Wolverhampton's unsigned rapper Jay l'Booth wants to Run Tings with new single

So says Wolverhampton rapper Jay l’Booth - pronounced Jay La Booth - a 23-year-old with big plans for her future.

It’s not arrogance, the always affable musician with the warm smile is passionate about her work and she wants everyone to hear it.

So passionate, in fact, she works in the music industry.

“I work for a company called Punch Records in Birmingham,” the musician who was named in the Sound of 2019 list by BBC WM Introducing says. “We are a creative organisation who put on tours, events and talent development programmes. My role as engagement coordinator is to run these programmes.

“In the past we have worked on Capital Xtra's Music Potential and currently we're running Gallery 37 - both of which are programmes I participated in myself as an artist back in 2016. This is how I got to know who Punch were.”

She’s speaking to us as she has a new single officially out on Monday and is keen to promote it in her home city. Recorded here, she also films her promotional videos in the area, with the latest shot by Birmingham’s AshOnCam – who is part of the Self Success musical group.

“Run Tings began as a very spontaneous track,” she says of her new release. “A few years ago me and producer Demarae were chilling. We'd just watched Black Panther and were exchanging thoughts on how great we both thought it was.

“He got on his laptop and started making a beat inspired by the film while I started writing rhymes to the beat he was building. I came up with the chorus and the second verse, but I couldn't think of what the first verse should be for quite a while.

“A few weeks later I was in the studio recording. While driving home late after this studio session, Charlie Sloth reviewed my single at that time - Feel It In My Soul - on BBC Radio 1 and 1Xtra. Charlie rated the track eight out of 10 and this sparked my mind.

“The song is about taking whatever it is that you do and owning it in the sense that if you run it, you're the boss of it.

“I record in Wolverhampton at Beatsabar [in Newhampton Arts Centre] with a legend named Spock. Most of my recordings have been based in Wolverhampton from a young age. I also record in Walsall at Chameleon and Birmingham at The MBC. But for the final sealing of every track I complete it at Beatsabar.”

And there is a reason it is coming out now – she has just finished her latest tour and wanted to celebrate that.

“I felt The Pull Up Tour was the perfect time to release this statement. I feel like Run Tings is the perfect 'get ready' track for what I have coming next.

“Myself, Sox, Big Dog Yogo, RTkal, Ky'Orion and MDR Tilla toured the West Midlands. We brought special guests out at some of the shows and every city had an amazing turn out which I am extremely grateful for.

“We stopped off in Wolverhampton, Coventry, Redditch and more. It was an amazing experience that I am itching to do again very soon.”

A lot has been written this past year about the struggles of women in the music industry as artists, workers and fans. It is something Jay herself has sadly experienced and she believes we should all have moved past this point by now.

“Honestly, I think in the music industry females have to push further,” she continues. “You'll always hear quotes like ‘she's good for a girl’, which shouldn't really be the case. At the end of the day, if an artist is good, they're good, and this should be regardless of their gender.

“Females are often asked to reveal more for sex appeal etc. Again, I feel that if the artist is good, it shouldn’t matter what they wear, their talent should speak for them.

“From my own personal experiences I'd say to any other female artist ‘just keep on pushing’. Hurdles are there to be climbed over. So as long as you're staying true to yourself and enjoying what you're doing, other people will enjoy it too.”

With Unsigned recently playing host to its first poet – former Star entertainments journalist Sophie Sparham – this is a route Jay also followed into music.

“I've always written poems from a very young age, I still have a Winnie the Pooh notepad of rhymes that I can barely read now due to my handwriting at that age,” she adds.

“At the age of 11 I moved to a new house, made some friends on the park who were rapping and they took me to a local studio. From there, I was recording every week. I started on Grime, I guess that's what everyone was doing around me at the time and what I would listen to in regards to UK music. As I got a bit older my music started going down a more hip-hop and RnB route. It's what my parents listened to.

“My influencers are constantly changing. A few who are relevant to me right now are Tory Lanez, Nafe Smallz, Party Next Door and Steff London. The people I look up to, who I have from a young age, are Jay-Z, P Diddy and Will Smith.”

And she’s not done for 2019 either.

“I'll be dropping a project titled New Age Wave on a surprise date in September, so keep an eye on my socials for that,” she teases. “You can also expect some cool videos and some other goodies. I'm going to make this a year to remember.”

To look out for the updates on the new project, follow Jay on Twitter @JaylBooth and Facebook @BOOTHSBACK. The video for Run Tings by AshOnCam can be seen on her YouTube channel and the song is already available on her Spotify page to stream.