R&B Singer-Songwriter Jordan Hawkins Takes the Youth Questionnaire

Born in Greensboro, North Carolina, R&B singer-songwriter Jordan Hawkins grew up in the church choir before studying abroad at the Royal Danish Music Academy, later planting himself in Los Angeles where he came to know that writing and composing music is what he was meant to do. Since then, his singles “We Have” and “Thankful” have racked up 2 million streams; “Risky,” the lead single and visual for his new EP, landed in Top 20 playlists on Apple Music, Pandora, and Tidal; and his debut EP, Heart Won't Stop, dropped in late October.

“As I was making the music I drew inspiration from my time in relationships and as a single man to tell a story of the depths of love ranging from the playful nature of lust to the pain of heartbreak,” Hawkins says of the EP. "Heart Won’t Stop tells genuine stories that let people know that while love isn’t easy to find, it’s always worth the effort.”

Below, dive into Heart Won’t Stop and Hawkins’s Youth Questionnaire.

Question 01: How do you help others?

I help others by gassing them up and encouraging them to be their best selves. 

Question 02: What will your greatest impact be on this earth?

Inspiring others. 

Where are you most free? Alone with my guitar. 

Question 05: What do you dream of?

Giving my momma a black card and sending my baby sister to private school. Touring the world. 

Question 08: What is your coolest trick?

Playing the guitar with my tongue.

Question 09: What is your favorite memory in nature?

In the Appalachian mountains fishing for trout. 

Question 11: What is your favorite flower or tree, and why?

My favorite flowers are lilies. Tiger lilies bloomed every year at my childhood home in North Carolina. My favorite tree is the persimmon tree because I was raised on my grandma’s persimmon pudding in NC.

Question 12: To you, what is the most soothing sound?

Running water. 

Question 13: What is your most useful affirmation?

The one I read every morning and every night: Trust it’s happening already. 

Question 15: What is your personal goal for this year, month, or day?

My personal goal for this year is to personally touch 10,000 people. 

Question 16: What song lyric, lines of a poem, or other excerpt best describes your outlook?

“It could all be so simple” — Lauryn Hill, “Ex-Factor”

Question 17: What colors your view of the world?

Reality through my fantasy of what’s real. 

Question 18: Which is richer: your inner life or outer? Why?

Inner life. Much more meaningful connections and relationships. 

Question 19: If your energy were visible to others, what would it look like?

Thunder and lighting. ‘Cuz I’m electric. 

Question 21: What’s required to achieve true unity?

Patience, understanding, and compromise. 

Question 22: Is it necessary to have things in common with those who you love?

Most definitely. How else we gone relate? Can probably find something in common with everybody. We’re all human and who hasn’t wanted to play the guitar at least once in their lifetime. 

Question 25: Who are you when you’re free to dream?

A boss. 

Question 26: What does it mean to live your truth?

To be authentically me and be happy.