Jay Sean Talks Lil Wayne & Down

After a stop-start career on this side of the Atlantic, West London boy Jay signed to Cash Money Records- the same label as Lil Wayne- earlier this year.

 

This week we caught up with him on the phone from the States to talk about his massive success in the US.

 

 

Jay Sean: I was actually in London, in Leicester Square. One of my people from America said, “you need to take this phone call”.  I could see from the look on her face that she was really excited.

 

That’s when I found out- I could barely speak.

 

 

No, I mean that was the first time when I really like I felt, my stomach was in knots, and my head was going like crazy, I was like, this is unreal, like this is surreal. I love this, it doesn’t happen to everybody, and you’ve really gotta thank your lucky stars.

 

 

I think both, you know, I think you can have a hit song, but if you don’t have the right team to work it, it will never get heard. Cash Money is an unbelievable record label, because they are one of the few who are still amongst “it”.

 

They’re current, they are in the clubs. They travel with me, they come to my shows, and they see the reactions, they- you know what I’m saying? I’m, I’m just really really lucky that I’m with such a great label there.

 

 

I know him well and he’s a great guy. Wayne’s very misread, in the papers there are all the negative stories but he’s a really cool dude. He looks like a thug but he’s actually a really smiley, happy, decent guy.

 

For me to have that kind of endorsement, to have Lil Wayne saying “This kid’s aright.” I don’t think many people are gonna argue with that, you know.

 

 

 

I wanted people to just enjoy themselves and switch off when they heard it, and just just forget about everything else. It’s up tempo and an uplifting record. The sentiment of the record is nothing heavy.

 

 

You know what’s really funny is that I flipping love that record. I love I Gotta Feeling. The funny thing is my 10 best mates came over to New York to celebrate when Down went Platinum that was our anthem in the clubs. It’s hilarious

 

 

Of course- there’s nothing like having a success in your home town. I’m born and bred in London, you know, and to have the love of the home crowd, you know, means that much more,

 

Every market is different, and music is so different in different places we never thought UK hip-hop could climb to the top of the charts, but it is. Whereas here in America you get these country artists, rising to the top, like Taylor Swift

 

So I don’t know what will happen, I’m just excited, you know.

 

 

Down is coming out on the 26 October and I’ll be back then in November, to promote some of the album, which will be out early next year. It’s gonna have some UK artists on it, some really hot ones, can’t wait for you guys to hear that.

 

And I think we’ve got something lined up. I was talking to Cash Money the other day and I think they wanna do a whole Cash Money tour in the UK- me, Drake, Wayne, Bird man, Bow Wow, We’ll all come down.