Sometimes the emotions that are hardest to share in conversation come out just right in a song. Such is the case with the aptly named musical artist, J.say. Much of his music catalog focuses on issues that are tough to discuss – like trust, loneliness and fear. Yet, when this talented up-and-comerâs lyrics meet his melodies, all heads start nodding along to the beat as if in unified agreement to
whatever the message may be. J.sayâs given name is Julias Say. His style can best be described as a blend of pop and hip-hop with a hint of rhythm and blues. The young California kid turned South Carolinian started developing his sound in junior high and today writes and engineers all his own songs.
He has earned a loyal following among young hip-hip and pop
enthusiasts who made his first few singles into hits. Three of his
personal favorites are Chances â a tune he wrote in his childhood
bedroom as a way of telling the people in his family who he took for
granted how he felt about them; Talk To Me â an upbeat summertime
song about the challenges of starting a new relationship; and Right Now
â about the complex emotion and insecurities love brings.
âI try to continually evolve my music, song by song. Yet, the overarching theme of everything I create is around authenticity and being your genuine self. I try to inspire people to accept themselves and not be afraid of othersâ
opinions,â said J.say. âI aspire to connect with each person in my audience and to convey a message of acceptance.â
âI canât wait to find out what my fans think of the new music and hope they are as excited about the new direction as I am. I donât ever want to stop growing and evolving as an artist and the people who have supported me throughout my career so far are why I feel empowered to do that,â he added.
How was life growing up?
Growing up I lived a very diverse life. I was born in Austin,Texas but soon after moved to california. It was just me and my mom for a year struggling to make ends meet until we met my step dad who eventually took us in and raised me as his own. I spent a couple years in California moving around the central valley until we finally settled down in the city of Stockton. At that point my mom and dad had two kids, one girl and one boy. Life there was very comfortable for us up until the age of fourteen. My mom got laid off from work forcing us to move in with my grandparents who lived in a small town known as Iva, South Carolina. The move to South Carolina showed me a whole different way of living and helped me mature into who I am today. I would learn how to drive, work my first job at Papa Johns, and teach myself discipline through diet, spending, and working out. After High School ended I had no plan set in mind. I decided to go to community college where I would meet some of the most talented and driven people in my circle today. Knowing I wanted to make music a career one day I made the decision to quit schooling after a year and pursue music head on while working a full time job.
When and how did you start making music?
Growing up I always had an interest in music finding myself experimenting with different hobbies such as piano, dance, and songwriting. I never believed in my ability to vocalize the words I’d write though so I would put them to the side for a while. It wasnât until I was sixteen that I decided to privately record my vocals on instrumentals and learn what it was like to create music. I would secretly create tracks in my room off of a program called audacity and eventually play them for close friends. As months went by I was encouraged to go to a studio to record my first project I titled âRootsâ. After receiving a ton of support from my peers I wanted to continue expanding my sound and catalog striving to reach my full potential. At this point all the music I was making was strictly rap songs. I always envied my friends who could sing and wished I could bring my melodies to life. I saved up money to buy studio equipment and learned how to engineer. It was when I was in the private of my room that I experimented with singing and finding ways to better my vocals. Everyday I would create new music and hear myself grow as an artist. I decided the music I was creating at this point was miles ahead of the old music I had released so I took down all my music and started back from scratch. I am very picky with what I let out of my catalog from this point on. I would soon meet my close friend Chop Collins who is mostly known for his artist name Poli$y. As our friendship grew we would push each other to pass boundaries in our music we set subconsciously and found ourselves in the best creative state yet.
How would you describe your music for someone who hasn*t heard you before?
My music consists of a blend of different elements. I try to bring all my favorite genres into one piece of work. I mainly focus on blending pop with R&B while also adding elements of hip/hop and rap.
What artists inspired you the most and who do you currently listen to?
Back when I was in a rough spot in life I found myself relating a lot to Mac Miller’s music. I remember listening to his self reflective lyrics and admiring his outlook on life and his opinions. I love artists that are very hands on with the music making process too like Tyler The Creator is. Even though I find it hard to admit sometimes, I also enjoy some of Justin Bieber’s newest projects a lot. Jack Harlow is another artist I admire for the fact he gives rap music a new and fresh sound while not being afraid to blend in different elements.
At what point did you start taking music more seriously?
It wasnât until I released A project called âRootsâ and seeing the reception it got from my peers that I decided to sit down and push myself to make this a career. The people Iâd meet along the way would help fuel my drive to want to constantly grow as an artist.
What kind of support do you get from your home town/state?
Where I live now I’ve been able to grow a loyal following that never fails to share my music when it drops. I still have a handful of people that havenât given my music a fair chance yet or associate my new music with my old catalog but i’m hoping to one day change that very soon by showing everyone how far I can take this.
What really makes you stand out and different from other artists?
Nowadays I think a lot of artists sound the same and originality is hard to come by. I always strive to write and create music that I havenât heard before and if I don’t think it has a stand out element to it I don’t release it.
What’s your biggest goal in the music industry?
My biggest goal is to become the next big pop star in the music industry. I want to continually increase my vocal capabilities and create fresh new music that catches people by surprise.
If you could collaborate with one single artist who would it be and why?
I would love to collaborate with Tyler The Creator just because I think his creativity is unmatched and I feel he would be able to show me different ways I could approach making music I didnât know before.
