Speed Of Sound

How did a young Boca Raton native go from an unknown, inexperienced musician to a collaborator of heavyweight rapper Gucci Mane?

The answer is: persistence, ingenuity and sheer talent.

In December, Jake Spooner – who attended Donna Klein Jewish Academy, Boca Raton Community High School and Florida Atlantic University – released the single "Lost," which he wrote and performed with Mane.

Spooner, 23, first took to the stage two years ago with "zero musical background," he says. At a charity event with two fraternity brothers, he made his debut. Realizing they enjoyed the experience, they began playing at college bars across South Florida.

Spooner dove a little deeper and began taking songwriting classes online through Berklee College of Music. He had planned on going to grad school but asked his parents for one year to explore his new passion. He began emailing producers, and, out of approximately 200, one responded: hit-maker Scott Storch, who asked Spooner to email him a song. But he didn't have any. So, in the course of a day, he wrote one, taught himself to play piano to accompany it and sent it. Two weeks later, Storch invited him to Los Angeles. It was supposed to be a quick trip, but Spooner ended up staying five weeks, meeting producers, writers, engineers and musicians.

Then, Spooner's manager, Smirf, sent some songs to Mane's engineer. The rapper thought "Lost" would be a "pop smash," and soon the two were in the studio together.

Since releasing the single, Spooner has been writing for various artists. Inspired by the sounds of Twenty One Pilots, Mark Ronson and Amy Winehouse, he describes his sound as urban pop or hip-pop – with widespread appeal.

"I always try to have a big, memorable pop hook," says Spooner, who still lives in Boca part-time. "The only other stuff that I'm writing is stuff people can sing to and also doesn't scare away parents - because they're the ones that actually pay for the tickets."

He was recently signed to The Orchard, run by Sony Music, and is working on his debut EP.

"I just want to write as many No. 1 hits as possible," he says. O