A CONVERSATION WITH JIMOTHY LACOSTE
Sunglasses _ Persol, Knit _ Sergio Tacchini, Dnim _ Model’s own, Shoes _ Sebago
TIMOTHY GONZALEZ, more commonly known as JIMOTHY LACOSTE, was just 16 when he burst onto the scene. His comedic DIY music videos and melodic raps over catchy lo-fi beats were an instant viral hit. Internet fame came thick and fast (maybe a little too fast?) with a record deal and collaborations with the likes of Mike Skinner.
Jimothy has a refreshingly classic suburban casual style aesthetic for an artist in his generation. He quickly became a style muse - featuring in various fashion magazines, and was the face of Palace x Kickers and adidas campaigns. After such a whirlwind of hype, there was a sudden - and somewhat unexpected - hiatus adding to his enigmatic persona.
So what is Jimothy Lacoste saying? Is he still writing and making music? Is his life still getting quite exciting?
I got to know Timothy Gonzalez over the course of last year, after I reached out to him via our mutual friend Ned, who is the co-founder of vintage store Dukes Cupboard. I wanted to collaborate with him as his stylist (not that he even needed one) because he’s one of my favourite artists, after all.
We met on a sunny afternoon at Soho’s 40 Greek Street, and swiftly bonded over a mutual appreciation of Gucci loafers, On Running and Eastenders - he’s one of the few people I know who still watches it. I also got to ask him some of my most burning questions, which you’ll get to shortly. And as fate allowed it, I soon achieved my wish of styling one of my favourite artists for this very photoshoot.
To start, the most simple of all questions: how did your music career start?
Yung Lean, Spooky Black, Reggie Snow..All of them! Seeing other young people doing it, you just think.. I can do it too! I grew up as an internet kid and an internet kid is someone who knows how to use the internet, understands attention and understands what the internet wants.
People come up to me and say “you’re so entertaining.” I couldn’t really understand why I found entertaining people quite a natural thing - until I realised it was because I was (and always will be) an internet kid. When you’re an internet kid, you understand what your followers want.
And then you had quite a big break from being an internet kid - we didn’t see much from you.
Yeah, about 2/3 years..
What happened?
Well, if it wasn’t for the money that I was lucky to make I would’ve continued, but because I did make money I kinda got comfortable and thought, fuck this. I just got bored.
I got a deal and refused to put a record out. And because I refused to do it, I wasn’t able to drop any music at all. I basically said, ‘I’m not doing any music with you lot because I don’t like you,’ and they allowed me to walk away. So I suddenly had to be a diva for about 2.5 years, and then when the period was over I actually didn’t want to continue anymore.
The music industry is the worst industry. Anyone can debate with me on this - but I think it’s the worst way of making money and creating fame. People across the industry (and their social etiquette) are the worst.
99% of people who would have been in my situation would’ve given up. I think some people still think that I’ve continued to give up. If I had, I would’ve deleted my Instagram
and wouldn’t have released a single song this or last year. But did I give up treating it as a career? Yes, I’ll admit that. I essentially gave up treating it as my full identity - treating Jimothy as me. People might know and recognise me as Jimothy, but I don’t really consider myself like that anymore.
So a part of the hiatus was due to separating Timothy Gonzalez from the Jimothy Lacoste persona?
The hiatus was really because of my mental health. To put it simply, I made the decision to protect my mental health before things got really bad.
I couldn’t handle being on the internet. I couldn’t actually go outside of my house at one point - and that wasn’t because people were recognising me, but because of my own sense of embarrassment. I invested all the money I had and then suddenly I had no money. So I quickly had to take buses and stuff again.
When you’re 18/19 years old and suddenly blow up on social media, make money, get booked to perform at Glastonbury and all things like that, it gives you a massive ego - the type when you think, ‘if I’m seen on a bus it’s embarrassing.’ Of course I don’t feel like that anymore, because I took the time away when I really needed to. I’m now a normal person again. And if I do become ‘famous’ again I’ll be able to get on a bus and not care - it absolutely doesn’t matter.
That sounds like a massive amount of pressure to deal with at such a young age.
Fame is a really nasty thing if you don’t have a mentor, and I unfortunately didn’t have a mentor. Billie Eilish is as successful and influential as she is because she’s got a mum and a brother that are supporting the fuck out of her. I think the majority of younger stars are as successful as they are because of the support systems they have around them.
I didn’t really have that. There was no way I was gonna survive any level of limelight without ending up like Juice WRLD or someone similar. I really needed to take that step back.
Sunglasses _ Oakley, Tracksuit _ Sergio Tacchini, Loafers & Gloves _ Model’s own
Have you got that team around you now?
No - I don’t have anyone, I don’t have a manager. But there’s actually a big peace of mind - a lot less pressure - that comes from not having that. But it can also feel like I’m stuck in the same place sometimes.
I don’t have a manager because I still don’t really know what I want to do! I’m like a uni student who’s just left uni, got a graduate job but still doesn’t know what they wanna do.
Your 20s are the years to try stuff - try anything and everything. I’ve done music but I might want to transition into designing and making clothes at some point, who knows.
It always seemed like it was never just about the music with you - a lot of your songs covered the topics of style and fashion. You came with a whole philosophy and lifestyle: eating healthy meals, having a schedule and your ‘life is getting quite exciting’ mantra.
That’s a good point! It never was just about the music. All that is billionaire/millionaire mindset stuff.
It was all packaged in this rather ironic and comedic way. But I was never quite sure if that was really your intention.
It’s a bit like that film American Beauty. It’s funny, but it’s also not - it’s heavy. You have to add humour for people to understand and be willing to relate to certain things. But if not... well, fuck me, it’s a depressing film.
But I’m not saying my life’s depressing! In terms of the humour, I didn’t ever say to myself this is gonna be funny - it was never a conscious thing.
Who/what influences your style?
My older friends who I knew from the art scene. They were wearing brands like Lacoste and Ralph Lauren and I looked up to them. I saw them as famous people.
What are you into wearing at the moment?
On Running is definitely my thing, I really like flat running caps - but not wearing them to actually run in with the full rig-out.
How is the LIGQE brand going and what are your plans?
I’m releasing a carpet-letter sweater, a pale blue checked cap and a black corduroy cap. There’s a lot going on and a lot of cool videos - I don’t wanna spoil anything right now, though. This stuff is gonna be worn by people that have great taste. I’m genuinely really excited about it all, when I wake up in the morning that’s the first thing I think about.
It sounds like you’re really taking your time with the sampling process to get your product right.
Even if you don’t sell a thing, as long as you have some kind of website with cool clothes showcasing what you like and your personality, that is fucking cool! It might be an ADHD thing and I might change my mind, but fashion is a lot more fun and easier for me than making music right now.
I’m not saying fashion is easy - the business side of things definitely isn’t - but music sucks your soul. After a long day of writing and producing I feel drained.
Do you think that you’re misunderstood at all?
Yeah, I think people only see me as the 16 year old Jimothy. But I guess that is what comes with being an artist. I feel like all of the greats were probably massively misunderstood, weren’t they?
Photography : Elliott Wilcox
Styling : Chris Amfo
Writer : Chris Amfo