Jimothy Lacoste Wants You to Take Your Vitamins

Jimothy Lacoste is London’s newest impeccably-dressed musical enigma. At just 22, the idiosyncratic artist has been bemusing and intriguing audiences since the release of his 2017 music video “Getting Busy,” and has been producing addictive pop tracks laced with his own signature tongue-in-cheek commentary ever since. Self-taught, Lacoste began making music in his bedroom before finding his way to a studio to record a feature on The Streets’ track “Same Direction” (2020), as well his critically-acclaimed debut album The Safeway the same year. Below, to mark the release of his latest EP, Jimothy’s House Party, Lacoste sits down to discuss the time he hijacked a Burberry event, the importance of vitamin C, and why nobody cares what American musicians say.

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MORGAN BOWDEN: How’d you get started?

JIMOTHY LACOSTE: I was born and raised in Camden, and I began making music properly in 2018. That’s when all my best songs came out.

BOWDEN: What was the break-through moment?

LACOSTE: It all happened naturally. I don’t force anything in life—that’s the key innit? People are always like, “Oh, what did you do?” I just did my thing! My consistency is what allowed me to break through.

BOWDEN: You come across as a positive person.

LACOSTE: I try my best, it’s very easy to be negative in these times of ours, so I’m constantly reminding myself and my people:
“It’s all blessed,” you know?

BOWDEN: That spirit is evident in your lyrics. A lot of them are about banal things that you manage to make exciting. You even made a whole song about the subway.

LACOSTE: You have to create your own excitement. We can’t all use the same old fucking formula.

BOWDEN: Your debut album The Safeway (2020) felt emotionally heavier. Not all of it— there was a great ’80s track called “Getting Remedy,”  on there, but there are some which feel very emotional, like “Getting Love and Affection.”

LACOSTE: A lot of my fans get pissed off like, “Why are you making sad songs?” It’s like, how dare you tell me what to do? I’ve never made music for other people in the first place! I never make music for anyone other than myself.

BOWDEN: There’s also a lot of sincerity in your lyrics. Does it piss you off when people ask you, “Is this song a joke?”

LACOSTE: People still ask me that, and now I tell them that I don’t know. Like, I actually don’t know anymore. I’ve started getting a little confused and shit. The truth is, I think in English culture we question and overthink things a lot, and it’s hard for us to just take things as they are. If we don’t understand it, we go against it or start assuming things. There’s a reason why American music gets away with chatting a lot of crazy shit— nobody cares what the Americans say, as long as it sounds lit. But in England, people get deep with it. It kills the fun. The not knowing is the fun.

BOWDEN: Speaking of America, tell me about the time you performed at the Burberry event in New York.

LACOSTE: I hijacked the party.

BOWDEN: I thought you were booked to play it.

LACOSTE: Hell no. It was a fashion party and my friend was like, “You should jump over the railing and perform a song.” I was like, “Nah man,” but then I changed my mind and was like, “Fuck it.” So big ups to him for convincing me to do that. Somehow, it all went really smooth.

BOWDEN: How many songs did you play before they caught you?

LACOSTE: Just one. But I didn’t even get kicked out! They just grabbed me off the railing and put me back on the ground. It could’ve gone very differently, but honestly everyone was clearly loving it.

BOWDEN:  I have to ask you about your latest EP, Jimothy’s House Party Package, which was released this summer. What was the process for making it?

LACOSTE: Some songs on there are from 2019, others are from 2020. I directed all the music videos myself but I’m starting to realize that I only have a finite amount of energy. I can’t write, perform, and direct with consistency. I can, but rarely. You have to give up some things, otherwise you will literally burn out.

BOWDEN: It’s a great post-lockdown EP, and it sounds like you actually had a good summer. What were you listening to when you were making House Party Package?

LACOSTE: From the age of 16, I’ve always been into to house. It’s something I never got bored of. I fell in love with garage too, because it’s so hard and the drop is bigger. I also love rock music, so I’ll probably start experimenting with that soon.

BOWDEN: I’d love to hear some heavy guitar on a Jimothy track. Say you’ve got the aux at a house party. What are you playing?

LACOSTE: If everyone needs to be dancing, obviously house music. If it’s an afters, then chill trap music, or some new age hip-hop.  I once played my song “Drugs” before a party started popping, and some girl was like, “I beg you, please turn this down.” I was like, “Ok, but this is my song.”

BOWDEN: How do you stay healthy?

LACOSTE: I used to eat a lot of oranges, now I take Centrum vitamins and take cold showers. Take your vitamins, kids.