Back in August, a surprising duo appeared on the Hip-Hop charts next to big names like Nicki Minaj and Wiz Khalifa: Vine stars Jack Gilinksy and Jack Johnson, known to their millions of followers as Jack & Jack. At the time, the two Jacks had just graduated high school. Their song “Wild Life” — which mixes speedy rapping and an EDM-like drop — entered Rap Digital Songs at No. 5, Hot Rap Songs at No. 16, and the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Charts at No. 25. Today Billboard is premiering the “Wild Life” video.
“Wild Life” is Halloween-friendly, combining footage from a dance party with scenes of animals in their natural habitats. The impressive lion masks come courtesy of the artist Cantstopgoodboy, while the shots of bears and sharks were provided by explore.org. The video is produced and directed by the social media firm theAudience, who also played a role in The Chainsmoker’s “#Selfie,” a song that peaked at No. 16 on the Hot 100 and reached No. 1 on Hot Dance/Electronic Songs.
Oliver Luckett, CEO of theAudience, tells Billboard that Jack & Jack are offering “an amazing example of the new direct to consumer music business.” They “became Vine phenoms and then parlayed their connection with fans into a skyrocketing career in music, without having to sign with a major label,” he notes. “Getting a great brand like Explore.org to sponsor music by Jack & Jack and visual art by Can’tStopGoodBoy represents a scalable formula for success for both artists and marketers in today’s social world.”
Vine Stars Jack & Jack Make Rap Chart Debut
Jack & Jack are excited about the video. “When we wrote [“Wild Life”] we never could have imagined we would get to create such an awesome music video,” they tell Billboard. “It’s crazy. We really went all out for it and hope our fans love it and take some time to check out the live cams from all over the world on explore.org and get connected to Wild Life.”
The duo is working on music for a full-length project, which is due out sometime during the holiday season.