Jastin Martin
Martin’s minimalist trap-soul transports you straight to her Houston bedroom—one of the few intimate spaces she writes and records her evocative tell-alls. The self-taught singer-songwriter and producer rarely goes a day without creating something—a slippery beat, a shrewd lyric, a silvery guitar line. She’s been writing songs since age nine, and her consistent work ethic has taken her from the dorms of Louisiana’s Grambling State University to Houston’s freewheeling open mics to Def Jam’s star-studded roster.

With breakout tracks “Again” and “Reassurance,” her soft-spoken sultriness and hard-hitting candidness struck a chord online. Riding that momentum, she’s now putting the finishing touches on her vibrant, rich debut album, Miss Me Yet?, a collection of all-new songs that show off her vulnerability and versatility.

Born and raised in Houston, Martin got her best music education at home. Her family had wide-ranging interests: Her grandfather turned her on to Bob Marley and Brooks & Dunn, her mom to Lenny Kravitz and Evanescence, and her Louisiana grandmother to zydeco. In school, she cycled through a range of instruments, from the violin to the piano. At 15, she recorded her first song in a studio and was hooked. “On my 16th birthday, all I wanted to do was go to the studio,” she says. “I just never stopped.” While at Grambling, she would fly to Ohio on the weekends to record at a studio with a local producer, until her mom bought her a full recording setup of her own. Soon, music began to take her over. At 20, Martin picked up the guitar and eventually taught herself how to produce.

Since 2016, she’s been diligently posting original songs online, organically building a loyal following with her hushed, guitar-lined confessions, like “Again,” a soulful take-down directed at a lying love interest that she wrote in a mere 30 minutes in her car. “My writing is so detailed that I wouldn’t have to tell anyone a song is about them—they would know it,” she says. That sincerity is all over Martin’s Instagram and TikTok, where she deconstructs her songs and offers valuable life advice, too.

While Martin is very much an independent artist, she’s grown more comfortable with collaborating—especially with producers she’s long looked up to, some of whose credits will be on her debut album. Working with others has helped inspire her to make bolder decisions in the studio. “I’m doing things I never did before—hitting super high notes, singing crazy things, letting all those inspirations from childhood come through.”

Still, Martin’s process remains pure and organic, whether she’s writing lyrics at the local park or figuring out a melody to a guitar loop from her rooftop complex. “I’ll even cry sometimes when I’m just writing and playing my guitar at the park. It’s a feeling of emotion like no other,” she admits. That rawness translates into moody, silky neo-soul that’s as cathartic for her as it is comforting to listeners. “If I’m gonna give something of myself,” she says, “I might as well give all of it.”