J.Y.

COVER STORY BY: MELISSA MALOON PHOTOS BY: LACQUAN SCOTT

J.Y. is the truest embodiment of turning dream into reality as he turned his childhood passion into a multifaceted career in the music industry, more specifically, the Hip Hop culture. J.Y. first realized his talent in managing people and being a leader when he was six years old and managing his friends for fun. Fast forward to today, JY has created a vision for something bigger then “Today’s Hits,” something that takes a page or two from the greats before us. Being ever so clever and a true artist at heart, J.Y. built Visionplay, a group of artists consisting of about seven, to tap into tradition and bring back the lost art of lyricism and true art form to today’s new hip hop.

Being a fan of music since young, J.Y. was only four years old when Wu-Tang released their first album; JY made sure to memorize all of the lyrics and rap them into a tape recorder. Later on he became a frequent battle rapper on 107.9 in ATL, on air, every week. This allowed for him to create a following and a name for himself as one of the best battle rappers. Inspired by his favorite artists such as Beanie Sigel, is when J.Y. started getting into the music scene he was interested in working with people who his favorites have worked with such as Grammy nominated, platinum producer Buckwild.

J.Y. went on to making whole bodies of work, collaborating with heavy hitters such as Jim Jones, Killer Mike, Joe Budden, Nipsey Hussle, Max B, Fetty Wap, and more. He has stood the test of time as not only his music, but also his adaptative approach has stuck around even years later. After accomplishing so much as an underground king, J.Y. got into the business of organizing concerts. The first show all of the artist who were featured on his first project showed out and performed, after that JY was putting on shows for the likes of Lil Uzi Vert, A Boogie with da Hoodie, Lil Bibby, Gucci Mane, PNB Rock, Dave East, Jadakiss, Fabulous, ect. Safe to say this is a well-known man in the music industry as well as knowledgeable in the business aspect. With that being said who better then he to help manage these exquisite talents? With the goal of creating the next best Bad Boy or Roc-A-Fella, J.Y. brought together Visionplay to revitalize music in a time where the art of music has been lost. He provides creative direction to representation, he is a one stop shop for all of his artists because he understands them from the lenses of an artist.

Make sure to stay in tune with all things Visionplay on Instagram @ visionplayent!