Hailing all the way from Coventry with a self-assured swagger JAY1 has had a meteoric rise after the single “Your Mrs” made its way to the 18th spot on the U.K. Charts. JAY1 started taking music seriously after moving from North London to the historically student-based city of Coventry in 2016. Bold, confident vocals and candid lyrics gave the U.K. MC a fundamental versatility despite often letting his lyrics speak for themselves on minimalist trap beats, he demonstrated his ability to adapt to everything from club-rap to Afroswing. After delivering freestyles on two popular U.K. platforms, Bl@ckbox and Hardest Out, JAY1 saw his first major success with “That’s My Bae” which below up through online video channels before inspiring its own freestyle challenge.
A series of singles in 2018 helped boost his fanbase and expand his sound, leading to him trying his hand at summer dancehall on “Good Vibes” and blunt braggadocio on “Becky”. It wasn’t until “Your Mrs” that JAY1 found his breakout hit, after a snippet of the chorus hit a million views on streaming services just days after it’s release. Building on his success, he quickly landed a spot the remix of Russ & Tion Wayne’s “Keisha & Becky” and then appeared on Charlie Sloth’s “Fire In The Booth” radio show in April 2019. His debut EP, “One Wave” was released in July of that year; compiling hits like “Mocking It” & “Your Mrs” with an assortment of new material, the rappers debut showed him flexing his abilities across the U.K. rap spectrum. Capitalizing on the tape’s success, JAY1 closed the year with the club centric “Million Bucks” and “2 ON 2” with Tion Wayne.
Throughout 2020 he expanded his sound into new avenues, he collaborated with the likes of Sean Paul and Toddla T whilst stepping into the U.S. market with Blueface and The Plug where they collaborated on “Curvy” and made his drill debut alongside Loski that same year with “TEE”. In 2021 JAY1 releases “Ocean” which serves as the follow up to JAY1’s summer hit “Swerve” which features the mega YouTuber-turned-artist KSI. JAY1 returns hungrier than ever in 2022 as he returns with a freestyle “DND” and then followed by brand new track named “Mercedes”. Produced by Nastylgia who successfully created a bouncy yet hard-hitting beat, “Mercedes” is a bold offering from JAY1 who unleashes a mix of playful and assertive bars. With so much instore for 2022, WTF by JAY1 is out August 18th 2022.
