Isaiah Javon Pickett-Allen has superpowers. No, he’s not rich like Batman or godly like Thor, but Pickett-Allen has found a way to communicate telepathically: music.

“I feel like making music is a superpower,” Pickett-Allen explained. “The way you can format different words and just make someone go, ‘ooohhh ahhhh.’ You’re literally getting into someone’s head that way. You’re like, setting off certain reactors to them.” 

His fellow Harper students may know him as Isaiah, but for the tens of thousands of listeners he’s racked up on Youtube, Soundcloud and Spotify, he’s known as Kidd@H4rt. (See: “kid at heart.”)  

When releasing his first song on Soundcloud during his freshman year at James B. Conant High School, Pickett-Allen didn’t have many expectations. He and his friend had made the track on a whim during one of many sleepovers. They didn’t even think it was good. But after only a month or so of the song being out, it had 8,000 plays. 

“If I can drop one song, for my first time, and it be this bad and get that many views? Let’s keep it going. Let’s see where it takes me,” he said, recounting his thought process at the time.

Ever since then, the 18-year-old musician has been writing, singing and producing his own records. But unlike many artists today, he chooses to do much of it on his own. This sort of willful isolation seems to be a common thread in his daily life. 

Picket-Allen said he generally keeps to himself, especially during school.

“I manifest literally every second I have of the day,” the rapper confessed. “I just be in my own world.”

When it comes to his writing process, Pickett-Allen finds inspiration everywhere. It can be something as simple as the moon and stars, or he may draw from a deeper well of things like heartbreaks and profound conversations with friends. 

No matter the subject, the Roselle resident said he always aims to make his songs sound “spicy” and “more like ear candy.”

As to whether or not Harper has ever influenced his lyrics, the songwriter admitted he mostly writes about how he doesn’t want to be at school.

“Nothing against it, I love Harper,” he said after a bashful belly laugh. “I think it’s a very cool place… I would say the feeling of going to a university might be a little bit cooler, but who cares about cool when you need to study, right?”

For his fellow Harper Hawks who may want to get into releasing music, the singer has a simple message: “Talk to me. Isaiah Javon Pickett-Allen. I will definitely help you do that.”

Thanks to modern technology, almost anyone can make their own music, and it isn’t hard to get it onto streaming platforms like Spotify and iTunes. As the internet floods with homemade soundtracks and DIY music videos, artists are searching for ways to set themselves apart from the crowd. For Pickett-Allen, that thing is performing in front of live audiences. 

“Shows are fun,” he said with a smile. His eyes lit up like he was back in the spotlight again. “I’m on stage, everyone’s looking at me. Why would I stand up here being so quiet? I might as well do my literal all to just catch everyone’s eyes.”

Having won multiple music performance competitions, Pickett-Allen picks up tips and tricks every time he gets on stage to sing underneath the multi-colored lights.

“There’s a lot of science behind keeping your body to withstand performing,” he explained. 

While the rising performer sometimes finds the constant challenges of music-making difficult, he believes that the key to success is to keep pushing forward.

“I’m gonna do it one day. I have to,” the artist said, explaining what he tells himself when things get tough. “The doubt really eats at you but you can’t let it, at all. Once you let it, once you give up, that’s when things go south. Even if you take a break, that’s fine. Take a break if you need that break. Go ahead. That’s what all humans need. But keep going. There’s no point in giving up.”

Isaiah Javon Pickett-Allen’s big dreams don’t stop at music. 

“I wanna be an actor!” he exclaimed, before trading his American accent for a British one. “I could easily do that if I wanted to.”