Jay Colin

With ´Truth & Soul´, Rapper Jay Colin delivers one mighty fine debut album. The promo single ´Mighty Fine´ already created some high expectations, and ´Truth & Soul´ turns out to live up to them completely. Due to the up-to-date `Un-Dutch´ sounding production it outstands comparisons with albums from big US artists. For this we can thank the production skills of Dutchflower.On ´Truth & Soul´ we find collaborations with soul legend George McCrae (known for his mega 70's hit Rock Your Baby) DeAnté ´s Taj, Berget Lewis and Shy Rock from Postmen. Each artist wrote his or her own part, so all of these are truly artistic collaborations! As well in his laidback sound as in his lyrics, Jay Colin reminds of progressive American rappers: You won't hear Jay Colin tell some made-up thug life-fairytale stories, this guy raps about real stuff that people can relate to. And not in a preachy way! Jay absolutely allows himself to put a message in his lyrics... But he doesn't force himself to do so all the time.Also, Jay has a very positive attitude and is down to earth and laid back, which you can hear in his relaxed flow. The mature sound that Jay Colin displays on ´Truth & Soul´ makes it hard to believe that this is a debut album. Which raises the obvious question "Who is Jay Colin and where did he learn to rap like that?" Well, Jay Colin is born and raised in Amsterdam. But, contrary to most other rappers, Jay openly admits that he didn't learn to rap in the streets. Believe it or not, but Jay discovered his MC-ing talents in church! From an early age on he participated enthusiastically in the musical support of church ceremonies in Amsterdam. Jay turned out to be multi-talented: It was in church where he first learned to play guitar, bass, drums and keyboards! He even did his first bit of beats creating here!And it was also in church where he first started MC-ing in front of a live audience, and thus his talents emerged. Before Jay really decided to take the challenge of a solo-career as a rapper he played in several bands. And now already Jay's first solo effort sees the light of day.He had the idea of doing a solo album for years already. So this album is truly a dream come true for Jay. Sound-wise the truth seems to exceed the dream: The production of Dutch Flower lifts the album to an even higher level. The progressive, fat sound is not only typical for it's pumping basses and tight drum sounds but especially the many soulful samples. These samples form the solid, irresistible foundation from where Jay fires his sharp raps with great accuracy. To sit still is impossible!