Relatively new to the skateboard contest circuit, Jake Ilardi’s smooth style emerged from the sunshine state of Florida. Something of a thing of the past, Jake recalls watching MTV and VH1 music channels which introduced him to popular rap and rock songs, shaping his early musical influences. Lately, Jake has been leaning more towards the rap and hip-hop genre, keeping up with new age rappers, and is fond of artists like Lil Mosey, Lil Uzi Vert, and A$AP Rocky, but still rocks to classics from Big L, Mobb Deep and even throws in some Metallica. Read on down below for the full scoop on Jake Ilardi’s music taste in our latest On Rotation interview.
What is your go-to music to listen to these days?
My go-to is rap music, but I also got some Metallica on there and some different rock-n-roll. Mainly rap, though. That’s my favorite.
Did you grow up listening to rap or rock?
I grew up watching MTV and VH1 a lot on TV, so I listened to everything. I kind of like all music except for country. I like rap, rock, and whatever my mom listened to, and then it slowly started going into the rap.
Any skate videos you recall watching growing up that opened you up to new music?
The first-ever skate video I watched was Circa’s ‘It’s Time,’ and that had like a variety of everything. It opened up with Jon Allie’s part with heavy rock-n-roll and big rail skating. Then you have Windsor James, with the people from Sam and Dave. I think that was one of the songs. Then you had Adrian Lopez who had rap music. So, I’d say that Circa video had a big impact on my music genre taste and TransWorld SKATEboarding at the time. They just had a lot of different variety.
Do you listen to music while you skate?
If I have headphones in. Lately, I haven’t had them, but when I do or if we have a speaker on the sesh, I’ll try to have something hyping up the session. Whether we’re street skating or just at the park, get the energy going, you know?
What about while you compete? Do you rock the headphones?
Sometimes I’ll rock one in. I’ve been trying to get out of that headphone phase, but sometimes I need the music in. I’ll definitely be listening to rap or some Metallica for sure.
Do you have a specific playlist or go-to song for when you’re competing?
With Metallica, it’s probably Creeping Death is my favorite one to listen to during a contest because that guitar solo is high energy. I also like Travis Scott a lot and Playboi Carti, that new-age hip-hop. Larry June, too. I just started listening to Larry June a lot, and I’m a big fan of him. There’s this one song called Smoothie At Midnight. That song is really good. Larry June goes.
What’s your dream song for a video part?
I’m actually working on a part right now, and I want to use a Larry June song called Organic Bud. It’s super mellow it flows good with the part. I like to use that song if I could get in touch with the artist or Larry’s record label if he has one. He might be independent still.
Might have to shoot him a DM.
Yeah, I like the stuff he raps about. He raps about being healthy and getting up early and get to grinding. Like he doesn’t like to waste any time. That’s why I like Larry June. He’s motivational, and when you put that with music on, it’s a good vibe and good energy. A lot of rappers rap about the same old shit, and he’s different from a lot of these new-age rappers.
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