We talked to JHAYCO, the artist formerly known as Jhay Cortez, about his new album, Le Clique: Vida Rockstar (X).
Source: Scott Dudelson / Getty
As the Puerto Rican powerhouse–born Jesús Manuel Nieves Cortés–gears up to drop his first alum in three years, we caught up with him to talk about his favorite songs on the project, how he’s evolved as an artist, and how important his fans are along this journey.
JHAYCO changed his name a little over two years ago, fully rebranding as the nickname he used to call himself on many tracks. This being the first album he’s dropped since the switch shines through in the project, with Cortés explaining how he was able to find himself after previously releasing music he thought the masses would like.
“Obviously I was new and coming out, so I was making music saying what people wanna hear, like, ‘What cool stuff should I say?’ And I feel like in this album I was just being myself and just saying the things that are funny to me, just stuff that comes out of my head, things I like, things I do.”
“It’s just been me finding me,” he continued, “and me finding what’s my name and what’s my color, and what’s my place in this genre.”
Being that this is his most personal project yet, we asked JHAYCO his three favorites tracks on the album, for which he had a quick answer: “Porshe Carrera,” featuring Yandel & Haze, “En La Bentley,” and “Viene BASQUIAT.”
The rapper lists “Porshe Carrera” as his favorite because it combines “the two eras I love the most, which is my era and the golden era of reggaeton.” Yandel, who is featured on the song, is one half of the reggaeton duo Wisin & Yandel, one of the most influential groups in the genre.
He went on to say he loves “En La Bentley,” “Because it’s just my essence of the deep house with reggaeton and what I’ve done with that medium with Skrillex.”
And as for “Viene BASQUIAT,” that’s one of JHAYCO’s favorites “because it’s where I’m going in my future music.”
Le Clique: Vida Rockstar (X) was recorded all across the world, and according to JHAYCO, fans will be able to hear the “vibe changes” in the songs created in different locations.
“You hear ‘Passoa,” you feel like you’re in Ibiza, you feel you’re in Colombia, you feel like you’re on the beach. I feel when you listen to “Porshe Carrera” you feel Puerto Rico, when you hear “58” you feel Puerto Rico, when you hear “BASQUIAT” you feel Paris because I made it in Paris, it has the art culture and the essence of art.”
Of course, none of this would be possible without Cortés’ loyal fans, who have grown exponentially over the last few years. Nowadays, listeners have more access to their favorite artists than ever before–and a lot of celebrities have publicly struggled with that. JHAYCO, on the other hand, views his fans as family, and spoke on how he manages to keep that healthy relationship going without crossing any lines.
“I feel like it’s intuition,” he said. “I feel like you go with the days, you know, ‘Today I wanna speak to my fans, or today I need my space…they’ll respect you because they’re there for your art.”
Le Clique: Vida Rockstar (X) is out now! Catch the video for “Vida Rockstar” down below:
The post EXCLUSIVE: JHAYCO Opens Up About ‘Finding His Place’ In Reggaeton & Finally Making Music For Himself appeared first on Bossip.
