Travis Barker Protégé Jxdn Talks Juice WRLD Saving His Life

Jxdn’s debut record, Tell Me About Tomorrow on DTA Records, is introduced by audio from label head Travis Barker: “I think I just found the first artist I’m gonna sign to DTA Records. This kid’s next. His name is Jxdn.”

From the massively popular TikToker Jaden Hossler — a.k.a. Jxdn — and the former Blink 182 drummer Barker’s first meeting, the duo was destined to put pop-punk back in the headphones of America’s youth.

“Whenever [Barker] was interested in me after I released my first single, he hit up my management team and every label was like, ‘Oh, like, now we want you too,’” says Hossler. “I met with Travis last. I remember going to his restaurant. Even in the moment when I had first met him, I was like, ‘Wow, I know that this is a special moment…’ He showed me ‘Acting Like That’ with [Machine Gun Kelly] and Yungblud, and he looked at me and he was like, ‘Bro, we could be doing this.’ And I was like, ‘We’re gonna be doing this. Because I’m going with you.’”

The heartache, loneliness, and vulnerability in Hossler’s lyrics, while recalling pop-punk heroes like Descendents or the Ergs!, also has a definite modern influence. Hossler’s all-time favorite artist is Juice WRLD, which is the first show he ever went to.

“We went to the concert, I’m like eight feet away from the stage. I remember he comes out and he starts playing his music, and I’m like, moshing, I’ve never felt feelings like this before. There was a moment, and I have it tattooed on my arm, it’s a song called ‘Empty.’ And he played it, and it was like ten thousand people saying the same thing because they were [empty]. And that made me take a step back and be like, ‘Music is really powerful. Is this what music is?’” asked Hossler. “I told myself, ‘If he can do it, I know I have to try.’”

Hossler completed his first tour this past fall, opening for Machine Gun Kelly on the Tickets to My Downfall tour alongside another young Barker collaborator, Kennyhoopla.

“It’s crazy to think about how much you grow in the green room backstage. People think about the moments that are televised, the pictures onstage, and with the fans. And that’s obviously a highlight of it. But the craziest moments for me was when no one was around, you know, and it was just me and [Machine Gun Kelly], or even just me by myself,” explains Hossler. “Imagine you and your boys just getting in a car and road-tripping, and people appreciating you for it. That’s really what it felt like. And it’s the best thing I could have asked for.”