Speaker

#1 US Billboard Chart-Topping Musical Artist

“Congratulations to Anokhi Media on their 15th Anniversary! I have always been grateful for their support of me and my career from day 1! And I think it’s so important to shed light on what South Asians are doing for the communities they are in so we can continue to support each other and do even more! So events like these are important and I’m glad to be part of it.”

With a career spanning fifteen years, multi-million selling and platinum award-winning artist Jay Sean remains the most successful British urban act in music history. Dipping his toes into various urban genres, and living across different continents, it’s no surprise he’s harnessed his success by constantly evolving.

Born in Hounslow, West London, Jay says, “The way I grew up shaped me as a human being and has definitely shaped my career. Where my family lived in London was heavily South Asian based, but I was fortunate to have a lot of cultural influences, especially at school, and so my way of interacting with the world was incredibly eclectic.”

Jay grew up on a diet of English pop music, but he eagerly absorbed the rich diversity of hip hop, r’n’b, reggae and dancehall influences around him, and although he briefly flirted with a career in medicine – “I was that dude who would do exams and dissections and cut people’s livers open and then at the evening I’d be doing gigs or working on my mixtapes” – fortunately his passion for music was victorious.

After releasing a string of UK Top Ten smash hits such as “Eyes On You”, “Stolen” and “Ride It”, Jay was signed to iconic American label Cash Money Records in 2008 and released his US debut “Down”, which reached Number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, eventually selling over six million copies in America alone.  It was a defining moment, and Jay says, “When that happened, it was like an out of body experience, but then I was like ‘this is it, this is what I’m meant to do, keep going, don’t ever stop.’ I took it as a sign that things are going well, and since then, I’ve never rested on my laurels. There’s so much more to achieve.”

Apart from releasing further hits like “Do You Remember”, “2012” and “I’m All Yours”, Jay has split time between London, LA and New York for the last eight years.

He’s also collaborated with some of the biggest names in music, including Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj, Pitbull, Sean Paul and Mary J Blige (to name a few), and he says, “All the people I’ve worked with, they’re people I looked up to and thought ‘one day I’d love to meet them.’ Fortunately, I’ve been able to meet them and then we text and email, and all of our work has happened really organically. That way, you know it’s going to be something special.”

This organic approach has influenced Jay’s brand new dancehall-infused single “Make My Love Go” which he invited his long-time friend Sean Paul to collaborate on with. Jay says, “I wrote this song last year and hit up Sean and asked him, ‘What do you think of this?’” We’d already worked together on “Do You Remember” and he said “Man, I love it, don’t let this one go. Let’s do it again!”

“Make My Love Go” also features a sample from Maxi Priest’s global Number 1 “Close To You”, and is Jay’s first major release in three years, since leaving Cash Money, releasing two critically acclaimed mixtapes (The Mistress series) and signing a new deal with Sony Music (Via his own imprint Kamouflage Entertainment.) Jay’s never been more focused, announcing, “I’m so happy, I have a great label and management team, and there’s no Plan B with my career. I’m definitely on the right path.”

Jay is also embracing the way the music industry has changed since he emerged over a decade ago, admitting, “I think nowadays, there are no rules. Fans just want music, regardless of whether it’s a remix, a bootleg, a mixtape or an official release. That’s the future and I just want to keep breaking the rules.”

“Make My Love go”, is already a hit across most of mainland Europe and the United Kingdom and much more music is on the way. Jay’s trademark ambition is still gaining momentum and he says, “I’m so lucky that people out there still want to hear my music, and I just want to keep on doing this forever.”

PHOTO CREDIT

Courtesy of Jay Sean