TRACK DOUBLY - Jai Paul - BTSTU/Jasmine

If an artist has a very limited catalog, 2 songs that go together, or just two that I like a lot, I'll do a "TRACK DOUBLY" post. Yes, it has to always be in caps.

Jai Paul is an enigma. He's that misunderstood kid in the corner of the lunchroom that nobody sits with. You can't specifically pinpoint his whole vibe, and maybe that's why you like him. You see him with a kind of alt-cute girl sometimes, but you can't tell if that's his girlfriend or the only platonic friend he has. You want to approach him, but alas, he makes it impossible to get near.

In any other case, this would be called trying too hard. But with Jai Paul... Oh I just got lost in the universe through his deep eyes. Whisper sweet nothings and the secrets of my galaxies into my ear Jai...

He's on the internet though. You can't catch a glimpse of his humanity, but he does have a Soundcloud account. Does he take this whole music thing seriously or did his cousin Sammy dare him to do it for the lulz? Fuck you Sammy, tell Jai to come back. Either way, you get closer to the lunch table. Turns out Jai released one track in 2010, which was BTSTU.

You don't dare ask what BTSTU stand for, you simply sit and listen to it. That beat is so melodic. That bass is bumping.Those synths transport you to a world of wonder. And his voice... Jai Paul's voice make you feel at home, like those birds from Disney cartoons are singing and flying around you while wrapping a warm blanket over your shoulders when you've come in from a cold winter day. You simultaneously don't know why you like it, and also know a million different reasons why you like it. The progression of sounds and sights is a dream.

But then you waited for 2 years in high school. You're thinking to yourself from time to time, "What in the world happened to that Jai Paul guy?" Well, he just suddenly resurfaces in 2012 with the track Jasmine.

This song blows your mind again. You just knew it would. His Miguel-esque dreamy vocals are back with another warped and catchy beat/bass line and the synths that boom in and out of your peripheral visions. It slowly builds to a magnificent bridge and then you're left nodding your head in amazement...

And that's it. You hear about him a couple of times, but that's really the extent of the news on Jai Paul. Rumors about his life and music swirl around the proverbial school, but they are little more than rumors. BTSTU was sampled in a Drake track called "Dreams Money Can Buy" which has both some cool verses and a cool name. Even Beyoncé sampled him on her album 4 on the track "End of Time" and he had a feature on a bonus track of the Big Boi song "Higher Res" which featured Jai and Little Dragon off of Big Boi's album Vicious Lies & Dangerous Rumors.

He's also had some demo's floating around the depths of the internet, all of which have been scraped together by onlookers and fans alike to be put into a mixtape called "Everlasting". Which he then promptly asked to be taken down. Well at least we heard something from Jai Paul. All hope is not lost though, as you can get the mixtape here.
 

From Mumbai STR8 to the UK to INFINITY.

Recently, Jai got signed to the XL Recordings label and little else has been heard. Jai Paul has 2 official tracks on his soundcloud, a couple of demos that have been scrounged together in a pseudo-mixtape, the aforementioned "Everlasting", a feature and some production on a bonus track by Big Boi, and two official samplings by Drake & Beyoncé, as well as 2 pictures of himself on the entirety of the internet. In an era of unheralded internet transparency and social networking where artists put themselves out there 100%, Jai Paul is an enigma. The kid who was once at the corner of the lunchroom is seen less and less as you near your graduation. You haven't lost hope though. Maybe one day, even if it's eons from now, you'll meet again and he'll play you another track that transports you to the reaches of the Milky Way and you fall in love all over again.

For now, all you can do is wait.

"Don't fuck with me, don't fuck with me."