Jakk Fynn Reclaims Himself in “Take My Heart Again”
Jakk Fynn is a transmasculine Latinx pop artist based in Los Angeles. Having started in post-hardcore bands, he draws inspiration from both mainstream artists and pop-punk bands alike. This range of influence can be heard in different ways in each song, but his distinctive voice ties them all together. While enduring a tumultuous upbringing in a conservative household, Jakk found solace in music at a young age. Unfortunately, he never saw trans artists in the media and became determined to help fill that void.
Jakk Fynn seems to embody the ethos of his generation quite perfectly. Largely inspired by the legacy of bands like Nirvana and the Beach Boys but immersed deeply in the current musical and social zeitgeist, the transmasculine pop artist seeks to chart this new digital landscape of ideas, styles, and beliefs that are transmuting the entire world right now into something else entirely.
Take my heart again
And bend and break it yeah
Take my heart again
Navigating through tricky waters and coming out the other side filled with something akin to flexible convictions (principles conditioned to the need for kindness and mental health), artists like him are a new breed who purposefully offer their craft up as healing instruments of comfort and consolation for an audience who are hurt and lost but also willful and bold in their exploration of the inner turmoil of human identity in the information age.
Jakk’s “Take My Heart Again” is a song that seems to reflect on ‘toxic’ relationships where two people can’t seem to sever their ties even when it seems evident that they should. This is only what it seems like at first, as it is soon revealed that the toxicity is really one-sided as Jakk bemoans: “Just another soul that’s tryna learn to grow / But you’re holding me back and you’re keeping me low”.
The music video offers some deeper visual insight into some of Jakk’s finer points, almost spelling it out in elegant visual lingo where two people -one Jakk himself- seem to switch “roles” quite frequently and understanding is very one-sided. One party remains aloof and cold, while Jakk pleads and tries just about anything to make it work, before eventually running away in pain.
“While ‘Take My Heart’ may sound like a typical breakup song, I actually wrote it about my complex relationship with my family. As a trans and neurodivergent person, being raised by my immigrant grandparents resulted in a lot of friction because my identity didn’t fit their script,” Ultimately, “Take My Heart Again” ends on a sour-sweet note: Leaving is sometimes necessary in order to find yourself.