Jai Paul is the elusive British artist who signed to XL Recordings (Jungle, Radiohead, Vampire Weekend) in 2010. Since then, only two singles have been officially released — his debut being “BTSTU.” In 2013, the London producer was the victim of a BandCamp leak, and a collection of unfinished recordings were published (and later retracted), confounding the blogosphere amidst varying reports regarding the source of the leak.
Nonetheless, the false-alarm LP made it to number 20 on Pitchfork’s Top 50 Albums of 2013 list, and was sampled by both Drake and Beyonce, to give you a better idea of this guy’s potential. The brilliance of “BTSTU” is the abrasively bold lyrics, contrasted with the ghostly falsetto and masterfully inventive production. Stream the song below – available for purchase on iTunes here .
According to XL manager Rodaidh McDonald, Jai Paul has been tinkering around in the studio working on his new album, and has been for years. Although not one to adhere to any timetable, let’s hope the withholding artist decides to share it with the masses soon.
poetry in an empty coke can 