Let’s speak to the man himself, shall we? So Jay, tell us about your background, heritage and culture.
I’m a British born Asian (as Kamaljit Jhooti in Southall, UK), brought up in a Punjabi Sikh household (in Hounslow). My parents came over to UK in the 60’s and I’ve grown up in an extended family, living with my parents and grandparents.
What languages do you speak, rap and sing in?
At home, I speak Punjabi with my grandparents, but I rap and sing in English. I also speak a little French and German… and now I feel like I’m writing a CV.
What is the music you grew up on and how has it had an impact on where you are now? How did you get into the 'beat-box' thing?
Beat box was something I never tried to actually learn... I just starting emulating the hip-hop beats that I heard on radio ever since I was 12 years old. When I was in Compulsive Disorder, my rap group, when my cousin used to rap, I’d beat box, and it was just one of those things where no matter where we were we just couldn’t keep our mouths shut! Since then I’ve tried to hone my beat box, studying other techniques, learning new vocal scratches and recently I’ve learnt to sing AND beat box at the same time. When I was 12 years old, my cousin and I started getting into hip-hop. It became a way of life for us and within a year or so were heavily into hip hop culture. We wrote our first rap for my uncle who was leaving to go to Canada as it goes! We’ve still got it on film somewhere, and admittedly it was really, really, really bad. Over the next 4 years we wrote and produced our own music and performed at local community gigs where we tried to establish a name for ourselves and got a taste for live performance. Our high point came when we got on the front cover of a music magazine in Canada!
How have your family reacted to you giving up a career in Medicine (at Queen Mary’s College, University of London), for music?
They’ve been really supportive. My Mum & Dad always knew my heart was in music & when I came to them & told them I had an opportunity to sign a major recording contract with a major label they have been right behind me. I can’t thank them enough for the encouragement they’ve given me.
I’m a British born Asian (as Kamaljit Jhooti in Southall, UK), brought up in a Punjabi Sikh household (in Hounslow). My parents came over to UK in the 60’s and I’ve grown up in an extended family, living with my parents and grandparents.
What languages do you speak, rap and sing in?
At home, I speak Punjabi with my grandparents, but I rap and sing in English. I also speak a little French and German… and now I feel like I’m writing a CV.
What is the music you grew up on and how has it had an impact on where you are now? How did you get into the 'beat-box' thing?
Beat box was something I never tried to actually learn... I just starting emulating the hip-hop beats that I heard on radio ever since I was 12 years old. When I was in Compulsive Disorder, my rap group, when my cousin used to rap, I’d beat box, and it was just one of those things where no matter where we were we just couldn’t keep our mouths shut! Since then I’ve tried to hone my beat box, studying other techniques, learning new vocal scratches and recently I’ve learnt to sing AND beat box at the same time. When I was 12 years old, my cousin and I started getting into hip-hop. It became a way of life for us and within a year or so were heavily into hip hop culture. We wrote our first rap for my uncle who was leaving to go to Canada as it goes! We’ve still got it on film somewhere, and admittedly it was really, really, really bad. Over the next 4 years we wrote and produced our own music and performed at local community gigs where we tried to establish a name for ourselves and got a taste for live performance. Our high point came when we got on the front cover of a music magazine in Canada!
How have your family reacted to you giving up a career in Medicine (at Queen Mary’s College, University of London), for music?
They’ve been really supportive. My Mum & Dad always knew my heart was in music & when I came to them & told them I had an opportunity to sign a major recording contract with a major label they have been right behind me. I can’t thank them enough for the encouragement they’ve given me.
What sort of difficulties have you experienced in the industry so far?
Well I’ve learnt an incredible amount in a short space of time about the industry & people. As far as difficulties are concerned, I’ve been too lucky so far to complain about things. There’s an un-believable amount of hard work which goes into being an artist which I didn’t see a couple of years ago. You’ve got to be very determined & keep focused to be successful which is quite difficult when things go well.
Tell us about your association with 2point9 and Rishi Rich, Juggy D e.t.c.
Well 2Point9 are my Management & Production Company. They are an intrinsic part of all our careers & properly criticise me if I have stepped out of line or am slacking in any way... They really keep me on my toes but praise me when I’ve delivered a great performance. They have a lot of experience & between us we have proper discussions about how we should move things forward, left or right creatively. Juggy is a great friend & it’s been wicked going through all of this with him. We’ve been writing his album & mine and Rishi’s album, together for a long while now, so we’re vital part of each other’s careers. Rishi is someone who I totally look up to & aspire to have the longevity he’s had. I really admire how hard he works & how much passion he still has for music. He’s very focused & he’s a role model for me.
What's it like working with Rishi Rich?
Wicked! Hopefully I'll be back heavily working with him again soon as he’s an inspiring guy to be around. He’s got such creativity. I’ve seen him literally writing two tracks at the same time before. It's like as he has one idea, another one comes into his head & he stops & puts it down. He’s a phenomenally talented guy.
Wicked! Hopefully I'll be back heavily working with him again soon as he’s an inspiring guy to be around. He’s got such creativity. I’ve seen him literally writing two tracks at the same time before. It's like as he has one idea, another one comes into his head & he stops & puts it down. He’s a phenomenally talented guy.
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