One Night With Jay Sean

Jay Sean is the melodious voice behind many of favorite tracks such as “Eyes on You,” “Stolen,” and “One Night.” But who really is this British boy, trying to make a move in the music industry? Though he may be miles away from , Jay Sean is prime when it comes to fusing together Bhangra music and Punjabi lyrics impeccably with a flavor of contemporary R&B and Hip-Hop styles.

Many people who admire this amazing vocalist don’t know that Jay started his hobby of rapping at the age of 11, when he was part of a band called “Compulsive Disorder,” with his cousin Pritpal Ruprai. Jay went by the name MC “Nicky J,” and eventually “Compulsive Disorder” later gained the attention of local radio station DJs. Jay later went to a private -school for boys and gained a place at Queen Mary’s School of Medicine & Dentistry in London to train as a doctor. After two years Jay Sean secured a one million pounds record deal and left Medical school to pursue his Musical career. As many South Asian artists, the only obstacle to frequently catch Jay’s attention was his race rather than his music. But he never let that affect his musical expertise.

“One Minute” was the first full track Jay had written himself. It ultimately landed in the hands of British Asian Music producer Rishi Rich. Rishi heard the demo and asked Jay to come to the studio, and got him to do an impromptu performance in front of the 2Point9 management. Jay quickly became part of the 2Point9 team, working with Rishi and Punjabi Singer, Juggy D during the summer of 2003. As Jay Sean dug deeper into the music industry, he confidently articulated his love for R&B music. 2004, without a doubt, was the biggest and brightest year in Jay’s musical career. His debut album, “Me Against Myself,” topped the Top 30 of the UK Albums Chart for one week, while his first two singles managed to break the Top 10 of the UK Singles Chart.

But the wasn’t the only place where Jay was applauded for his musical endowments. He was also a smash-hit in , where his album sold more than 2 million copies. And if that wasn’t enough for , he also made a special guest appearance in the Bollywood movie, “Kya Kool Hai Hum,” providing them with a rocking song on the soundtrack, “Dil Mera (One Night),” performed by Jay, Juggy D and Veronica. In February of 2006, he split with Virgin Records for a variety of reasons. This, however, did delay the release of his new album; nonetheless, 2Point9, is ready to progress with his new album, which will include “Maybe” and “Ride It” both produced by Alan Sampson. The video for his new single “Ride It,” was shot on the August 12th, 2007, in the Central London nightclub, MoVida; and on October 9th, it was officially released onto the internet in full by 2Point9Records.

Though Jay has faced the turbulent ups and downs of the music industry, he took each hurdle as they came, and quickly overcame them, exposing to everyone the true artist within him, and surpassing himself each time with the release of new singles. Having met Jay the first time in 2006, I realized what a down-to-Earth person he truly is. He has a certain charisma which surrounds him all the time and his persona is more inviting than any other artist I’ve come across. I recently had the chance to re-live those amazing moments with Jay, as we discussed his melodious past, harmonious present and pleasing future.

A lot of South Asian artists are on the verge of collaborations right now, it seems like that’s helping them get into the mainstream scene. Amar recently worked with Timbaland and Rouge did a version of their track with Juelz Santana. If you had the chance to collaborate with any mainstream artist and producer who would you want to work with?

I would love to do an R&B track with Ne-Yo or a collaboration with Justin Timberlake. Female artist would have to be Beyonce. MC collaboration would have to be Jay-Z and man, Eminmen would be a dream! Producer? Hmm. I would want to work with Will I Am, from the Black Eyed Peas!

Speaking about Timbaland, what was it like meeting him when he was in London?

He was mad cool. He has a totally different swagger. He was really cool and was like, “You’re like the Asian Justin!” It was a great compliment!

Being from the , I am certain that you are very well aware of the growing urban South Asian music scene there. Are there any particular artists you feel have the talent to make it to the top? What about the urban South Asian scene in the States? Any particular artists there you would consider collaborating with?

I think there people coming in the next generation. That’s why I set-up my company, so that I can sign these people. You have to stand up against the Beyonces, Justins, etc., with the right mind-set. I’ve been hearing good things about people like ROUGE and I wish them luck. There aren’t many artists to choose from in regards to collaborations. But Thara is one of them. After her video with Fabulous and when she got signed by DJ Clue, I knew she was making moves. I met her in Miami and I was like, “Yo! We need to work together,” and since then, ‘Murder’ has got a lot of rotation.

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http://www.nirvanastyle.com/html/fashion_articles.php?id=216

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