Jay Kim is proficient in creativity and a bit of a globetrotter, which has only attributed to his esteemed motifs of hyperpop and hip-hop. Born in Daegu, South Korea and having moved to the States at a young age, he was forced to acclimate early on his hometown of Kernersville, North Carolina, which provided for a tough challenge, however he managed to make the most of it once he stumbled upon music creation.
Guitar became his best friend in the early 2010's, after giving recording a shot a few times, but it was then that he began to appreciate the different facets that go into song-making. Advanced influences from some of the best artists at the pinnacle of their game like Kanye West and Linkin Park provided for a strong foundation and why Kim began making music in the first place. As everything happens for a reason, in 2016 some of Kim's friends took interest in making music and needed engineering which reeled him right back into the creative space and he hasn't stopped since.
His most popular song to date, "complicated", has nearly surpassed over a million streams on Spotify to date and he has an abundance of other great tracks since he started releasing back in 2020. He released his debut album in March of this year –homegrown. It is an 8-song
play-through with great rhapsodies like "halo" & "nothing2say". The opening song "same town" hosts a cool acoustic feature with tidbits of electro-infused sounds as Jay Kim calmly exclaims his disdain for being stuck in the same place, cycling with the same person(s); there's also a brilliant video directed by Liam McBride and Ryan Tempke on Youtube of Kim rummaging through the forest carrying his feelings.
His newest single, "Reasons", stemmed from an idea on the bounds of UK garage/jungle sounds. He certainly achieved that notion with this explosive track compiled of drums and awing touches of hyperpop that blend so well on the final product. "[I] took lots of inspiration from Porter Robinson, Gabby Start, Frou Frou (imogen heap), and Underscores for the main drums. On the songwriting end, I wanted to make it an anthem about feeling stuck in place, I can't really say why, it just flowed that way."
Although rather indecisive he says, more music is certainly to follow soon as he's working on a number of things–more abstractly focused as he desires to continue to have fun amidst all the craziness that's surmounted. He left us with what I believe to be an important paraphrase:
"One person who used to be in the music industry told me something when i was first starting out that i wish i grasped more at that time, and it was that, 'This is a marathon, not a race.'... it's so easy to get caught up in the rat race of blowing up and finding success. Good things take time."
Go stream his latest single, "reasons", down below!
Follow Jay Kim:
IG: @jaykim
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