FEATURE: Spotlight: JayaHadADream — Music Musings & Such

FEATURE:

Spotlight

PHOTO CREDIT: Adam Rosenbaum

JayaHadADream

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I am writing this…

PHOTO CREDIT: Sam Thacker

ahead of the release of her debut mixtape, Happiness from Agony. That came out on 24th October. After a series of solo singles and collaboration, this is the first big project from one of our most promising and talented artists. I am going to start with an interview from 2023, so we can learn a little more about this incredible musician. I will then bring things more up to date. Left Lion spoke with JayaHadADream. The Nottingham (she was based there for university, but now she resides in Cambridge) Hip-Hop sensation was set to take the world by storm. That course is set and she is making big strides. A debut mixtape will definitely take her music to new fans and nations:

“Raised in Cambridge with Jamaican and Irish heritage, Jayahadadream moved to Nottingham in 2018 to study at university. Since then, her time has been split between the two locations, and we were lucky enough to catch her for a chat in our LeftLion offices while she was visiting our city for the weekend…

A number of bands met and formed while they were at university in Nottingham; think Amber Run, Blondes, and Don Broco, to name a few. Jaya (stage name Jayahadadream) - a rising star in the world of hip hop - also found her voice and sound while studying here, and Nottingham has served as something of an honorary hometown for her ever since. “It has been the most nurturing city for me; this is definitely my city. Most of my big checkpoints have been here,” she says. “It feels like home when it’s not, really.”

This month, Jaya will make a further appearance on Nottingham’s vast festival circuit, headlining Green Hustle in Old Market Square. This is an opportunity she was particularly looking forward to because it aligns with her own personal morals and interests. “I’m so excited, not just because I love the people who are hosting it, but also because I'm vegan myself, so the event very much supports my morals and the things I'm interested in.”

The inspiration behind her stage name, which can now be seen displayed on these festival posters, is a complex one with many layers. “There's a lot of different things that went into it,” she says. “I have a sociology degree and I have a strong sense of justice – I can't help it, being a woman and being mixed race. Ever since I was a kid, in the hallway we had a Martin Luther King poster which had his whole speech on it. Then, at the bottom it said, ‘I had a dream.’

“I used to just naturally say ‘Jaya had a dream’ in my songs a lot, and that's something that seemed to stick with people. It just fits. Actually, people in the industry have tried to get me to change it and shorten it. But Tyler, the Creator is a long name, too!” she laughs. “I like it and I do feel like there's something deep in it now, in my soul.”

With the mention of Tyler, the Creator, I recall a tweet where Jaya said she doesn’t listen to much hip hop herself, despite making it. “I forget that people can read my tweets!” she says with a laugh. “I actually only listen to hip hop thirty percent of the time. I listen to a lot of old music, like Stevie Wonder and David Bowie. If I feel the lyrics, I like it. I think Kendrick Lamar and Nas are my top rappers, but I even listen to Kings of Leon and My Chemical Romance. I also love musical soundtracks, like Les Mis and Rocky Horror.”

Using social media can create a lot of pressure and anxiety for recording artists, but Jaya has established a healthy balance that many find difficult to strike. “At the moment, I'm actually finding social media really fun,” she says. “I have support across the world and that wouldn't happen without social media. There is an anxiety, but right now I don't scroll very much. That’s my biggest piece of advice for other artists: just post, don’t scroll!”

Going forward, Jaya plans to release a single which is more in line with the rest of her discography prior to Top One. “Something that's a bit slower, with more of a story, like my other songs,” she explains. A full EP with Nigerian artist Wasalu is also on the way, which has been two years in the making. “I recorded most of it on Glasshouse Street here in Nottingham, in my old flat,” she says”.

I forgot that JayaHadADream, put out an E.P., Redemption Songs, last year. In any regards, her debut mixtape is still her biggest release. I am interested to see how it is received. I shall come to a recent interview from NME. Before that, in September, CLASH spoke with the amazing JayaHadADream. This is an artist very much primed and ready. There is focus from radio stations in the U.K., though I don’t think she is being talked about as much as she should be. Go and follow her on social media and check out Happiness from Agony:

“Her first EP, ‘Redemption Songs’, helped propel the razor tongued teacher-turned-emcee into a stratosphere of high calibre performers just over a year ago, off the back of winning Glastonbury Festival’s Emerging Talent Competition. The breakout project included sound-defining tracks such as ‘Twiggy’ and ‘Stubborn’, and placed her on the radar of grime and hip hop’s most prolific voices.

Having recently appeared on Frisco’s ‘Owe Me One’ single alongside JME and Flowdan, and stepped up to the plate of Red Bull’s Raise the Bar Cypher with Chip, Kibo and Kasst, her new sparring partners have helped sharpen the 24-year-old’s burgeoning artistry.

‘Happiness From Agony’ feels like the next evolution in an already shining career. Slick lyricism and infectious energy go hand in hand over an intricate array of different production styles. Keeping the vibe of a project consistent over different genres and BPMs is no mean feat, but Jaya and her big name collaborations do it effortlessly.

Over the course of two hours, connecting from Salford’s Media City to Jaya in the comfort of her home in Cambridge, we explored the importance of her matriarchal upbringing, musical influences throughout her life, and the excitement of releasing a new mixtape and going on tour.

What is your earliest memory of music?

We used to listen to Kisstory in the car. One time this song by CeeLo Green and Kelis came on called ‘Little Star’. Even to this day, if I hear that song it makes me so sad and happy at the same time. That was the first time I recognised that I got goosebumps from music.

I used to cry a lot over songs when I was very young, stuff by Michael Jackson, and Damian Marley – ‘There For You’, because it made me happy. I know it sounds weird, but that was the moment when I was like, ‘Oh, there’s something connected between me and this thing’.

What genres and artists do you love and how have they influenced your music?

I like a lot of 80s music. My Mum was born in the 70s, so she grew up on a lot of stuff from then. Artists like Kate Bush, Bowie, Stevie Wonder and Michael Jackson, and Whitney.

My sisters influenced a lot of the stuff outside of hip hop, [they] went through phases of being into Panic at the Disco, My Chemical Romance, artists that really taught me how to write differently.

I also like a lot of alternative music that’s more recent. I like Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Tame Impala, and Hak Baker. I just like anything that makes me feel like I believe what they’re saying.

Another thing that people don’t know about me is I actually love a lot of musical soundtracks. I just love anything that draws you in. Rocky Horror Picture Show, I probably know that back to back. Les Mis, Grease, Phantom of the Opera. There are always good stories and good characterisation which I really appreciate.

our lyric writing is so powerful. Where does the inspiration come from?

I’m quite an opinionated person, but I have always struggled to be the loudest in the room. Everything I write is like, ‘if I had a platform, this is what I want to say’.

I was a really shy kid. I barely spoke to anyone for the first three, four or five years of school.

When I first started doing sociology, one of the lecturers said “sociology is just ranting about shit that you hate in society…” To an extent, I feel like my music is me ranting about things I hate, things I love. I’m trying to almost set a philosophy of ‘this is how I see it, this is how I want society to be’.

What are the main differences for you as an artist from ‘Redemption Songs’ to ‘Happiness From Agony’?

I feel like I’ve learned so much. As artists, we drop a song, and then we feel a bit like ‘I gotta be doing the next thing’. I think this time, I’ve taken a lot more time with things. I definitely think more about building a song and making songs more cinematic, almost theatrical.

These days, I send voice notes to myself on WhatsApp when I’m out and about. I spend an awful lot of time working out the first bar these days, the first lyric. I’m becoming a real perfectionist with the pen”.

Whether you would class JayaHadADream as Grime or Hip-Hop, it is clear that this introspective and powerful storyteller is changing the scene. NME wrote how this “genre-hopping excellence and racking up recognition in the grime scene”. The magnificent Jaya Gordon-Moore is someone to watch closely. Her background and rise is so fascinating. How she has come through this academic route and has won plaudits, played on huge stations and is being tipped as one of the most essential artists in British music. The Grime/Hip-Hop queen is ready to take over the world:

“’Happiness From Agony’, her debut mixtape, continues to keep listeners on their toes. Gordon-Moore cites the soulful and syrupy number ‘I Know’ as her favourite track and one of her proudest moments of her career so far. “I don’t think people are expecting a mellow track like that from me,” she reasons. “When I made it, I listened on repeat, which is very rare for me. It gave me the same feelings my favourite songs do, and I’ve never really been able to recreate that. I also sing a lot more on it.”

On ‘The Bank’, she leans into bubbly 2-step production, perfect for dented, checkerboarded party floors and garage raves. By contrast, ‘Repackage’, her collaboration with Capo Lee, trades that bounce for trap-ruptured 808s, giving her space to volley back at haters, “repackage hate back to the sender / I’m Top Five, doesn’t matter what gender,” as she puts it.

It’s no surprise, then, that Gordon-Moore relates to artists being forced to categorise their sound – a struggle for someone who hops effortlessly between styles. “It’s just a collage that I’m tapping into,” she explains. “I can’t lie, being biracial [Jamaican and Irish] means you’re automatically one foot in everything – you see things differently.

“There’s also a lot of letting people bring you in. I do a lot of grime and hip-hop, and in my early work, I sang more while I was still finding myself artistically. I see grime as a movement and world, and hip-hop as a genre – it’s hard for me to identify with just one thing.”

As our chat winds down, Gordon-Moore smirks, hinting towards more brewing beneath the surface. The next chapter, she says, is all about taking her new tape on the road. What’s certain is how far she’s come from those university bedroom sessions. “Yeah,” she laughs, “my pen game’s better, my delivery’s better. I’ve actually got people to work with now. I’m just being the best MC possible, regardless of the box I’m put in. I think the kid in me who absorbed and saw so much growing up would be proud”.

I am going to end there. This feature is designed to give an insight into JayaHadADream and who she is. Happiness from Agony will be out by the time this feature is shared, and I know it will be met with acclaim and massive love. It is no less than we’d expect from a wonderful talent who richly deserves huge long-term success. I am fairly fresh to her music, though I can tell that she is the real deal. Go and catch her live if you can. She has some dates coming up, including some in London. I might see if I can get along to one of those. A natural and distinct talent who should be known by all. You do not need to be a Grime/Hip-Hop fan to appreciate and understand her music. For anyone who has not fallen under the spell of JayaHadADream, then go and add her to your playlist. We are going to be hearing and watching her shine…