FEATURE: Spotlight: Revisited: Jae Stephens

FEATURE:

Spotlight: Revisited

Jae Stephens

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I spotlighted…

PHOTO CREDIT: Bradley Meinz for NME

Jae Stephens in November. I wanted to come back to her music, as I feel this year is a big one for her. You can see where she is touring later in the year. There are some big dates in Stephens’s diary. I am glad that she is coming to the U.K. in October. She was here last year, but I was unable to go and see her perform. Her incredible album, TOTAL SELLOUT, came out last November. Since then, there have been singles released. I waned to explore some of the newer chats with an artist that people should definitely seek out. Such an amazing sound and this enormous confidence and power as a singer, you know that Jae Stephens is going to be making music for years to come. Before coming to something newer, the NME feature from November is worth reintroducing. Getting a lot of love from the U.K. press, there is this urgency about her music. Someone who means business! I feel that the next couple of years are going to be massive. In terms of where Stephens plays. I feel she will get some headline slots and collaborate with some major artists:

“London is where I became a woman,” says Stephens, who upped sticks from her balmy Californian home to the grey skies of Blighty straight out of high school, aged 18. “I was obsessed with it by way of One Direction, I’m not gonna lie to you,” says Stephens, whose fandom fixation garnered her a Tumblr-famous following of over 200,000, for whom she would also post cover songs. “From there, it snowballed into wanting to understand a whole other culture [and] music scene. I just think it was really meant to be.”

It didn’t take long for her to fall in love with British dry wit and offbeat fashion, and the chaos of the Tube, while she also met her management and participated in her first-ever songwriting sessions in the city. “It definitely felt like my coming-of-age movie,” the 27-year-old says of the two years she lived in the UK. “Then I started dating a British guy, and I was living my Wattpad dream!”

Even after moving back to LA, Stephens would return to the UK each year to hone her songwriting chops, writing for herself and others including Bryant Barnes, Sharylen, and Khamari. It wasn’t long before she found herself in the studio with superstar songwriter MNEK, whom she’d first heard on BBC Radio 1 during late-night essay-writing stints. Starstruck, it was one of the first times she felt out of her depth as a young artist in the studio.

“Back then, it was very hard because I wanted everybody in the room to think, ‘Wow, she’s really good, she came up with the concept, the melody, the title and this crazy bar, then she got on the mic’. I wanted to be the valedictorian of the studio.” Penning her first song aged eight and self-releasing music in her teens, Stephens’ headstrong resolve came from a “fuck it, I’ll do it myself attitude” that was born from necessity, meaning she had to learn to trust others creatively and process her self-imposed pressure to perform as a rookie.

And while ‘F**k It I’ll Do It Myself’ was also the befitting title of her self-produced debut EP, nowadays she’s happy for others to take control or chime in as the mood dictates. “I’m really happy to play either front or backseat driver,” says Stephens, whose trajectory has seen her since pen tracks for artists like Jennifer Lopez, Normani and Sinéad Harnett. “Like, this is not a real job; we should be having fun. We’re just writing fucking songs – it’s not that deep!”

Watching how other people work in the studio slowly led her to ‘Body Favors’, the second track taken from ‘Sellout’. Underpinned by a sludgy bassline, honeyed vocals and playful melody, the track’s mischievous lyrics (“Sour on top but it’s sweet below / But how many licks til you reach it though?”) encapsulate what had come to be Stephens’ quintessential sound after struggling to find her own on the electro-tinged R&B of her first EP and its contemplative successor, ‘High My Name Is’.

“I just felt like [‘Body Favors’] was me personified. That doesn’t make sense,” she pauses. “Songified? It had so much character and spunk and was a little sexy and a little sweet and was tongue-in-cheek, and it was mildly appropriate without being vulgar. It was upbeat but wasn’t too squeaky; it had edge but wasn’t too dark. It walked such a specific line, and I remember thinking ‘I have no idea who we would send this song to, I can’t think of anyone who fits all of these opposing boxes… but I can!”

Hitting that perfect recipe pushed Stephens to refocus on herself and intentionally pursue a career as an artist. “When I wrote that one, it definitely made me feel like I had an identity, because I was definitely strung [out] with that a bit, musically,” she says. “I’m not the smooth and sexy seductress with R&B songs – bitch, I’m goofy! And I like to have fun!”.

I guess Jae Stephens might call TOTAL SELLOUT a ‘project’, rather than a debut album. We learn from this interview that there is a debut album coming. The past year has been very busy and productive for Jae Stephens. She has achieved so much. Though you feel she is only just getting started. The Texas-born artisat has released a series of E.P. and played some amazing shows. However, things are gearing up to a debut album:

“YouKnowIGotSoul: It’s been a year since our last interview. At that time last year, you were opening up for FLO and you were on your first tour. Just talk about what this year has been like since then. You dropped the full project, you’re headlining your own tour now and also have your own podcast.

Jae Stephens: Oh my gosh, it’s been so busy. I feel like this has been the year of a lot of realized goals and things that I really wanted to accomplish. It’s been really exciting releasing my project and just some of my favorite songs ever including “Afterbody” and “Boyfriend Forever”. And just really seeing how people have responded to those songs because I always had a good feeling about them. Just the response since then, off the back of the whole project, to now enabling me to do my own tour has been really great. It’s been a really busy year since then and the following year is about to be even busier, so I’m so excited.

YouKnowIGotSoul: Could you have imagined all of this happening last year? Was this all part of the plan?

Jae Stephens: We make plans and God laughs. But I definitely had in my mind that I wanted to release a full body of work and I wanted to go on tour, and I feel like that has absolutely happened because we worked for this. Me and my whole team, we’ve just put in a lot of time and effort into making sure all the music has been very intentional and giving the fans what they want to see, what they want to hear. So it makes me really happy that it’s paying off and everybody is receiving it so well. I think we’re doing what we’ve set out to do.

YouKnowIGotSoul: And the entire “Sellout” project, like you mentioned, is finally out now. I love seeing how much your songwriting has evolved from the first part up until now. What did you enjoy most about the entire creative process of this project?

Jae Stephens: I think for me it was really a process from the beginning to the end. I think that you can hear and even see in the visuals me kind of figuring it out as I go along, getting more comfortable, finding my sound, finding how I want things to look, how I want things to feel. So it’s been a real process of just finding myself, learning my style. I really enjoyed finding the people that I love to work with and just finding my footing and finding out how to have fun in this process. It can be a lot, it can be overwhelming, but I’m at a point now where I’m really having fun, and I think that is the “Sellout” way. So I’m really happy to have gotten here to this point. And yeah, that was definitely the result of this project.

YouKnowIGotSoul: Right, for sure. Now, of course, you had a big moment with “Body Favors” last year, and now the new record “Afterbody “is another viral moment for you. Did you foresee this happening for you to have these type of moments?

Jae Stephens: I definitely know which songs I feel special about and which ones I hope the fans will gravitate towards and resonate with. So yeah, “Body Favors” and “Afterbody” were definitely both examples of that. I knew when I was writing them that they were special, that they felt very uniquely me. You never really know what’s going to happen, but you can always have a feeling. So I’m really glad that the audience has gravitated towards those songs because it definitely validates my gut feeling about what I want to hear in my music and what the fans want to see.

YouKnowIGotSoul: So, after this tour, you’re going to head off to Europe with Khalid?

Jae Stephens: Yes. Oh my gosh. In October. I mean, that feels so far away, but my summer is going to be jam packed. I’m going to be at Pride, I’m making my festival debut at Lollapalooza, and then I’ve got a whole album to roll out, so there’s a lot going on, but I’m so excited. I’m super excited to tour Europe with Khalid, who is just so sweet and so iconic, and I haven’t performed in Europe except for my show in London last year, so I’m really excited to experience that, bigger venues, different kinds of crowds and see what the European crowds are giving. It’s going to be really exciting.

YouKnowIGotSoul: And then finally, we just talked about your new album briefly, your debut album that’s going to be dropping. Just talk about maybe some of the differences and some of the similarities that we’ll hear from Sellout versus this new project.

Jae Stephens: I mean, it’s definitely been a different process in the sense that I had a good idea of what I wanted it to be from the very beginning, and I’ve started it with that foundation. I think that it’s still going to be very female focused, female-led, femininity, fun, and just very grounded in that confidence, just like “Sellout” was. I do think maybe a difference here will be I’m a bit more focused on telling a story and showing a bit more sides of myself across this album than maybe I was on “Sellout”. So it’s always going to feel very confident, but I do think that there will be some songs that you listen to and you’ll get another side of that confidence, or you’ll hear another side of the story, and it’ll make you wonder a little bit about who Jae Stephens really is. So I’m really excited about that. But yeah, it’s always going to be fun, confident and fresh”.

I am going to end with this live review from Howard University News Service. Even if she has been in the industry for a while now, I think this year is her most important so far. In terms of how she is going from strength to strength and getting into the ears and eyes of so many new people. These upcoming tour dates will confirm Jae Stephens as one fo the most important voices of her generation. A wonderful artist:

“Under the fluorescent lights of the Songbyrd Music House, Jae Stephens graced the stage for the third show of her latest tour. The vivacious singer, who blurs the lines between Pop and R&B music, certainly showed listeners why her name shall not be forgotten.

For nearly one leisurely hour, Stephens delivered numerous self-assured anthems and hypnotic club hits. Songs from projects like “Total Sellout” were particularly crowd favorites during the sold-out performance on April 9. Aside from the underrated newcomer herself, Haitian pop star Sarina Désir initially served as the night’s opening act.

In just 7 songs, she asserted herself as another musical force to be reckoned with. Though as a woman above all, the Maryland based artist also reaffirmed her worth in the vocal proclamation, “What U Didn’t Know.” The track, originating from an EP with the same title, addresses what she is looking for in a partner and how she refuses to neglect her boundaries in pursuit.

Like this one, other tracks were heavily reliant on tempos and sounds heard exclusively in Haitian music. “Kiwi,” on the other hand, provided attendees with a brief change of pace. The single from her 2020 EP, “Glass Paradise,” showcased Désir’s technicality. Melodic runs were common as she alluded to being undeniable, often irresistible – rather similar to the mentioned fruit.

Impromptu dance breaks kept the momentum high while “Rina” finished the remainder of her set. Before her final note landed, she eagerly treated the audience to a snippet of her anticipated song “PAPI,” which was set for release the following day.

Out of what appeared to be enjoyment, murmurs about downloading the song and supporting Désir’s other music were heard as Stephens was next up.

After an intermission was taken, a call to the fictional station, “SELLOUT FM,” projected from the surrounding speakers. A gentleman called in to seek advice about his partner. Stephens, staying true to her witty, flirtatious personality, answered just before hitting the stage with her two dancers.

The crowd engagement tool paid homage to “The SELLOUT Podcast,” a platform that Stephens provides for fellow emerging artists to gain further exposure.

Welcomed by a multitude of cheers and claps, the Dallas-raised, Los Angeles-based futurist opened with a shortened rendition of “Body Favors.” Sporting a Chicago-house-inspired bassline, its fast-paced rhymes got the audience off their feet and amped from the second half of the show.

“10/10” was another solid exemplification of Stephens’ word play. She confidently mused, “I’m the tea, not a trend, to the T, ten out of ten.” The ambiguous statement sparked a popular “clock it” social media motion from fans and the artist herself.

Several “Jae Baes,” as her supporters are called, appreciated the sense of connection that the moment rendered. Some even attributed Stephens’ personality to their increased consumption of her music. There were also assertions about her ability to go mainstream.

“She’s a Black pop diva,” Nevaeh Boone, age 19 exclaimed. “People say we need more Black pop artists, [but] we have them right here.”

Marcus Phillip, age 19, had similar sentiments, insisting that “she’s a really great artist.” He felt inclined to support Stephens after friends shared her music with him. The concert was his first time seeing the creative in person, but it won’t be his last.

Stephens is Raedio and Def Jam’s first major label artist. Founded by Insecure creator Issa Rae, Raedio prides itself on music publishing and overall supervision. Stephens’ ties with the label date back to 2022 when she was one of the winners of its Creators Program with Google.

Songs such as “Better Boy,” “SMH” and “Boyfriend Forever” were additionally heard. Jae and the Baes, as she jokingly named herself and her dancers, performed choreographed numbers that even required further on-stage audience participation.

“Afterbody” was sung prior to the end of the show. In the high-energy 2025 dance track, Stephens discusses being the main attraction amongst everyone else in the room.

Themes such as unapologetic feminism and independence can be interpreted within her music. Bryce Newby, age 29, supported this argument by sharing his thoughts once the show ended.

After recently being let go from his job, he decided to attend the concert, feeling invigorated despite the sudden circumstances.

“Seeing somebody like Jae who loves her art, who cares about her art, just makes you want to go hard [yourself],” Newby said.

“I love people that are themselves, true and through,” he later added.

Newby referenced Stephens being the same way she is on stage in comparison to how she is on Twitter.

It is safe to say that after D.C.’s show, Stephens should not be gatekept. The self-proclaimed “SELLOUT” possesses the rare ability to harness her individuality within an industry where conformity is common.

As opposed to compromising who she is, as the name suggests, the 28-year-old is changing the game, taking her artistry into her own hands”.

If you are new to Jae Stephens, I would urge you to listen to TOTAL SELLOUT and the singles she has put out. If you are able to see her live, you are guaranteed to get this amazing show. A phenomenal performer, it is going to be exciting to see how far Stephens can go. a stunning and hugely original artist who is at the…