After six years on the rap scene, releasing promos and playing alongside his good friends and fellow Melbourne artists, Kerser and Rates –whom he’s been friends with since early high school – Jay UF has released his debut album Final Notice, showcasing his gritty and raw style in full force.
“The album’s story, it’s like a journey. It’s hard to explain. It’s the story of when I started rapping to where I am now, and how when I started I wasn’t a very happy or pleasant person to be around, and now I feel like I’ve become a better person because of doing it,” says UF.
One listen to the first single from the album, Fade or Stop, and the fresh tone of the record is set. The track is uplifting and full of hope, a far cry from the more sombre material that plagued his earlier career.
“The thing is that in a lot of my promos, I used to get a lot of comments on YouTube of ‘Cheer up Jay.’ But at that time of releasing my promos, I was abusing drugs, and I wasn’t at a great place in my life. Now I’m in a way better place,” says UF.
“[Music] saved me from myself. Even when I was 15 years old I started writing music to get my feelings down, recommended by a therapist, and from then it became like an addiction. I fell away from it and went back to it. I have to say that 100% without music, I wouldn’t be the person I am today.”
With his refreshed attitude, years of experience honing his craft, and the support of his friends and the scene, the pieces of Final Notice fell into place.
“I was sick and tired of waiting, I was procrastinating for so long whether I was going to pursue music as a viable career. But working alongside Kerser and Rates, it gave me belief that it can be done,” says UF. “I stopped procrastinating, got into gear, and finally got it done.”
Jay identifies as a member of a new generation of rappers in Australia, with the ability to utilise technology to grow a scene that was for a long time far less significant than it currently is. Compared to growing up when his idol was Eminem – he originally began writing by rewriting Eminem’s lyrics – the Australian scene is full of fresh, innovative talent.
“With social media, it’s a lot easier to get a message out. With the click of a button, if you’ve got a song, you can share it. You don’t need radio play or a major label backing you. We’re in luckier times to go for it.”
Social media’s influence on the rap scene has had a remarkable and positive effect. Not just for distribution and promotion, but connecting artists. UF collaborated with German producer Flavio De Martino on Final Notice, after hearing his work online and reaching out to him.
“He uses all different types of music and blends it all into one, like a lot of orchestral sounds that you wouldn’t hear in mainstream rap or the normal type of rappers, it’s an alternative style of music, and that appealed to me. I like playing around with original types of beats, and he seemed to really get that,” says UF.
Like many of his videos, Fade or Stop features iconic Australian landscape as a backdrop, in this case, a view of The Blue Mountains. This representation of his home is particularly important to UF, but choosing this particular setting for this track was a very deliberate statement for the artist.
“I love that lookout, I’ve been there plenty of times, like when I’m not feeling that great. In the song I say ‘I’m standing on the edge and I’m prepared to fly’ so it felt like it was the right spot for it.”
By Claire Morley
