Why He's About to Pop: Jackson Harris, who grew up in the city and attended a prep school in a New York suburb, knew in his early teens that music was his calling. The singer-songwriter -- influenced by today's pop-rock and hip-hop, and classics like the Beatles and Frank Sinatra -- spent his time after school learning to play music and compose songs, and he then decided to pursue a music career rather than head off to college. With a love of his craft and a pride in New York City, he recorded an EP to tell his own story, plus a chilled out, acoustic cover of Jay-Z's hit 'Empire State of Mind' that's been making its way around the Web. "Jay-Z definitely reigns as the king of NYC, and I definitely don't dispute that," Harris tells PopEater. "The first time I heard 'Empire State of Mind,' though, it was being performed live, so I think of my version as a little bit more laid back." Harris says that his take on the hit is "for those people who love the original but who are interested in hearing it in a different way." Watch his 'Empire State of Mind' video below, and read our exclusive interview with Harris to find out how his songwriting began.