Artist Jay Taj talks new music and his Netflix journey

Santa Ana artist Jay Taj wasn’t exactly raised on hip-hop music. But after naturally gravitating toward the genre in his early teens, recently competing in a Netflix show in front of some of the biggest stars in the game and releasing a new EP, he could be the next big rapper to come out of Orange County. “I’m continuing to just push the boundaries when it comes to being an artist,” said the 33-year-old rapper. “And I’m definitely going to carry the city on my back until the day that I die,” he added.

Taj, who is of Chamorro (Guam) descent, won second place on Season 2 of Netflix’s hip-hop reality competition show “Rhythm + Flow,” which was released Nov. 20 and streamed its final episode in early December. He competed against more than 30 other rappers from around the country who were critiqued, mentored, and judged by hip-hop stars DJ Khaled, Ludacris and Latto as well as Eminem, who appeared as a guest judge.

“The show was amazing,” Taj said. “I submitted some audition videos, some rapping and the typical song and dance of auditions for a TV show and I was not confident at all that they was going to be into me. I was 32 years old, I’m racially ambiguous, I sound like a Black dude, I look like a Mexican and I’m covered in Samoan tattoos,” he added with a laugh.

Taj was born in Santa Ana and raised in the city by his maternal grandparents after his parents were both incarcerated when he was just 9 months old due to involvement in gangs. “Being raised by my grandparents exposed me to music that most kids my age weren’t necessarily exposed to — a lot of jazz, blues, country. Whereas a lot of my homies were actually listening to hip-hop in their households we weren’t, we were a gospel household if anything and my love for music started there,” he said. But hip-hop naturally came calling since he was surrounded by the music in his neighborhood.

“It was an accessibility issue. I was blessed enough to be able to play keys at the church and learn bass and drums at the church. But like for most kids in the hood accessibility-wise when it comes to performance, rap and vocal performances are the most accessible instrument you have,” he said. Inspired by albums like Dr. Dre’s “The Chronic,” Nelly’s “Country Grammar” and artists like Usher and Heavy D, he began rapping and discovered that it came naturally to him. “While the other homies did it recreationally and they were focused on their hoop dreams, playing soccer and football, this was the thing I was good at,” he said. His uncles were in a rap group called Dei One so he began recording at the age of 13 out of their studio. He then performed at high school talent shows, battle of the bands competitions and venues like The Key Club and The Observatory.

“I think the best way to describe my art is malleable, intentional, ever growing. I try not to be so rigid with my art and be flexible, and as I grow as a man it grows with me. I tell a lot of stories, I don’t think I have a single song I’ve ever written that’s not tied to a story or experience,” Taj said. After the producers reached out to him on Instagram for the second season he found himself performing in front of some of the genre’s biggest names. It was a bit nerve-racking for him to think about performing in front of such well-known artists, but once on stage it all came naturally.

“Surprisingly it’s the moments before you perform and the moments after you perform that are the most nerve-racking. As soon as the music starts and I get into that space the nerves actually completely disappear. Performing just feels like home, the audience to me is my home,” Taj said. He released his latest EP, the six-track “Little Jerry Demos,” in November when the Netflix show was first streaming. The title was inspired by his childhood nickname Little Jerry. “What you see in this project is me doing a bit of a journey between all the different versions of myself,” he said. “Little Jerry Demos is exactly what the title says, it’s a demonstration of what I’m capable of.”

And while making it to the finale of the Netflix show was a proud achievement that could set up Taj with a long musical career, one of the most gratifying things for the rapper was making his grandma proud. “She’s having the time of her life. After my pops passed away, my pops being my grandfather, she moved to Missouri and now she’s like the talk of the town, everyone is telling her they saw her son on Netflix,” he said.

Tribune News Service