YN Jay

Although YN Jay’s biggest songs have been about life’s lighter moments, he is the product of a painful past. Jay compares his upbringing to John Singleton’s Boyz N The Hood storyline in remembering his older brother Gabe—a slain football star who loved rap. “That whole movie is my life. My brother was the one that was gonna make it out. He was in the middle of our BS; he lost his life in the process.” Gabe, a high school senior, was killed in nearby Flint while attending his first party. Like Ice Cube’s character in the 1991 film, Jay was deeply affected. “From that point on, I knew that I had to do something to make it out and prove myself.”

“My goal is to be the one to put Beecher on the map,” Jay declares. From a young age, his parents encouraged his rap dreams. “Since I was ten years old, I’ve been in the studio almost every day,” says the self-proclaimed mama’s boy. By his mid-teens, skipping school to hit the studio led to Jay dropping out during ninth grade. “A lot of people thought I wasn’t gonna make it too far,” he shares. In the years since, Jay went to jail, battled poverty, and relied on friends like “Coochie” collaborator Louie Ray for a place to stay while Flint’s Rio Da Yung Og reminded him to stay focused. “Forget music—I almost gave up on life,” he admits. “Friends held me down and showed me the way. They helped me get back to myself when I was losing myself.”

However, after the darkest times, YN Jay’s hard work and rapping experience began to break through. Jay had been releasing music frequently since 2019. However, the longtime rhyme-writer tweaked his formula. Starting with 2020’s “Coochie,” Jay began spitting freaky tales in Too Short’s tradition—but in a contemporary style. As the song caught fire, he followed with a whole project of similar anthems about sexcapades, Coochie Land. “I got more and more fans every day. Pretty soon, my album was charting.” “Triple S” cracked 10 million streams, while “Coochie Land,” “Coochie Scout,” and “Coochie Flow” followed close behind. It was a strategic game-plan for a standout artist. “The coochie sound is like if you get a towel wet—and right now, I’m just wringing it out and getting the most out of it,” he says, with other styles in tow.

Amid his rise, Jay got cosigns from Drake and Lil Uzi Vert. While Drizzy and Jay are exploring music, he recorded extensively with Uzi. The same night the two discussed collaborating, Jay stopped everything to drive to Philly. “I pulled up; we did damn near eight songs.” One track, the “coochie”-inspired “Hold On,” promises to release during an exciting 2021. Fresh off of Ninja Warrior—an album featuring Lil Yachty and Sada Baby that he conceptualized and recorded in a single day, YN Jay recently signed a deal with Alamo Records and is focused on showcasing his versatility and staying power. “I’m working on a few albums and letting the world know how big this is. Anybody can be a rapper; I’m trying to catch the culture and update the game.”