Jay-R feeling free & more alive

MANILA, Philippines - Jay-R revealed that he’s no longer bound by an exclusive contract to GMA 7. The singer, still a mainstay of the Kapuso Sunday noontime show Sunday All Stars (wherein he was named one of the new team leaders), is set on maximizing this new phase in his career, readily admitting as well to feeling the urgency to step up his game in the music industry. 

Jay-R told The STAR, “Artists’ lifespan is not very long if you don’t take care of it, so there has to be something new all the time. I’m so focused on my music. My career depends on my music really, so we have to always do something new, something fresh and something quality. I’m inspired in that way because I know I really have to work because tomorrow all of these could be gone.”

Expect more of that “something new and fresh” from Jay-R the producer. He has put up his own label called Homeworkz and signed up seven music acts representing hip-hop, R&B and alternative rock. There’s Mica Javier, whose collaborative song with Jay-R, Tonight, is performing well on MYX charts and still enjoying heavy rotation after hitting No. 1 in the radio for a couple of weeks.  

Mica, whom Jay-R got introduced to in a party hosted by apl.de.ap., is actually a Timbaland Productions artist. (Timbaland is the popular American producer who has handled the likes of Justin Timberlake, Missy Elliott, etc.) Some two years ago, Mica released in the States a song titled 3,000 Light Years, which also got licensed in the US series Glee. Jay-R is particularly proud of the film quality of Tonight’s music video, which is megged by Romson Niega, an Emmy-winning Fil-Am director-producer.

Another artist in his stable is Salbakuta, the hip-hop group behind the massive hit Stupid Love. “Their first album was quadruple-platinum but they had a little bit of conflict with their management that they stopped making music. But they didn’t stop making shows kasi their songs went so big and they had so many fans going to their shows. Finally, when their management contract expired, I helped them out.” The result is a new album co-financed by Dingdong Dantes, also a huge fan of Salbakuta. Jay-R also did a duet with the group.

Other artists are Amber Davis, Chelo Aestrid, Yassi Pressman, Leana and Kley, the band of Jay-R’s DJ nephew and the first talent he produced, whose debut single Tsismosa was considered a success. Now, among the plans being cooked up for the artists is a provincial roadshow.

Producing artists takes so much of Jay-R’s time but “passion is passion, it may be stressful but it’s rewarding,” he said, adding, “I’ve had so many blessings already, I wanna share the knowledge. We record everything, we mix everything, we shoot the videos and the covers of the album para tipid. That’s the main thing I do for them, but the most important thing I do for them is show them avenues to pursue their careers.”

It’s been 10 years since Jay-R first moved to the country to pursue his music dreams from the US, where his parents migrated to in the late ’70s. With his brand of musicality, he earned the title Prince of R&B. “I noticed when I first came in 10 years ago, there was only a couple of R&B artists — South Border, Kyla, Luke Mejares — now ang dami na and they are so talented. I really feel like the R&B scene is growing. If you watch The Voice of the Philippines, puro mga R&B ang kinakanta. Yes, I do watch it sometimes. Sa akin, I feel like I have this opportunity to keep on growing the genre.”

And growing OPM as well “in the way of originality,” he continued. “The Philippines for a while got into this revival phase, which is great because everyone can sing along with it, but then, we don’t grow as OPM. So, that’s what I wanna do — make really good music that is OPM so Filipinos can really feel it is their music. In that way, they will really embrace the music and elevate the industry.”

Producing full-time is also an ultimate goal of his, wherein “I don’t have to depend on a network to give me money to survive, that I can just depend on my own network of artists and music…be off the grid of the network battle ganun.”

Jay-R, who is managed again by ALV Talent Circuit, said that it also helps to be single now. “Actually, I feel so free, alive now and I get to maneuver and do what I really want.”