Through a cloud of smoke appears one of hip hop's most rare and undiscovered gems- a raw talent with a venomous tongue known as Jay Love. Born into a long line of musicians, it was inevitable that Jay Love make his mark in the music industry- despite discouragement from his family who knew all too well about rule number 4,080.

Breaking into the underground rap scene toward the end of what he refers to as the “Golden Age” of independent hip hop, Jay Love released his first 12" record in 1998 with his producer, The Avid Record Collector, and fellow emcee Born Talent. Constellation featured the instant underground classics, "Tagz Up" and "For All the Heads". It was released on his own imprint, Golden Apple Records, completely independently without funding for promotion. Jay love worked the record relentlessly.

The single was well received on NY radio, getting regular spins on WNYU (The Halftime Show) and Stretch Armstrong & Bobbito (89.9FM).  It was even touched by DJ Premier himself when he was up at HOT 97. Jay Love recalls the first time he heard himself on radio, “I'll never forget it- I was in The Bronx just after copping shwag on Crescent. We pulled up to this bodega to get a dutch, and just as I was about to get out of the car, Riz & Eclipse dropped ‘Tagz Up’ on the Halftime Show. I opened the door, turned the radio up as loud as I could and just started going crazy. I remember people on the street looking at me like I was out of my mind. Back then, that was like the biggest thing to me.”

Shortly after, Jay Love made one of the biggest decisions of his life. He decided to drop out of Penn State to pursue a full-time career in music. Attempting to strengthen his label, Jay Love put out a mixtape of original samples courtesy of The Avid Record Collector. The widely successful mixtape was known as, “The Essence”. Then, reuniting with his college drinking buddy & freestyle partner Louis Logic, The Odd Couple was formed. In 2001, The Odd Couple released “Pimp Shit” b/w “Por Qué” on Solid Records/Golden Apple Records. The record was an immediate success and spawned the notion of putting together a complete album. Due to financial stress and other delays, the album took nearly three years to complete. These unfortunate events sent Jay Love below the radar.

In October 2004, The Odd Couple LP, Alcohol/Ism hit shelves worldwide in stores such as FYE, Sam Goody, Coconuts and Barnes & Noble with the assistance of Brick Records and Traffic Entertainment Group. The album was well received by the public, however it never lived up to its potential due, once again, to lack of promotion.

Currently Jay Love is hard at work, with producer The Avid Record Collector, on his solo debut which he promises will be a very personal album with a completely different tone than fans might expect from the recently dissolved Odd Couple. With half of the album already completed, Jay Love is seeking to solidify a distribution deal with Sony BMG. Until then, expect to hear a lot from the emcee as he has been busy making many guest appearances- some of which include Sam The Sleazebag's, Whatever Happened To The Emcees That Could Rhyme?; a New York To Paris compilation; Born Talent's The Essence; and Cimer Amor's album.

Jay Love's Lyrics

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