Jay Versace | |
---|---|
Birth name | Jahlil Gunter |
Born | January 24, 1998 |
Origin | Pleasantville, New Jersey, U.S. |
Genres | |
Occupation(s) | Record producer |
Years active | 2014–present |
Jahlil Gunter [3] (born January 24, 1998), [4] known professionally as Jay Versace, is an American record producer and former Internet personality. [5] [6] He began posting comedy videos onto Vine as a teenager and amassed over three million followers on the platform, [7] [8] [9] before shifting focus onto a career in music production by 2018. [1] [10] He has since been credited on the Billboard 200-number one albums SOS (2022) by SZA [2] and Call Me If You Get Lost (2021) by Tyler, the Creator—both albums won a Grammy Award. [11] His other work includes albums for Doja Cat, Lil Yachty, Boldy James, and Westside Gunn. [3]
Versace is from Pleasantville, New Jersey. [12] [13] His moniker was inspired by a Vine video in which American rapper Riff Raff feeds his dog "Versace water from the fountain of life". [9]
In 2014, Versace began making comedic videos onto the video-sharing platform Vine, usually involving reenactments of certain scenarios involving his family members, friends, and entertainers. [9] His work was also noted to involve the amplification of the spirituality, creativity, and mental health of black people. [1] [14] He relocated to Los Angeles in 2016 at the age of 18. [7] He was nominated for Viner of the Year at the 8th Shorty Awards. [15] Versace had amassed over three million followers and two billion total views on Vine before the platform was discontinued in January 2017. [7] [5] Thereafter, he turned to other social media platforms, amassing 2 million followers on Instagram and 500,000 subscribers on YouTube. [8] He also starred alongside American actors Danielle Campbell and Nathan Kress in his own Fullscreen web series, Jay Versace is Stuck in the 90s, [16] which was nominated for Best Web Series at the 10th Shorty Awards. [17] Versace signed a representation contract with United Talent Agency in January 2018, [18] and then was slated to feature alongside American internet personality Miles McKenna in an eight-part web series by Portal A Interactive titled My Wizard & Me, yet this did not come to fruition. [19]
Versace started experimenting with music production for the first time in May 2018, with help from his musician friends Knxwledge and Pink Siifu. [1] [10] He began posting atmospheric, lo-fi music instrumentals to his SoundCloud account. [12] Versace approached American rapper Westside Gunn and asked to work together, before the latter discovered his account and ended up using one of Versace's first-ever songs on his own album, Pray for Paris (2020), titling the track "Versace". [20] He then produced all tracks on the mixtape, The Versace Tape (2020) by American rapper Boldy James, which became the first-ever release on Griselda Records in August 2020. [21] In March 2021, Versace contributed a remix version of the song "Lay_Up.m4a" by Denzel Curry and Kenny Beats to the duo's remix album, Unlocked 1.5 (2021). [22] He also produced the song "Safari" off of American rapper Tyler, the Creator's sixth studio album Call Me If You Get Lost (2021), [11] which won the award for Best Rap Album at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards. [10] Released in August 2022, the track "On God" by American rappers Meechy Darko, Freddie Gibbs and A-Trak, which was co-produced by Versace and Dot da Genius. [23] Versace then produced the songs "SOS" and "Smoking on My Ex Pack" from American singer SZA's second studio album, SOS (2022), which earned him critical acclaim and commercial success. [2] SZA credits her first attempts at rap music to Versace, who encouraged her to "talk her shit". [2]
Versace came out as queer [1] via a Snapchat post in 2016, claiming that "I love people in general idgaf what gender you are". [24] [25] [8] His mother, Nikesha Dolly Gunter, died of illness in May 2022. [26]
Year | Artist | Album | Song |
---|---|---|---|
2020 | Westside Gunn | Pray for Paris | "Versace" |
Boldy James | The Versace Tape | "Maria" | |
"Nu Wave" | |||
"Cartier" (featuring ElCamino) | |||
"Brick Van Exel" | |||
"Long Live Julio" | |||
"Monte Criso" | |||
"Cardinal Sin" | |||
"Bentayga" | |||
"Roxycontin" (featuring Keisha Plum, Tiona Deniece and Westside Gunn) | |||
Pink Siifu and Fly Anakin | FlySiifu's | "Mind Right" | |
Lil Yachty | Lil Boat 3.5 | "Lil Diamond Boy" (bonus track) | |
2021 | Denzel Curry and Kenny Beats | Unlocked 1.5 | "Lay_Up.m4a (Jay Versace Version)" |
Patrick Paige II | If I Fail Are We Still Cool? | "Who Am I | |
Tyler, the Creator | Call Me If You Get Lost | "Safari" (co-produced with Tyler, the Creator) | |
Westside Gunn | Hitler Wears Hermes 8: Side B | "Free Kutter" (featuring Jay Electronica) | |
2022 | Fly Anakin | Frank | "Bag Man" |
Draft Day | Non-album single | "How Far Will I Go" (featuring Lil Yachty) | |
Xavier Omär | b l u r r | "A Dream" | |
Meechy Darko | Gothic Luxury | "On God" (featuring A-Trak and Freddie Gibbs) (co-produced with Dot Da Genius) | |
SZA | SOS | "SOS" | |
"Smoking on My Ex Pack" | |||
2023 | Summer Walker | Clear 2: Soft Life | "Pull Up" |
"New Type" (featuring Childish Gambino) | |||
Doja Cat | Scarlet | "97" | |
"Often" | |||
"Love Life" | |||
2024 | Vince Staples | Dark Times | "Étouffée" |
Award | Year | Category | Recipient(s) and nominee(s) | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
BET Social Awards | 2019 | Social Hustle Award | Himself | Nominated | [27] [28] |
Grammy Awards | 2022 | Best Rap Album | Call Me If You Get Lost (by Tyler, the Creator) | Won | [10] |
Grammy Awards | 2024 | Best Progressive R&B Album | SOS (by SZA) | Won | [10] |
Shorty Awards | 2016 | Viner of the Year | Himself | Finalist | [15] |
2018 | Best Web Series | Jay Versace Is Stuck in the 90s | Nominated | [17] | |
Soul Train Awards | 2016 | Internet Soul Sensation Badu Award | Himself | Won | [29] |
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This is a list of all of the songs that The Alchemist has produced.
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