RESPECT. INTERVIEW: Jay Hype on Being Kanye’s Protégé and Being Herself

A couple months ago as I was scrolling through my Twitter feed I saw that Kanye posted a tweet. This in itself is a rare occasion and always warrants my full attention, so I stopped and looked at the tweet. It was a link to what looked like a mixtape. The only text above the tweet was “Jay Hype.” There was no further context. The internet scrambled to find out who Jay Hype was and why Kanye was posting about her. A co-sign from Yeezy is not to be taken lightly.

I took a listen to the project and loved the flow and how different she sounded. I spoke with Jay over the phone two days after Kanye’s tweet and we talked about her future plans, being herself, Kanye and more. Introducing, Jay Hype.

Jay hype https://t.co/keMAUx8ur9

— KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) July 6, 2016

RESPECT.: Hey how’s it going?

Pretty good, how are you?

RESPECT.: Pretty good! So are you still riding the high from the tweet or what?

Yeah, pretty much!

RESPECT.: So what have the last couple days been like for you?

Um, social media wise it’s been crazy. I had to turn my notifications off on all of my stuff. It’s been good though, getting contacted by some good producers giving beats. People who wanna collab. Dope people. It’s opening doors.

RESPECT.: Is it weird that you have a bunch of people, who you have no idea about, commenting on your stuff and talking to you?

I mean it’s not that weird, I’ve had that before. Yeah, I’ve definitely had that before so I’m getting a little used to it. It was only weird when people hit me up like, “Oh how did you hack Kanye?” And I was just like, “Oh okay.” I don’t even answer those DM’s, I just let them sit there. I have no answer for them (laughs).

RESPECT.: Yeah people will probably be like, “Hey can you hook me up with some Yeezy’s?”

Oh I’ve been getting that all my life! I’ve been getting that since the Yeezys have been made (laughs).

RESPECT.: That’s true, because you knew him before. He’s a family friend right?

Yeah, Kanye’s known me all my life.

RESPECT.: When did you first meet him and what was the first thing he said to you?

When I was like one or something, probably even before that when I was a baby.

RESPECT.: Oh really. When did you first tell him you were rapping then?

Oh that didn’t happen until about two years ago.

RESPECT.: Okay, and is that when the open mic night happened?

It wasn’t. It was actually like a few months before that. I actually told him, it was like during the Yeezus tour, so that was like 2013. And I remember it was during the Yeezus tour, and my dad had me rap for somebody else at first. And I came back and it was him, Kim and some other lady I cannot remember, in his dressing room. And she was just like, “Oh rap right now!” and that was the first time I ever rapped for Kanye, like two years ago. Before that it was just like, he knew I rapped, he had heard my music, but he had never like heard me rap in front of him and stuff like that. So that just happened two or three years ago.

RESPECT.: And what was his reaction the first time?

He was just like, “Ah it’s dope. It’s hard.”

RESPECT.: That’s sweet. Do you still remember the verse?

Yeah I do! I actually winded up using the verse on my first mixtape. It’s this song called, I think it’s called “BET Cypher” on my Soundcloud.

RESPECT.: Okay! And you dropped your first mixtape that same year?

Yeah, yeah. I dropped that first mixtape like a year and a half ago. In August. August 1st it would make two years.

RESPECT.: That’s crazy! So were you in high school at that point?

No, I was just out of high school, because I graduated early. I graduated around 16.

RESPECT.: So at what point did you first think, “This is what I actually want to do with my life?”

I wanted to do music my whole life. I just wasn’t able to take it serious until my junior year of high school. I didn’t have the discipline to make songs and do that. My junior year I did my talent show at Ferris. I went to Ferris High School in Jersey City, and I did the talent show. And then my whole senior year I was in night school. So I was just in classes 3-6. So I would wake up early, go to the studio, go to class, and then after class go to the studio. And that was my whole senior year. Working on the mixtape.

RESPECT.: And then how did this most recent project come together? Because it’s pretty recent beats.

Yeah, I’m working on an EP. So I was working on my EP first, and my dad called me and he was like, “Yo, you need to put out a mixtape.” He was like, “You need to go find the hottest songs right now. What’s the hottest in these streets, and you got two weeks.” So he put it on me to have two weeks to make a mixtape. And that’s enough time for me, but at the time, when I was supposed to go to the studio, the guy working with me, he had a lot of stuff coming up. So I couldn’t get in there. So I winded up doing this mixtape cause like time was cutting down and I had to leave Jersey to come to LA because I performed at the G.O.O.D. Music pull-up series on the 22nd. So I had to get the mixtape done before that. So since time was winding down, I ended up doing the mixtape all in one day. I just went in and recorded everything. Just put in a few hours. The only ones that were recorded, it was “Summer 16,” “Your B***h,” and “Uber Everywhere.” So I technically did the mixtape in two days.

RESPECT.: Did you record them all in one take?

Yeah. I always record in one take. I work with this guy, and he always gets shot because I always do everything in one take. I feel like I can’t match the energy, so I like to do things all in one take so I can like freestyle on some stuff. Most of the time the beat’s playing and they just like let me rap.

RESPECT.: So you kind of come up with your cadences and then you write down the lyrics after you flow it out?

Yeah basically. I just say whatever comes to mind at first, like my flow. Yeah like some of the tracks I didn’t even have the lyrics written down for. I just came up with them as I was going. Like the end of “Who Did It Better?” the whole ending is freestyle. I didn’t have any of that written down.

RESPECT.: That’s pretty impressive. And it flows nicely. It doesn’t switch up from any of the other flows so that’s cool that you can do that. How would you describe your style to someone who has never listened?

My style? It’s versatile and it’s dope. That’s it. (laughs).

RESPECT.: That’s true (laughs) I really liked the song that was playing on your website, is that off of your original EP?

Thank you! And that’s actually the single that I’m gonna put on my EP. I kind of put that out to show the versatility like I was saying. I do every kind of music except for country because I listen to every kind of music except for country. So, I have to kind of just do whatever I am feeling on the day. If my producer plays me a beat that’s a little polished, then I’ll just take that and I’m like, “yeah, let’s do it.” I have tracks that range from just me and my bars, to DJ Fiesta tracks.

RESPECT.: That’s cool. So who are some artists who have influenced your style? Who are you listening to right now?

Travis, Kanye, obviously that’s self explanatory. Uh, I really like Jaden and Willow Smith. Yeah, I definitely really like them. I actually really like Lil Uzi. I don’t like any of the new cats that’s really out. But Lil Uzi, I really like him a lot.

RESPECT.: You know, he can actually rap really well.

Yeah, I definitely really like Lil Uzi. And that’s just on the rapper stuff. I listen to Frank Ocean, Aaliyah, Ja Rule’s time, I really liked it (laughs), Michael Jackson. And the list just goes on and on. I really like Jaden and Willow a lot. Like, I’m older than them but they feel so much more mature.

RESPECT.: It’s cool because you’re coming up within a new generation with you and Jaden and Willow. Do you feel like it’s a new wave where everyone just has freedom of dress, style, and speech? It seems like the younger generation is very open minded. Do you feel that?

Yeah, I feel like now is definitely the time to embrace being yourself. And that’s what everybody is doing. Everybody is just doing what they want and having fun. Like you said, it’s a generation. And this generation, this time right now, is all about being yourself and not caring what everybody else has to say about you, because you’re not living for them.

RESPECT.: If you had advice for the next generation coming up after you, what would you say?

Do whatever you want because it’s your life. And don’t try to listen to anybody. Even your parents. If they want you to do something but you wanna do something else. Because when they die, you’re still gonna be living, and you’re gonna be mad as hell that you did what they want you to do. And you’re not gonna be happy. And that’s gonna suck ass. So, I encourage everybody to do what they want. You know, as long as they’re not you know, don’t go try and (laughs). Let me rephrase that.

RESPECT.: * As long as you’re not a murderer, do what you want!

Yeah, don’t go being a mass murderer out of nowhere or something. That’s the thing, always do what makes you happy and do not become society’s standards of what you think you should be doing. Like “Yeah, I should go to college!” Because I’ve had my mind made up that I wasn’t going to college since like freshman year of high school, and I would say my life is going pretty great. So, I would say, as long as you’re making smart decisions and you’re happy, I would always listen to yourself. As long as you’re not putting yourself in danger.

RESPECT.: And others (laughs). So were your parents always supportive? It seems like your dad is pretty involved, is he kind of your manager?

Yeah my dad is my manager as well as my number one fan (laughs). We’re kind of like a two man team right now. He’s my manager, he’s my DJ, he’s kind of everything. We’re slowly building a team together. I’m now with a booking agency, ICM Partners. And we’re just slowly building a team together, giving up control.

RESPECT.: Yeah I saw the video of you guys dancing together on your Insta. So have you moved out to LA yet or is that your plan?

Yeah, I’m bicoastal between LA and New Jersey right now. I’m from Jersey City.

RESPECT.: That’s a nice little Instagram bio for you, “bicoastal”.

Yeah (laughs)coast to coast. That’s literally what it is right now!

RESPECT.: What have you taken away from the city? What’s your experience been with LA?

Yeah, I love LA. The only thing I could tell you is wrong with LA is the traffic. Traffic sucks at times. But other than that, LA is wonderful. Also LA is a beautiful place but it has like a homeless problem. Which, me and my dad talk about, like we want to fix that and stuff. But the homeless people are weird because they’re not scary or anything, like we talk to them and they’re cool. I just had a dope conversation with a homeless guy the other day. I bought him a sandwich. He just said, “Hey what’s up?” they kind of just want to talk to you. I don’t feel threatened or anything by them.

RESPECT.: Yeah, I feel like you should always do something if it’s a little cost to you and a big gain to someone else. So even just talking to someone can help.

Yeah! Cause they’re still people.

RESPECT.: I once talked to a homeless man who told me I was the only person who talked to him all week. That’s crazy!

Yeah! But my only complaint about LA is the traffic. But other than that, this is great. it’s a dream!

RESPECT.: So how did the G.O.O.D. Music showcase come to be?

That G.O.O.D. Music is actually doing a pull up series. The first one was June 22nd and my dad was like, “You’re performing at that” and I was like, “cool.” The first one was crazy for me. It was a good turn out, it was turnt. DJ Cam Girl who’s here from LA, we had Robb Banks come out, OG Maco was there, he showed love, King Los. It was a dope little turn out. It was a good crowd. They were raging but you could tell it was all good energy.

RESPECT.: And did you get to meet all those guys too?

Yeah, yeah. Definitely, definitely. OG Maco came up and said that he saw my performance, he was like sitting in the back. He told me he f****d with it and said “you’re gonna do good.” They showed love, King Los showed love. I went to the G.O.O.D. Music studio a couple days later, he was there and he, showed love.

RESPECT.: Hey, that’s crazy. Well I’m really happy for all your success and everything. And so, for the future, EP, we should look out for that, anything else you want to say?

Yeah definitely, definitely. Future EP, you should look out for that. Visuals, everything. I got a lot of stuff coming.

RESPECT.: And last question, who did it better?!

Oh, of course!!!! You answer that question for the article.

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