Jay Sean Biography

Jay Sean is a British R&B singer and songwriter and one of the few successful British-Asian crossover acts.

Early Life

Kamaljit Singh Jhooti was born in Harlesden, Northwest London on 26 March 1979 and raised in Southall, west London. He formed the hip-hop duo Compulsive Disorder with his cousin at 11 years old. An A-student, Sean enrolled in college to study Medicine but dropped out in 2003 to pursue music instead.

Career Beginnings

The same year he was signed to the all-in-one entertainment company 2Point9. His debut single Dance with You (Nachna Tere Naal) became a hit as it reached number 12 on the singles chart. Jay was offered a record deal with major label Virgin Records accepted it and released his debut album Me Against Myself in 2004. The LP spawned two top 10s Eyes on You and Stolen. The album was a real success in India becoming a multi-platinum LP thanks to his appearance in the film Kya Kool Hain Hum.

Success and Setbacks

Sean left his label despite the success and released his second album My Own Way independently through 2Point9 Records. This independent album had more success that its predecessor. My Own Way was number 6 on the UK chart and spawned the hit singles Ride It and Maybe. Sean was trying to introduce his music to the American audience. As a result, he was signed to Cash Money and released the single Down featuring Lil Wayne. All or Nothing was released next and the Nicki Minaj collab single 2012 (It Ain’t the End) in 2010. Soon followed the mixtape The Mistress while working on his next album. The release of the upcoming LP found numerous delays and name changes. The project was eventually released in 2013 as Neon. However important features were missing from the album such as Pitbull, Tyga, Rick Ross, and Busta Rhymes. Thus the album failed to break into any Billboard charts.

Present

Sean released the second mixtape The Mistress II and left Cash Money Records in 2014. In 2016 he released Make My Love Go his first comeback in the charts since 2012. Jay collaborated with several DJs next.

Photo credit: Rap-Up