Get To Know: Jay1

The voice behind the viral hit ‘Your Mrs’ Jay1 is taking the UK rap scene by storm.

Jay1’s journey from aspiring rapper to one of the UK’s biggest talents has been a swift and remarkable one, kicked into super drive in 2019 when the artists’ grime single ‘Your Mrs’ went viral with over 30 million streams.

However, Jay1’s journey to success has been in no way conventional. Starting his rap career in Coventry after leaving London with his family at 17 due to rising living prices. Most of the UK’s rap scenes are located in London, Manchester and Birmingham, but this did not stop Jay1 from pursuing his passion and making a name for himself. If anything, the added pressure of establishing a career as a singular force made him work that much harder.

 Encouraged by a loving community of family and friends, Jay1 was able to navigate the fast-moving world of hip hop with heart and conviction, building upon the success of ‘Your Mrs’ with an expanding body of work. His next hit ‘Mocking It’ made ‘Your Mrs’ look like child’s play, with 2 million streams in its first 3 days of release and his debut mixtape ‘One Wave’ was released to critical acclaim.

 With each new release, Jay1 cements his name as a future star of Britain’s rap scene and saturates his sound. His early music reflected a keen ability to capture the hook-driven attention of listeners with party-popping tracks, while his new music shows that this dynamic artist can blend nuances of dancehall, grime and even instrumental ballads to create R&B with depth and richness.  In the album ‘One Wave’, Jay1 moves from the sensual ballad of ‘Tropical Love’ to the skeletal piano flairs of ‘Ay.’ On the inspiration for his expanding sound, Jay1 says that it is down to creative spontaneity, experimenting during recording sessions until he finds a sound that clicks.

See Jay1 perform live in New Zealand this April.