Jai Paul is a 21 year old from North West London with a startlingly fresh vision of 21st century pop music. Signed to XL, home of M.I.A. and The xx, he’s been generating serious heat in the Blogosphere for his cult track BTSTU. A bolt of neon soul, this gem features an impossibly sweet falsetto from Jai which seems rather less sweet when you make out he’s singing “Don’t f*** with me, don’t f*** with me...”. As lurching, wonky synths and lasers stabs drag the track into strange new territory, it becomes clear that you’re listening to a box fresh talent.
Recalling the twisted funk experiments of US artists like N*E*R*D and SA-RA Collective or more recently UK underground heroes Hudson Mohawke or Rustie, Jai Paul’s tracks are shot through with colour, wit and invention. His beautiful falsetto recalls that other nu-Soul hero D’Angelo, especially on the afore-mentioned BTSU. With early support from Radio 1’s Rob da Bank, Gilles Peterson, Zane Lowe and Nick Grimshaw, and support from one of the country’s most forward thinking independent labels in XL, Jai Paul is unquestionably one to watch.
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