ABOUT JACOB
Jacob Adam Davis is a diversely talented songsmith whose rock, jazz, and worship influences are all united by his vibrant experience of God’s larger-than-life love.
“I play six instruments,” the enthusiastic, multi-talented musician offers. “I sing, I play acoustic and electric guitar, mandolin, bass and piano. I’ve gotten into screaming, I used to rap. I’m a mimicker, so I can do 8 or 9 different genres. 90% of genre tones happen in how you vocalize words, your mouth and the shape of your mouth.”
Jacob has used that smart, skilled approach to craft and released an array of songs throughout his life— most recently through his time with Visible Music College in Memphis, Tenn. But to truly understand the richness that is infused through every one of his lyrics, you’d have to meet Jacob in middle school.
“When I was 13, I had a moment where the combination of bullying, night terrors, and early onset alcoholism all collided. I had a day where I tried to kill myself,” Jacob Davis recalls. “The Lord physically stopped me by putting this invisible shield around me. Then I heard God talk for the first time. He said, ‘you’ve forgotten Me. Drop the knife— it’s going to be fine.”
Jacob did just that, putting the knife down and crying himself to sleep. When he woke up, it was with a wholly new way of looking at his life: “I realized that God just stoped me from ending my life, so my life must matter. I must have a purpose.”
That purpose would ultimately be revealed in a calling to spend the rest of his life ministering to young people through music. That trajectory led him to Visible, and to his latest release “I Am Empty.”
The song hinges on a powerful refrain: “You see all the days that the locusts took from me / where my fortune fades, a crossroads in my journey / Now your goodness I can speak of where all my dreams arose / it’s in Your love and reverence where I can be known.”
Those words were initially birthed out of a phrase that the pastor of Jacob’s small church in Memphis brought to him. Jacob spent time in the studio fleshing the song out. When he brought it back to his church, one of the elders had some immediate Spirit-led insight. “You’re going to experience this song as a part of your life,” the elder shared.
A week later, the entire world shut down during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I lost all my shows, and I lost a lot of my contacts,” Jacob rememers. “I was stuck in a tiny house teaching after school lessons. My senior concert was also supposed to be the week we went into lockdown. So everything just blew up.”
With the benefit of two years’ hindsight, Jacob has now been able to see “I Am Empty” as a testimony proved true. “I’ve ended up back in South Carolina, returning to my roots. Through a series of crazy events, God’s returned everything to me ten fold,” Jacob shares.
Part of that redemptive return has included Jacob accepting a role on staff with Visible, the college that catalyzed his calling. It’s the perfect fit for his lifelong calling to connect younger people with God through music. “I love teaching music. It’s a beautiful language,” Jacob says. “It’s a gift that I get to share, helping people learn how to navigate it. If music’s like a wave, you learn how to surf the wave.”
Jacob has been learning to surf that wave his whole life. He’s the son of a recording engineer and producer, and both parents were missionaries who served with the arts-based organization Proclaim International. With his childhood engulfed by the eddying waters of so many genres, both in the U.S. and abroad, Jacob has never been one to cast his anchor in just one musical space. With around 10 tracks available under his name on Spotify, Jacob’s music ranges from rock, to worship, to a powerful protest song that landed him a feature in local Memphis media.
“Real art isn’t boxable,” he simply says.
You’ll hear that in “I Am Empty,” which Jacob sees as a marriage between worship leading and the guitar-driven emo songs of his younger years. For the songwriter, that combination isn’t counterintuitive at all.
“I think worship music derives itself from an emotional release. It usually comes from prayers. I think emo music is really not that different,” he insists. “Both relate to people, whatever they’re going through. They show that no matter how dark it is, there’s someone else dealing with the same thing. I think good worship songs do that, but they also point to hope at the same time.”
“I Am Empty” will be available for streaming through Madison Line Records. You can follow Jacob Adam Davis on Spotify, Instagram and Facebook.