[EXCLUSIVE] INTERVIEW: Jamal Moore Talks Personal Projects, Stray Kids' 'dominATE' World Tour and Fan Response

Lighting technician, sound engineer, photographer, back up dancers and more - all integral parts of any touring production, each playing a pivotal role in the storytelling of a performance, small or large. For Jamal Moore, seasoned session and touring drummer, he is responsible for bringing the sounds of artists to life onstage, amplifying each beat with his creativity and passion. From creating his own music by releasing album Voyager in 2019, to sharing the stage with notable artists such as global K-Pop icons Stray Kids, stars Ariana Grande, TLC and more, Jamal has been living with intention and bringing music onstage to listeners all over the world. 

Photo MIXTAPE 317 / Rebecca Rowe

Jamal recently joined Stray Kids on their 'dominATE' world tour, completing stops in Korea, Japan, Latin America, North America and Europe. MIXTAPE 317 caught up with Jamal while on tour in Chicago before their performance at Wrigley Field to discuss his journey into music, what excites him as a performer and his ideal K-Pop photo card pose. When not touring the world with major artists, Jamal can be seen working in his hometown of DC, creating his own music, performing with his band, Band Electrik, and even operating his own clothing line, Kairos World Wide. His passion and excitement for music and life evident throughout our conversation, Jamal exudes charisma both on and offstage.

Sporting a causal fit, accessorized with a large royal blue dice bag draped over one shoulder and a pink hat embellished with his label “Kairos,” Jamal arrived with a welcoming energy. We had the opportunity to escape the Chicago heat for a while to chat, before walking a bit through the city where he even joked about us hopping on a boat tour. As a Chicago Native, and the contents of that river questionable, it wasn't a bad idea that we didn’t end up on the boat tour.

It wasn’t always stadium shows and global tours for Jamal, who started in his dad’s church playing the drums at only seven years old. His parents noticed his knack for banging on items throughout the home since he could crawl, prompting them to provide Jamal with his own set of drums at an early age. It was around the age of thirteen when he realized his true talent for the instrument and as he says, “I became really intentional about wanting to be good, and realizing that I was good, I had a natural gift.”

Using that gift, Jamal has gone on to expand his reach, playing stadium shows and festivals worldwide, also working with many notable artists within R&B, Pop and now K-Pop. Having worked within gigs of all sizes throughout his career, Jamal touched on some of the challenges and obstacles that come along with chasing your passions.

“When you’re about to do something so great in the world or for culture, you’re met with a lot of opposition […] I don’t think that anything that’s worth having or anything that’s good or anything that is going to be life changing is going to be easy.”

Instagram @jamaljmoore

Along with Jamal, musicians Yung Wurld on keys, Garrett on guitar, and Jon on bass guitar make up the Stray Kids' 'dominATE' world tour band, the quartet having been with the kids since the 2024 festival season, including Lollapalooza in Chicago. Though our first glimpse of the Team SKZ members comes at the explosive “Chk Chk Boom,” the quartet can be heard throughout the show. About a quarter way through the performance Jamal and his bandmates perform an interlude, aptly titled “Band Jam,” where they perform a heavy rock interlude of hit 2020 GO LIVE title track "God's Menu" and 2021 No Easy track “Domino.” With famous fan chats like "Chk Chk Boom" and "JJAM"’s “가! 보! 자! 고! (GABO JAGO),” we asked Jamal if the band could have their own fan chant during their Band Jam what would they want STAY to chant? “The band would laugh at this, if I could, I think that the fan chant would be ‘yessir-ski’s’,” Jamal utilizing a phrase he can often be heard saying backstage. We joke how it surprisingly fits perfectly into the tune of the chorus’ “Domino, Domino, Domino,” and attempt to make plans getting STAY to chant along in Chicago. 

Jamal reflected on the warm response the fans have shown the band along the way. 

“STAY have been really persistent on letting us know that they appreciate what we bring to the table and appreciate us locking in and making sure the music is good, but also making sure that we feel supported as well. I’m appreciative of the energy and love they give us […] I feel appreciated. I feel loved. I’m thankful for STAY.”

Usually decked out in artist colors and toting lightsticks, K-Pop fans top off their attire by adding photo cards of their favorite members, a tradition Jamal has now been added to. The support high, fans have been seen sporting fan made band photo cards along the stops, even going as far as some fans passing around an oversized cutout of the drummer’s head. When asked what his signature photo card pose would be, Jamal easily chose looking into the air with two fingers pointed up, paired with his grillz and a smile. Someone get this into production. 

Photo MIXTAPE 317 / Rebecca Rowe

With any artist there are set visions to achieve within a production, maintaining the artist identity and staying true to the artist vision. With Jamal’s versatility as an artist and performer, his experience working within the industry while having studied genres such as rock, jazz, gospel and hip-hop, he credits his musical vocabulary and ability to pull from different genres to his ability to add his flavor and style while still maintaining each artist's vision - describing the current collaboration as the perfect marriage.

“It allows me to fit perfectly into what they got going on and bring my style and bring my flavor. And I’m thankful to that, you don’t have a lot of artists that allow that space, they want it done a specific way. [Stray Kids] are open to what we bring to the table.”

From stadiums to intimate hometown performances, Jamal talks about bringing his style into everything he creates. Realizing he wanted to put his own music out, during a time when folks on social media were pushing out covers in the allotted one minute format, Jamal decided to put a spin on what he was seeing. From that, he created seven track album Voyager, with each track only a minute long. The album charted on Billboards Top 10 Contemporary Jazz, prompting more and more people to reach out in hopes to hear the tracks live. With friends Darryl Woodson and Smiles, Jamal extended the songs for live performances and the group hit the road. The decision to make Voyager led into his collaboration with Kenyon Dixon on their 2021 single “Paradise,” a reimagining of Coldplay’s famous track. 

Jamal also drums alongside Darryl Woodson, Aaron Hardin, Sean Miles (Smiles), Frank Javois, David Harrison and Domo Abrams, forming Band Electrik. The group performed together live in 2023 to showcase their latest album BOBS Cookout. BOBS Cookout brings you through a journey of sound, exploring different genres throughout the album, with songs like "Air Tonight," a reimagining of Phil Collin's hit track to "Samba LA," aptly titled with it's energetic and bouncing beat.

The simple question “Who’s Bob?” quickly generates a smile on Jamal’s face and excitement in his voice as he recalls what once started as an inside joke quickly turned into a term of endearment among friends. An off the cuff comment “That’s a Bobby!” left his friend Darryl stunned, the pair laughing at the quip. The two continued to transform the phrase until it became a greeting and a way to check in “What’s good Bobs?” “Bobs is pretty much you, it’s me, it’s everyone. It’s pretty much our way of saying you’re a part of the family.” 

With many achievements and performances under his belt we were curious as to what excited Jamal and gives him butterflies during live performances - the simple pleasures of venue atmosphere and good vibes still stand out most to the musician. “I still get a kick out of walking into an arena or stadium and smelling the popcorn. Smelling the popcorn, smelling the hotdogs “oooh we about to play today” You can feel the energy. Those things are still very nostalgic to me, still gives me butterflies.” As someone in the crowd who loves a good stadium nacho and the excitement and welcoming environment fans bring to each show, the sentiment is relatable to even those offstage.

Photo MIXTAPE 317 / Rebecca Rowe

Looking forward to colleagues, workers and audience members' smiles, and still very much in love with performing, he notes wanting to bring joy to others, whether his own bandmates, the crowd, or the people around him. Joking on how he’s always trying to make people laugh, citing the many videos on bandmate Garrett’s phone that emphasize how silly he really is. Both onstage and off, Jamal brings the vibes - from hyping band member Yung Wurld during his solo in the “LALALA” bridge, to having his own main character energy, which he jokes he feels the whole time.

His energy onstage and off catching, which only contribute to his main character vibes, Jamal demonstrates the passions and talents of a seasoned professional who loves what they do, delivering a wave of excitement with every drum hit. Jamal's enthusiasm not only resonates onstage but extends past his abilities as a drummer and into his everyday life.

When asked if he’d like to leave one final message for fans Jamal stated,

"I want to say thank you, I want to say thank you to you, I want to say thank you to STAY, thank you to Stray Kids, thank you to people who have started to come along on this journey with me. I’m super super appreciate of it. Hopefully you guys stay, as STAY say, “please stay.” Being involved, being a part of what we have going on, that’s with Stray Kids and outside of that. I’m just thankful [...] I just encourage everyone to keep doing good, keep being positive, keep loving, keep dreaming, keep creating, keep producing, keep doing all the positive things. And I promise you’ll live in a kairos moment."

Photo MIXTAPE 317 / Rebecca Rowe

Jamal Moore

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Assist: Komal G / Courtney W