Jalen Tol is a rapper, producer, DJ, fashion designer, and photographer. And at 26 years old, he’s just getting started.
When Tol speaks, there’s not a trace of hesitation, stammering, or pause. He talks with the authority of a person who knows exactly what he wants to say at that precise moment. It’s a commanding, almost hypnotic voice that currently is airing on HOT 97.3 FM in the form of Tol’s new single “Bounce Different.”
“‘Bounce Different’ is one of my newest creations because it shows off a lot of different things that I can do,” said Tol over the phone. “There’s singing rapping, there’s a fun melody. It can be played in a lot of different places, it can be played in a pop or R&B situation, you can play it in a dance club, you can play it after a break up.”
Tol has recently been booking shows all over the region from Columbus to Cincinnati to Toledo and hopes the song, which he first released on Soundcloud and other streaming platforms in October, will take him to a new level.
“It was produced by DJ Scholar, engineered by both of us, and written by me. It’s fun to perform — I’m really looking forward to being a performing artist right now,” he said.
The collaboration with DJ Scholar, an Ohio native who now performs all over the country and shared the stage with Travis Scott and Mac Miller, has been an informative one for Tol and one that could provide a blueprint for an aspiring multihyphenate like himself.
“DJ Scholar naturally earned his name based on the fact that he received full scholarships to both undergraduate and graduate schools, obtaining his Bachelors and Masters degrees in a matter of 5 years,” a statement posted to the artist’s website says. “He then continued his education into law school. During all of these academic ventures, he has continued to evolve his DJ career and influence the world through memorable live performances and stunningly unique music production.”
In a similar way, rapping and producing is only one part of Jalen Tol’s story. He aspires to be a motivational speaker around the Toledo region to kids and teens. He’s also quite the performance artist, living the role of a fashion mogul with his line New Wave (pronounced ‘way-vey’) in which Tol creates wearable art in the form everything from T-shirts to polo shirts.
“I got into the business when I was 18, and I already was able to make good music, but I wanted to learn the whole business from the ground up because I figured once I learned the business I could apply the skill that I had,” said Tol.
Michael Colbert has worked with Tol since 2017, and has watched him grow as an artist and human and is proud of his friend and colleague.
“Jalen is extremely artistic. He’s his own person,” said Colbert.
And that variety of interests has roots in Tol’s upbringing.
Growing up, Tol said he always had two big interests — sports and music. He attended Glendale-Feilbach Elementary School in South Toledo and later Maumee Valley Country Day School before transferring to Central Catholic High School where he was involved in the theater and played basketball.
He also attended some college at Ohio Wesleyan University where he said he “jumped into the entertainment industry.”
“I’m 26 now and I’ve made four mixtapes, I was on HOT 97.3 last week talking about my new single and I’ve been able to DJ and set direct a lot of national acts like Polo G, Riff Raff, and YN Jay,” said Tol, clearly excited about the momentum his career was building.
Colbert added that for all these reasons, Tol is just built different than rising artists than he could count as his contemporaries.
“He’s very knowledgeable and passionate about what he does and that’s what makes him different is his passion.”
Follow Tol on Instagram, SoundClound, and YouTube at @Jalentol.
First Published January 4, 2025, 12:42 p.m.
