We recently connected with Jayeman and have shared our conversation below.

Jayeman, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Do you feel you or your work has ever been misunderstood or mischaracterized? If so, tell us the story and how/why it happened and if there are any interesting learnings or insights you took from the experience?

Yes, my style often gets compared to with artists like Andre 3000, Bone Thugz , and a few underground artists. People used to think I was biting their style or trying to emulate them when in reality I never heard of these artist when I started making music. It wasn’t until years later that I started to listen to the artists people were saying I sounded like. I can definitely see it now, but starting off, I discovered my own flow on my own and anyone who listens to my music knows I do have a very distinct style.

Jayeman, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I started getting into music when I was a freshman in high school, I’d always write poems but they were more like lyrics to no beat. It wasn’t until 6yrs later in 2021, that I dropped my first album, Asylum and my side-b album, Asylum: Breakthrough. I also always wanted to make my own manga for years and it wasn’t until 2023 that I started my own manga series called The Smokey-Verse which is free to read on WebToons as of now. The music and the manga are intertwined with each other and is based in an alternate reality known as the Smokey-Verse, where all the various Smokeys dwell. Following the manga, I also have a merch store called Jayeman Merch which lets fans support me as an artist by wearing great quality Smokey Jaye apparel. All the reviews and feedback from the clothing brand has been phenomenal and it encourages me to keep putting more merchandise out. Lastly and probably most importantly, the names Jayeman and Smokey Jaye both were given to me while I was in the military. The name Smokey Jaye came about when my Gunny saw me smoking in the parking lot, freestyling. The name Jayeman, came about when my buddy in the Marines would see me being the dawg that I was and say “the Jayeman does it again”. There’s a lot I could unpack from all of the meanings of everything but I’ll keep it just as is for now.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

Yes, the goal is simply to be successful but in the right way. A lot of people wanna cheat to win or deceive to win. I believe in hardwork and having faith in yourself. I have people who are relying on me to succeed and who I want to see have a better life so for me that’s all the driving force I need to put myself out there and make it happen.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

I say heartbreak is always the worse thing to go through despite how it comes. Even the strongest people fold when they get their heart ripped out. After having the worst heart break experience of my life, causing a lot of physical and psychological damage, I had to rebuild myself from the ground up and honestly didn’t think I would survive. I made plenty of songs about it/during this period such as Love Ballad, This Love, Just Be Okay, and an mixtape track called No Goodbyes on my SoundCloud. The lesson I learned is we are stronger than we think and when we are at our lowest, thats where we can truly see who we are.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @thejayeman
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/aySQc2TsMLruyof1/?mibextid=LQQJ4d
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@thejayeman?si=Y7BBTh33HKQ7cM3H
• Soundcloud: https://on.soundcloud.com/aVTsoDa7z2RS7qRLA
• Other: TikTok: @thejayeman
  Email: [email protected]
  Business number: 765-761-3307

Image Credits

Andromeda Visuals