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This 22 year old musician came to the forefront as part of The Rishi Rich Project and since then there’s been no looking back. As he gets ready to take centre stage with his first solo album, The Record talks exclusively to Jay Sean.
The Record: Tell us about the new album.
Jay Sean: The new album is my one and half year project. That’s what it is! This has been my heart and soul. I’ve been working on it ever since I’ve met Rishi. And in and around it there’s been so much madness that it’s kind of caused a delay as to when it would come out because we went over to India, Dubai, Australia, Canada and all over the place. It was so unexpected and it was all because of 'Dance With You (Nachna Tere Naal)'. So I’m very happy that it’s finally done and that it’s going to be out soon. The album in itself is a true and honest reflection of me as an artist, singer and person in terms of what I’m talking about, how I’m singing it and the vibe of the whole album.
TR: How many songs are on the album?
Jay: There are 13 songs and perhaps 2 bonus tracks. One of them is called 'Who Is Kamaljit?' (It is related to) the song 'Me Against Myself' which is a verbal battle between two personalities - my singing side and my rapping side. On that song, because it was a battle, it was no holds barred. So the rapper was going at the singer saying ‘You’re fake ‘cause Jay Sean ain’t even your name!’ And he’s saying ‘What is your name?’ So the second song that came about is a sequel to 'Me Against Myself' and it’s called 'Who Is Kamaljit?' and it’s about me and what I really am and about the myths of the music industry and what people think you’re like. So it’s a true reflection. And there’s another bonus track called 'Meri Jaan' which is a song that I wrote and it’s got Juggy D on it.
TR: Will there be any special Asian editions?
Jay: Actually having said that, yeah we probably will (have one). I’ve got a song called 'Aa Ja Na ' that I originally wrote and vocalled myself but on Juggy’s album we put Veronica on it with that version. So perhaps on my album we can put a version with me and Juggy on it.
TR: How has your first single 'Eyes On You' been received in the UK?
Jay: You know what, I’ve been so happy with the reception of 'Eyes On You' because it’s my first solo single and that’s a scary thing you know! But it got into number 6 in the national charts and I was very happy because it’s not easy in the UK to break as an artist, let alone as an Asian artist. So to get to number 6 to me was a big deal and it stayed in the top 40 for 9 weeks.
TR: Are your videos important in making a statement about you?
Jay: I write the scripts for the videos myself because I need people to understand what Asian culture in the UK is really like. Nobody else would know apart from us because we’re the ones who live it. The problem in the UK is everybody has these stereotypes about what Asian people are like. They think that all they do is own cornershops, all they do is make great lawyers, doctors, engineers, and they don’t realise that we’re just the same as everyone else! We go partying in the night time, we go out with girls, we go out for drinks with our friends…we do all that kind of stuff that everybody else does. But it’s not fairly represented on TV. So when I make my videos I want to make sure that people see that this is our life and this is what we do.
For the 'Eyes On You' video I wanted to shoot in Southhall which is Little India for us, where all the Asian population is concentrated. Everyone knows Southhall. I wanted to put it on the map and have people see what it’s all about.
You can read the rest of our exclusive with Jay Sean in the September 2004 issue of The Record Music Magazine available at your local newsagent.
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