to the EP likely purely due to intrigue, but left as fans. And how could you not? Its 5 songs are filled with addictive melodies and hypnotising instrumentals. The short length of the project, totalling at just 22 minutes, leaves little to no room for slip ups and truthfully, there really are none. It portrayed growth in a very short time and was a refreshing piece, especially when put on a pedestal by the biggest rapper in the world. It was time for the debut album.