Forest Blakk

Forest Blakk is the stage name of soulful Canadian vocalist and songwriter Jesse-James Cameron. He adopted the moniker in 2015 after parting ways with the Juno-nominated rock band Makeshift Innocence and found mainstream success in 2020 with the heartfelt single “If You Love Her,” and again in 2021 with a duet version with Meghan Trainor.
A native of Montreal, Cameron’s formative years were rife with chaos, and it was in that crucible of familial strife that he began to gravitate toward music. When he was 15 years old, his grandmother gave him a guitar, and at 21, after spending time in Florida and Jamaica, he moved to Calgary and became the frontman for Makeshift Innocence. Combining reggae, pop, and roots rock, the band quickly became regional darlings, and in 2013 they received a Juno nomination in the Reggae Recording of the Year category with their song “Yours to Keep.”
Inspired by a walk in the Black Forest while on tour in Germany, Cameron adopted the pseudonym Forest Blakk, and in 2015 he left Makeshift Innocence to blaze his own path. Commencing with “Love Me,” he issued a string of singles in 2018 and 2019, including the stirring “Put Your Hands Up,” which found its way onto an episode of Grey’s Anatomy. After inking a deal with Atlantic, he released “If You Love Her,” a powerful rumination on past love that evoked the powerhouse balladry of Vance Joy, Lifehouse, and Sam Smith. In 2021, he re-released “If You Love Her” as a duet with Meghan Trainor. ~ James Christopher Monger