Biography
Born and raised in Northeast Baltimore, MD, Jay R took an ear for music at an early age. He grew up listening to his grandparents’ music via their basement parties that featured the sounds of Grace Jones, Michael Jackson, The Temptations, Tom Tom Club & Stevie Wonder. He remembers dancing for company and trying to sing the lyrics to the songs.
As Jay R grew older, so did his musical tastes. He learned to dance and in the process was introduced to the Baltimore Club Music scene/sound. Jay R didn’t want to be a professional dancer. He wanted to be a DJ. There was something about controlling the crowd with every song that intrigued him, and it didn’t stop there. Jay R began practicing on dual cassette decks before moving onto CD players, all without ever owning a mixer. He then branched out and gave production a try. He was initially unsuccessful but it didn’t stop him or slow him down. Instead one friend’s negative remarks actually pushed him to move forward with making music.
Jay R then began cranking out Baltimore club tracks at an alarming rate that no one ever knew about. The songs were never released and ultimately destroyed. He then temporarily decided to focus on his job and leave the music alone. That was until he met one of his future best friends, a ballroom voguer, named Trouble Ebony. Jay R then began putting together minor CD’s for Trouble and company to practice to. One thing led to another and ultimately someone suggested Jay R going into the CD making business. His first CD was such a success that by word of mouth it made its way all the way up to New York City without Jay R ever leaving home. Album number one opened the flood gates for what would become the beginning of a new career & life for Jay R.
Here we are 11 albums later, with no traces of slowing down… Jay R is still here, recently releasing his newest set “The Ballroom E.N.D. 2010”. For 2010 be on the look out for a sequel… Cruel Summer 2.010: No Shade.
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