coursework media

1. “FAME IS A KIND OF LIFESTYLEYOU CAN EASILYGETCAUGHT UP IN”- redJin the
background
Jay-T,a recentdiscoverywithinthe newalbum“Nemesis”releasedlastmonth,tookupon
generatinghavocwithinthe mediainjusta couple of hours.It revealsateenage lifefull of raging
hormones,dreamsanda 10 milliondollarsuccessasitbecame the No.1 Albumwithinaweekof its
release inthe US alone.Thiscollaborationof grittiness andsilkinessof hissoulfulphrasingisan
intoxicating45minutesof Smokeypleasure,anditishardto believe that,until he uploadedhisself-
made videoof the sensational “you”onYouTube lastsummer,JoshTaylorA.K.A Jay-Twas‘virtually’
unheardof.
His wonderfullycheekypersonality didn’ttake usbysurprise whenMusohadthe pleasure of
interviewinghiminhishometown,Manchester, one afternoon.Aswe beganchatting,itbecome
clearthat no wonderthe once equivocal adolescenthasturnedoutto be a global sensation,winning
the heartsof hisfansand landinghimself twoGrammy’sforhispreviousalbum- “nowindwithout
rain”.
We are shelteredfromthe screamingfansinone of the festival tentsbehindthe mainstage,and
almostinstantlybegindiscussingthe successhisalbumhasbroughtandthe current artiststhat
helpedhim“make itbig”.
It isclear that youmade a big impactwithyourlast album-“nowindwithoutrain”- andnoone
thoughtanyone,letalone someone whohasnotbeeninthe spotlightforwhat seemslike only2
minutes,couldreachthe successyouhave gottenwithinaweek’srelease date. How have youtaken
to the success“Nemesis”hasgottenwithinjustacouple of hours?
It’sall happenedsoquickly! I’msograteful forall myfansthat have supportedme through, whatit
feltlike aneverendingprocess…but,Idon’tknow,I’mjustreallyoverwhelmedbyitall.Like asyou
justsaidmy lastalbumwentto No.1 withinaweek, butthistime itwenttothe top within couple of
hours.I thinkeveryone whoworkedonthe albumwithme wouldagree onme sayingthat,I and my
teamput a lot of effortinto the lyrics,the compositions,andjustthe overall workingsof the album,
and we’re are so happythat ithas beenanevenbiggersuccessthanlasttime.
He thenadds“hard work reallydoespayoff”withanechoof laughterthatfollowed.
I heardthat Drake actuallysawyourvideoonYouTube of the veryfirstsongthat youreleased –
“you”- and askedif ‘you’wantedtodo a collaboration.Isthattrue?
It isand I was quite surprised. Iactuallythoughtsomeone wasprankcallingme (laughterfilledthe
tent),butno itwas himand he saidhowmuch he likedthe songand how he feltlike I waswhat was
missingfromthe musicindustry.Before Icouldthankhimhe askedif I wantedtocome downnext
weekandrecordit. It wassuch an amazingexperience thatI’ll neverforget. If itwasn’tforhimI
wouldn’tbe doingwhatI’mdoingwith the amountof successI have now:My life haschangedfor
mostprobablyforeverandI still can’tgraspthat it’sreality.
“Everything is so new to me and I still haven’tprocessed the fact that I have1
million followers on twitter!”
It isamazinghowbig of a fanbase you have got acrossSocial-networkingsitessuchasTwitterand
Facebook.Butdo youthinkthere’sapointinwhichthe fame can be too much?

2. Yes,of course. I’mstartingto feel the pressure fromthe musicindustryaboutdeadlinesforalbums
or whenandwhere I shouldtour,or even have mynextinterview. Idon’tknow muchaboutit as I
have onlybeendoingwhat I’mdoingprofessionallyforacouple of yearsnow, butI thinkit can get
to people’s headsandcanchange themina waythat effectsthe way they lookatthe world;fame is
a kindof lifestyleyoucaneasilygetcaughtup in,it can eithermake youorbreak you.I don’tknow
whatit’ll doto me,hopefully somethingforthe best.
I knowthat “jumpstart” from“No WindwithoutRain”,particularly,wasaboutthe successyougot
fromYouTube that I heardyou mentioninaninterviewawhile back. Diditinfluence “Nemesis”as
well?And isthere anythingelsethatinfluencedyournew album?
Kindof,I can’t say itdidn’tbecause mylife haschanged since thenbecause of the media
In a goodor badway?
Oh definitelyforgood,butithas had a negative effectonmyrelationshipwithmyfriends.Butyou
winsome youlose some. Icouldsay that has influencedmyalbuminaway,there’sa lotmore
violentsongs thanmylastalbum.I alsothinkthat Drake has had a massive impactonthe genre of
my music.He reallyhelpedme findmyownstyle andthat’swhere the sortof ‘rapiness’insome of
my songscomesfrom.
Withinmidconversation aswarmof screamingfanssurroundedus- a signwe soonwouldhave to
leave.Afteraquickrefreshmentof dietcoke andthe disappointmentof notbeingtohave a bear to
shake off the bittercoldof February,we gotstraightback in to talk about hisplansfor the future.
It isonlypredictable whetheryourfuture albumsorsingleswillmake No.1- itmostlikelywillthough
judgingbyyourrecentsuccesses,butwhere doyousee yourself inthe future?
Oh…errm…I reallyhaven’t thoughtaboutit.Ihave just beenfocusingonone dayat a time.I don’t
like tothinkitas a whole because itfeelslike I’mwishingmylife away…butIguessI wouldlike to
see myself playingatthe O2 arena and performingatthe Grammy’s.Butif we’re talkingjustabout
me,I see myself inahuge mansioninAmericawithacouple of Ferrari’sandLamborghinis…and,of
course, a pool.
Aftera walk-throughof hischildhoodmemories,the daycame to an end,and Jay-T made hiswayto
hisnextbiggig at the MEN Arenaforhisworldwide “Nemesis” Tour.