Trevor Howard Lawrence Jackson (born August 30, 1996) is an American actor and singer. He is best known for portraying Aaron Jackson on Freeform series ''

Grown-ish ''Grown-ish'' (stylized as ''ish'') is an American teen comedy drama television series and a spin-off of the ABC series '' Black-ish''. The single-camera comedy follows the Johnson family's children as they go to college and begin their journe ...

'', Kevin Blake on Syfy series ''

Eureka Eureka often refers to: * Eureka (word), a famous exclamation attributed to Archimedes * Eureka effect, the sudden, unexpected realization of the solution to a problem Eureka or Ureka may also refer to: History * Eureka Rebellion, an 1854 g ...

'', Kris McDuffy on Disney Channel's television film '' Let It Shine'', and Kevin LaCroix on ''American Crime''. Other notable appearances include Broadway musical ''

The Lion King ''The Lion King'' is a 1994 American animated musical coming-of-age drama film directed by Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff, produced by Don Hahn, and written by Irene Mecchi, Jonathan Roberts, and Linda Woolverton. Produced by Walt Disney ...

'', where he played the Young Simba, and television guest star roles on both ''

Cold Case ''Cold Case'' is an American police procedural crime drama television series. It ran on CBS from September 28, 2003, to May 2, 2010. The series revolved around a fictionalized Philadelphia Police Department division that specializes in invest ...

'' and ''

Harry's Law ''Harry's Law'' is an American legal comedy drama series created by David E. Kelley, and starring Kathy Bates, which ran for two seasons on NBC from January 17, 2011, to May 27, 2012. On May 11, 2012, NBC announced that ''Harry's Law'' would ...

''. In 2012, he won the

Young Artist Award The Young Artist Award (originally known as the Youth in Film Award) is an accolade presented by the Young Artist Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded in 1978 to honor excellence of youth performers, and to provide scholarships for young ...

for Best Performance in a TV Series. In 2018, he starred in the crime drama '' Superfly''.

Early life

Jackson was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, the younger of two sons of Cam Baxter and Kevin Jackson. Although he comes from a family interested in basketball, at age eight he decided that he would rather work in the entertainment industry. He honed his talents at local venues, performing both within his hometown and nationally, including a dance routine on ''

Showtime at the Apollo ''Showtime at the Apollo'' (formerly ''It's Showtime at the Apollo'' and ''Apollo Live'') is an American variety show that first aired in syndication from September 12, 1987, to May 24, 2008. In 2018, the series returned on Fox with Steve Harve ...

''. In 2004, the eight-year-old Jackson won the role of Young Simba on the national tour of ''

'' musical, with which he remained.

Career

2010–11: Career beginnings and ''Eureka''

Following his run with ''

,'' he transitioned from Broadway to the small screen appearing as a guest star in an episode of ''

'' in 2010. From 2010 to 2012 he played Kevin Blake in the final two seasons of ''

''. In early 2011, Jackson joined a "behind the scene" group with several up and coming music artist at the time known as "Before 2012." This didn't last long as success tore the group apart before it ever went mainstream. In August 2011, continued his run on TV starring in an episode of ''

'' for which he won the Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a TV Series for his role of Willie Blue. Jackson later appeared as a guest star on the

Disney Channel Disney Channel is an American pay television television channel, channel that serves as the flagship (broadcasting), flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney Entertainment business segment of the Walt Disney Company ...

television show ''

Austin & Ally ''Austin & Ally'' is an American comedy television series created by Kevin Kopelow and Heath Seifert that aired on Disney Channel from December 2, 2011 to January 10, 2016. The series stars Ross Lynch, Laura Marano, Raini Rodriguez, and Cal ...

.''

2012–13: Let It Shine, musical beginnings, ''#NewThang'' EP

20130403 MCDAAG Trevor Jackson Halftime entertainer

In 2012, Jackson expanded his acting career into film, playing the role of Quincy Smith in the film '' A Beautiful Soul''. That same year, Jackson went on to star in the original Disney Channel television movie '' Let It Shine'' as Kris McDuffy alongside

Tyler James Williams Tyler James Williams (born October 9, 1992) is an American actor and rapper. He began his career as a child actor, making several appearances on ''Saturday Night Live'', ''Little Bill'', and ''Sesame Street''. Williams later rose to prominence ...

. Jackson portrayed the best friend and confidant of Cyrus (James), an aspiring hip hop musician who enters a songwriting contest and mistakenly wins his best friend's dream. Jackson has completed shooting the film ''Sons 2 The Grave'' alongside

Darrin Dewitt Henson Darrin Dewitt Henson (born May 5, 1972) is an American choreographer, dancer, actor, and producer. Hensen was a brief member of freestyle music 1980s group Trilogy and was featured on their single "Good Time".

, Demetria McKinney and Justin Martin. In 2012, Jackson signed with Atlantic Records continuing on to release his first single "Like We Grown" in February 2013. In the song's music video, Disney Channel actress, Zendaya Coleman, plays his love interest. Due to demand for new music from his fans, Jackson collaborated with producers

Eric Hudson Eric Lee Hudson (born October 15, 1986) is an American record producer. He has won three Grammy Awards, and contributed to sales of over 60 million units in the United States. He is perhaps best known for his co-production on Kanye West's 2007 si ...

, J.R. Rotem and The Underdogs, to create his EP, ''#NewThang''. In September 2013, Jackson released the ''#NewThang'' EP. Jackson followed with his second single "Drop It", which was featured in

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese ch ...

Monopoly Campaign commercial. To promote the ''#NewThang'' EP, Jackson toured with fellow Atlantic Records artist Justine Skye in the High School Nation Tour. He also played in a few shows.

2014–present: ''In My Feelings''

In January 2014, Jackson released "New Thang" followed by a remix to his single "Drop It" featuring rapper

B.o.B Bobby Ray Simmons Jr. (born November 15, 1988), known professionally as B.o.B, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. Raised in Decatur, Georgia, Simmons signed with record producer Jim Jonsin's Rebel Rock Entertainm ...

. In May, Jackson was featured on

Diggy Simmons Daniel Dwayne "Diggy" Simmons III (born March 21, 1995) is an American rapper, singer and actor from Queens, New York City. The fourth child of Run-DMC's Joseph "Rev. Run" Simmons, he began his recording career in 2009 and signed with Atlantic ...

' single "My Girl". in the summer of 2015 Jackson released his debut full-length album. Jackson released the album's first single, "Good Girl, Bad Girl", on June 3, 2014. On July 22, 2014, Jackson posted a lyric video to a track with

Kirko Bangz Kirk Jerel Randle (born August 20, 1989), better known by his stage name Kirko Bangz, is an American rapper, known for his 2011 single " Drank in My Cup", which peaked at number 28 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and received platinum certific ...

on his official YouTube channel titled "Me Likey" four days before its iTunes release. On August 3, 2014, Jackson partnered with fellow Atlantic Records artist

on the Who Else But Us Tour. Jackson premiered the video for "I'll Be Who You Love (This Christmas)" on

Rap-Up ''Rap-Up'' is a magazine launched in 2001 by founder Devin Lazerine. The publication was originally a website devoted to hip hop, until Lazerine decided to pitch the possibility of a magazine to several publishers. The magazine is focused on the ...

on December 3. Jackson followed with a new single, "Know Your Name", featuring

Sage The Gemini Dominic Wynn Woods (born June 20, 1992), better known by his stage name Sage the Gemini (), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer from Fairfield, California. He is best known for his 2013 singles "Gas Pedal" (featuring I ...

on December 15. Jackson appeared as a guest on VINE and vocalist LianeV's new single "Keep Playin". In early August, Jackson released the tracks on his YouTube channel and

SoundCloud SoundCloud is a German audio streaming service owned and operated by SoundCloud Global Limited & Co. KG. The service enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is ...

for stream with a visual for the song "Simple As This". On August 28, 2015, Jackson released the ''In My Feelings'' project on iTunes. In September he released the music video for his song "Bang Bang", which features

Kevin Gates Kevin Jerome Gilyard (born February 5, 1986), better known by his stage name Kevin Gates, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and entrepreneur. He is currently signed to Bread Winners' Association with a partnership with Atlantic Records ...

. On December 3, 2015, Jackson released a video of "Like I Do" from ''In My Feelings'' on ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

''. Jackson joined the regular cast of ''American Crime'' in its second season, playing the part of Kevin Lacroix. At the

2019 Soul Train Music Awards The 2019 Soul Train Music Awards took place on November 17 at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, and aired live for the first time on BET and BET Her. It was hosted by Tisha Campbell & Tichina Arnold, for the first time in the awards ceremony ...

Jackson won the "Soul Train Certified Award". Currently Jackson is acting on the new Freeform show "

" as Aaron Jackson, a classmate and love interest of Zoey Johnson.

Artistry

Jackson cites

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...

Gregory Hines Gregory Oliver Hines (February 14, 1946 – August 9, 2003) was an American dancer, actor, choreographer, and singer. He is one of the most celebrated tap dancers of all time. As an actor, he is best known for '' Wolfen'' (1981), '' The Cotton C ...

Donny Hathaway Donny Edward Hathaway (October 1, 1945 – January 13, 1979) was an American soul singer, keyboardist, songwriter, backing vocalist, and arranger who ''Rolling Stone'' described as a "soul legend". His most popular songs include " The Ghetto" ...

Brian McKnight Brian Kainoa Makoa McKnight Sr. (born Brian Kelly McKnight; June 5, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter, actor, record producer, radio personality, and multi-instrumentalist. An Contemporary R&B, R&B performer, he is recognized for his strong ...

, and

the Nicholas Brothers The Nicholas Brothers were an entertainment act composed of brothers, Fayard Nicholas, Fayard (1914–2006) and Harold Nicholas, Harold (1921–2000), who excelled in a variety of dance techniques, primarily between the 1930s and 1950s. Best kn ...

as his biggest musical influences. Jackson aimed for his debut album to serve as a cohesive unit, saying it was his goal to "make an album that is not just a bunch of singles, but an album that can be listened to from top to bottom." Conversely, he also "wanted every song to say something, to be an experience."

Philanthropy

Jackson supported Snoop Dogg's anti-violence "No Guns Allowed" campaign by releasing his own cover of Snoop Lion's single "No Guns Allowed", in March 2013. In April 2013, Jackson volunteered at the

Ronald McDonald House Charities Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) is an independent American nonprofit organization whose stated mission is to create, find, and support programs that directly improve the health and well-being of children. RMHC has a global network of ...

in Chicago. Jackson participated in the Strike Out Cystic Fibrosis's Bowling Charity Event on July 29, 2013. Jackson hosted the Duffy's Hope 11th Annual Teen Youth Empowerment Summit in Dover, Delaware on August 3, 2013. The organization helps provide youth with mentoring, health, education and more. Jackson has also worked with NBA Cares and The League of Young Voters Education Fund.

Discography

Studio albums

Extended plays

Mixtapes

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

Filmography

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, Trevor 1996 births Living people 21st-century African-American male singers 21st-century American male singers 21st-century American dancers 21st-century American rappers 21st-century American singer-songwriters Actors from Indianapolis African-American male child actors 21st-century African-American male actors 21st-century American male actors African-American male dancers African-American male singer-songwriters American male singer-songwriters American contemporary R&B singers American hip-hop singers American dance musicians American male child actors American male dancers American male film actors American male musical theatre actors American male pop singers American male television actors Atlantic Records artists Dancers from Indiana Midwest hip-hop musicians Musicians from Indianapolis Rappers from Indiana Singer-songwriters from Indiana