There is something to be said about a musical artist that takes control over all aspects of their career, especially in today’s music industry climate. From the beginning of his career, Philadelphia native Julian King, who had early designs on being a veterinarian, has always had his hands on the steering wheel of his career. With his massive skillset, he is pretty much a self-contained independent artist. He sings, writes music, plays piano, engineers and produces his own projects.
King began performing in his family owned church but kept his talents a secret outside of the church world until his 8th grade year. After being persuaded by his teacher, he auditioned for a musical. “I blew them away; they had no idea that I could sing as well as I did. Participating in that musical changed the total trajectory of everything.” King says. Since that time, he became smitten with performing, along with the adoration and love he received from an audience. “I recorded and released my first music to the public when I was about 16 years old.” From that young age, he knew exactly what he wanted to do with his life; he wanted to make music his career.
Julian King is also an educator of music, teaching students ranging from K through 8th grade, daily exercising his skills as a musician and passing his genius on to others. Through the years of touring with various artists (Miguel, Daley, Mary J. Blige, Monica, John Legend, Syleena Johnson, and Keyshia Cole) and making and releasing his art on his own terms, all of those efforts garnered him attention from NBC network’s hit musical competition program, The Voice. When asked how the experience was of integrating himself into the corporate machine of network television and the brand of The Voice, he said, “I went in with all of me and what I had to offer. I didn’t change anything about who I am as an artist.” Although he did share that every moment wasn’t always smooth, it all worked in the end. “Spending time in Los Angeles, being on The Voice, has been one of the best times of my life. I’ve made some great friends during that time, met some really cute boys, made some cute money, received some very nice clothes, and received official verification on social media through The Voice.” When asked if he would do it all again, he said, “I am not really a ‘spin the block’ kind of person. I feel like my time then, was my time then. [quoting a famous line from Tisha Campbell] It’s the journey!”
In late 2025, King received surgery on his vocal cords after he was diagnosed with a polyp on one of his vocal cords. “I noticed that I was not able to use my gift to its full potential. Initially, I thought it was just a sore throat. A little later there started to be unreliability and inconsistency in the delivery of my voice. That was a clear indicator to me that something was wrong.” He says that he is healing well thus far and is in vocal therapy. Due to him being a music teacher, he must utilize his voice to a certain degree. However, when not at work, he goes on vocal rest. Amid all of this, he is still gearing up to release his forthcoming project entitled Luv, Peace & War which is also the title of his latest single released this past January.
All the work behind the scenes has been financially backed by him. He revels in being able to fund his own projects and takes great pride in being a leader to his own vision. He shared a story of when he was working in China, and he did not have enough funds to pay his band. “I had to sell my television, just to be able to pay for my band. To this day, I do not have a television in my bedroom.” He goes on to share his gratitude in having a team of supporters and loved ones that believe in his artistry. “Thank God, I have been very blessed. I have a solid group of people that throw me favors, support me, love me, and are willing to go through the fire with me. If it wasn’t for them, I would not be where I am at this point. Luckily, I have a full-time job that helps me, especially with the insurance. It helped pay for the surgery, by the way. There are so many things that people do not think of that need to be paid for, and it comes out of my pocket: Hair, make-up, clothes, set design, studio time, travel, food, other artists’ time, publicity, videos, mixing and mastering… all of these things cost.”
So, Julian King, what can we expect from the Luv, Peace &War project? “My journey up until now. My trials and tribulations in dealing with dating men. That is the bulk of it! As I started to share who I am and who I was dating. Through that, has come a new era of ‘ It is what it is and whether it’s either going to work or not’. In my life, I have experienced a lot of starts and stops. You will hear my frustration in that and in some respects how I don’t give a shit about certain things now.” He went on to explain that there was a point in time when he made a conscious decision to just truly be who he is. “I decided to be unapologetically me! My arrival to this point is what you will hear in Love, Peace and War. It has literally been LUV, PEACE & WAR getting to this point! This project will be released on a slow burn. I am going to take my time releasing this project to the public. Everything will have just enough content and engageable media for me to receive feedback to see if people are receiving where I am now.” Hearing his words, Julian King sounds like a man who is sure and confident on where he is currently in his life and career. At the end of our interview, I asked King what he would manifest for himself from the universe. His manifestation was, “I am hoping that this year manifests strengthened relationships, the right eyes, attention to my art, and abundance of opportunities. I want to be uplifted and stay focused on who I am and receive the opportunity to be loved. I would like a happier, peaceful and abundantly filled life. I would like to manifest a softer life right now.”
You can pre-save Julian King’s upcoming album Luv, Peace & War at Distrokid. Follow him on Instagram at @ItsJulianKing.