UNC alum gets ready to release atmospheric soul album, 'Jesus Piece'

XOXOK, the Durham-based musical project led by UNC alum Keenan Jenkins is set to release its new album, “Jesus Piece,” this Friday. 

Jenkins described XOXOK's musical style as atmospheric soul and said the album was inspired by artists such as Marvin Gaye and Solange, particularly by their albums “What’s Going On” and “A Seat at the Table,” respectively.

“Jesus Piece” is a concept album that centers themes of self-forgiveness and recognizing subconscious anti-Black biases that society promotes. Jenkins said the concept was inspired by a story he read in Rolling Stone magazine as a child about a rapper who purchased a jewelry chain depicting a white Jesus. After going to therapy during the pandemic, Jenkins remembered this story and realized that it was relevant to the ideas he was thinking about and the music he was making. 

“I thought it was an interesting framing device for some of the songs that I was writing about this process of deconstructing this internalized racism that I had been a party to and I was working to get over,” he said.

The concept plays out through the album's skits and lyrics, with songs such as the title track “Jesus Piece” and the album's closer “Higher Standards” contributing to the theme of unlearning deep-seated biases. 

TJ Richardson, the group's bassist, said that “Higher Standards” is his favorite song to perform because of the different musical breakdowns they do when playing it live. 

“There's a part in every one of our songs where it's just like, ‘Hey, let's make something weird with this, or let's make something different,’” he said. “It might come out as a bossa, it might come out as fast funk, it might come out as a ballad. It's the anticipation of, ‘This is going to sound good no matter what we do,’ but also not knowing what's going to happen.” 

Jenkins spent eight years at UNC, completing a doctorate in psychology in 2016. He started playing local gigs in college and adopted the moniker XOXOK. Jenkins said that he initially played mostly indie-rock, but his recent work has evolved to be more influenced by R&B and soul music. For “Jesus Piece,” he wanted the album to have less guitar and more spacious sounds.

Gabriel Reynolds, the group's producer and keyboardist, attended UNC with Jenkins. He was a key figure in convincing Jenkins to start performing his own songs while at UNC. Reynolds said that he admires how Jenkins is always willing to fully commit to musical ideas. 

“Keenan has taught me a lot about knowing exactly what you want artistically and pursuing it and totally going in on doing something for yourself and not for the audience, but also doing it in an extremely mature, adult, respectful way to everybody involved,” he said.

Richardson said that Jenkins frequently asks band members for ideas and encourages collaboration. The album features harpist Cassie Watson Francillon on “Spell” and “Come Around,” which Reynolds said was his favorite song from the album because it is fun to play and has an intricate, complete vision. 

The album also includes a cover of Erykah Badu's “Didnt Cha Know,” featuring the singer 1 Way North. Jenkins said that he picked this song because he thought it fit with the album's concept.

“All these things, like, didn't you know that you were centering whiteness and decentering Blackness in your life? And I was like, ‘No, I didn't know.’ I should have known, but I didn't know.” Jenkins said.

XOXOK is having a release show for “Jesus Piece’ on Nov. 10 at the NorthStar Church of the Arts in Durham. Tickets are free and the event is open to the public. 

Jenkins said that for “Jesus Piece’ and other music he has made, the most important thing for him is whether he and his band like it. When he uses this mindset, it leads to other people liking the music too, he said.

“I'm usually just thinking, ‘Will I like this?’” he said. “And also, ‘Will my band enjoy playing this?’ My band is full of musicians who are better at music than me, and that was intentional. I wanted a bunch of people around me who are better than me so I can grow and learn.” 

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