Jaylen aka Wise Jay

Photo Credit: Chinma Nebedum

Wise Jay

Photo Credit: Chinma Nebedum

Wise Jay

Childhood… that’s when the love for music started for Jaylen, also known as Wise Jay. Born in Kalamazoo, but raised in Detroit, Wise Jay use to go to E Course Community High School while playing basketball in his spare time. He mostly kept his head down with music always in his headphones. Who would’ve thought that introvert image he had would brand his image as an artist today.

Wise Jay has always had an ear for all types of music. Especially, following after some of the artists he grew up with, such as Kanye West, or even Nas. “Studying the greats, basically made me become better. Like J. Cole said ‘Chasing Ghosts’, “Wise Jay explained.

Around the 8th grade, old school music was a heavy influence on his life. He studied the classics, such as, Marvin Gaye, Temptations, and Berry White. These artists had a major influence on his sound. Because of that, he was able to tell stories that were built of a conscious illusion of everything he had been though. Out of all these ground-breaking artists, he studied Nas a little bit more closely. As far as Nas’s clever wordplay and telling stories, Wise Jay found a way to craft those skills into his own.

During the years of Wise Jay attending high school, he was mostly known as a person who kept to himself. Until one day, a security guard told him that his appearance reminded him of a black panther and that God had a plan for his life. Since then, Wise Jay grouped his image as the ‘black panther’ of Detroit. He based his sound on telling stories. Actually, his lyrics are described as the laws of imagination. He uses fantasy stories to reflect on the issues he’s been through in life.

“You win some and loose some,” Wise Jay admires this quote from Big Sean because he believes it applies to life, in general. Sometimes, you’re on the winning side of things and then have to deal with the loosing side. Either way, he just keeps it moving as he tells about his journey through music as he goes.

Listen to Wise Jay’s new Executive single, Tired !