Golden Landis Von Jones, more commonly known as 24Kgoldn, is an up and coming singer-songwriter from San Francisco, California. Since the release of his hit single “Valentino,” Jones has accumulated close to 800,000 followers on TikTok and 230,000 followers on Instagram. 

“I would check in on the song occasionally,” Jones said. “There was this girl, Aviva Sophia, and she just kept using the sound over and over and over again and her page blew up and then the song blew up with her.”

Aviva Sophia, a TikTok star with 2.3 million followers, used Jones’ sound and created a dance to go along with it. Valentino became her signature sound and influenced other creators on the app to use it too. The sound has been used in 891,500 videos on the app and skyrocketed on the charts because of it. 

The title of Jones’ debut album “Dropped Outta College,” is referring to his current situation. Jones is a student at the University of Southern California, and while he did not officially drop out, he is hoping he never has to go back. 

“It was pretty much just like, I’m gonna keep pushing for music and like college is a backup play,” Jones said. “So worst-case scenario, I’ll have a good degree. I wanted to go to Stanford. I didn’t get in though.”

Jones is currently on a nation-wide tour with rapper YBN Cordae. 

“42 days, 20 shows,” Jones said. “It is going really, really well. A lot of fun. It’s just hard to take care of your body. Shows are back to back to back to back and then like we’ll have like two days off.”

Jones has teased fans about upcoming collaborations with other artists, most notably 20-year-old rapper Michael Ian Olmo, known professionally as Iann Dior. The two artists make similar music, focusing on melodic sequences and trap instrumentals. 

“Iann and I got a lot of songs coming out,” Jones said. “I got a lot of music, so it’s probably going to come out in like September.”

Jones is one of the first artists to blow up from TikTok, creating a new way for artists to reach out and promote their music. But his success didn’t happen overnight. 

“I always liked music and I definitely started out with freestyling with my friends like freshman year,” Jones said. “My friend had a studio where he encouraged me to get in and take music seriously. Before Valentino, you know, I’d been making and releasing music for like 10 years.” 

Jones’ rise to fame was untraditional, introducing us to a new form of promotion through the 15-second videos on TikTok. In the end, though, Jones is doing what he loves and hopes to continue to shake the music industry in every way he can. Watch out for new singles and collaborations leading up to his anticipated September album release.