After letting his music do all the talking for two years, OVO singer and producer PARTYNEXTDOOR gave The FADER his first-ever interview, for the cover of this year's Photo Issue. Between captivating sets on his tour, here's everything we found out.
2. Party's real name is Jahron Anthony Brathwraite.
3. He used to record under the name Jahron B.
That's an abbreviation of his birth name.
4. He left home for Los Angeles before he was even legal.
After 17-year-old Party was discovered on MySpace, he left Canada for L.A. There, his manager paid for nearly all of his living expenses, with his mom occasionally chipping in for groceries. Party says that his old management has now been reimbursed on their investment, "times two."
7. He once wrote a song for his unborn child.
One of the demos featured on the Jahron B. collection, unofficially called "Daughters," details a drug-fueled one-night stand that led to a child's conception. "All those things happened. She just never gave birth to the child," Party said. "And if she didn't take those steps to no longer be pregnant, that's what I would have to be saying."
13. He doesn't love being compared to fellow Toronto native The Weeknd.
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"People throw that [Weeknd comparison] over me because I came at a time where people assumed I was there to fill a void," Party said, alluding to The Weeknd's departure from the OVO fold in 2012. Party doesn't feel like he's defined by a brooding musical aesthetic. "A lot of things that came out of Toronto were darker at the time," he said. "But me? I'm all about colors."
14. He's avoided press for years, but doesn't identify as "mysterious."
Party: "I would never call myself mysterious. The word I use is 'private.' I'm not hiding from pictures. I just don't want to live in this fantasy where I act like everybody cares, and then I look like a jackass with someone filming me in the airport."
15. At meet and greets, he's got a no-selfie rule.
After photos he took with a fan in Miami got him posted up on gossip blog Baller Alert, along with a completely fabricated relationship tale, Party has a no-selfie policy.
16. You can expect new PARTYNEXTDOOR music this year, but not until the summer.
Party was planning on dropping an EP this spring, but he ended up gifting three of the songs that he wrote for the project to Drake. While he's intermittently working on beats on the road, he's going to wait on recording until he's done touring and can entirely focus.
