Over the past 17 years, the world has come to know Jhayco as one of the writers behind Cardi B's rap single “I Like It,” the composer behind J Balvin's Latin Grammy-winning album “Vibras,” and one from Bad Bunny albums. featured artist most frequently. Now, with “Le Clique: Vida Rockstar (X)” (released last month), Jhayco is putting himself front and center.
With an ear for dynamic rhythms and a pen focused on lust, the 31-year-old singer, songwriter and producer is considered a contemporary reggaeton powerhouse. Compiling collaborations from some of the biggest names in Latin music such as Mora, Tainy and Anuel AA, the Miami-based musician has developed a knack for reinvention throughout his long career.
At the age of 16, this multifaceted artist born in Puerto Rico and raised in New Jersey was already producing songs for artists such as Zion & Lennox, Natti Natasha and Tito el Bambino. After establishing himself in the music industry, he launched a solo career under the name Jhay Cortez in 2017. Everything changed for the artist with the release of “No Me Oye,” the third single from his debut studio album “Famouz.” The laid-back track about a secret affair caught the attention of reggaeton giants Bad Bunny and J Balvin, who launched into a remix. To date, it has over 1.4 billion streams on Spotify and helped Jhayco reach global audiences. During the following years, he continued to establish himself with popular films such as “Dakiti” with Bad Bunny and “512” with Mora.
As one of reggaeton's staple hitmakers, Jhayco trades off his desire for success with his need to create art on his third album, “Le Clique: Vida Rockstar (X).”
“I could have made an album with another big artist just to get the numbers, like with [Bad] Bunny,” the Puerto Rican singer tells The Times about the September release. “But it's not about that. It's expressing what the artist is going through with the album and how I want it to be, not how people want it to be.”
As his first project since 2021, the performer says that “Le Clique” is a kind of biography. Clocking in at one hour and 49 minutes, the release is an ambitious project consisting of three parts and 29 tracks. Each part of the trilogy represents a different part of who he is: “Le Clique” is for family, “Vida Rockstar” is his rock star era, and “X” are songs that he claims are hits.
Deciding on this concept, the self-proclaimed “only Latin rock star” says that the album allowed him to discover his own star qualities. But I wasn't looking for inspiration in the cliché of a musician from the '60s or '70s; instead, he turned to contemporaries like the Weeknd and Post Malone with still-growing legacies.
“[Being a rock star] “It’s not just about the lyrics and the sound, it’s about the combination of audio, visuals, production, energy and heart,” Jhayco said.
The album's title track, “Vida Rockstar,” begins with skateboards hitting concrete and the loud sound of a skater's heel. The drone of a guitar pushes the song into Jhayco's first exploration of pop punk. Resembling a catchy Machine Gun Kelly-style Spanish song, it's the only track on the album that explores a rock-adjacent sound: as soon as the lively electric guitar crack plays, it's replaced with the hip-hop beat with much bass. of “Greece”.
Although the rock on “Le Clique” is limited, Jhayco still brings different elements to his generally trap-centric sound. he infuses mexican musicThe distinctive guitar strum of “Ex-Special” featuring Peso Pluma, the vibrant sounds of deep house on “En La Bentley” and a vibrant club beat on “58” with his unwavering understanding of reggaetón.
During the three years it took to create “Le Clique,” the singer says he challenged himself to take the traditional sounds of reggaeton beyond the nightclub dance floor. Turning to Spanish beaches for songs like “Passoa” and Miami nights for “Le Clique,” he says these different environments allowed him to create an immersive soundtrack for his travels.
Of the album's long list of songs, Jhayco says that “Basquiat Comes…” is the only song that doesn't fit in with the others. Beginning with an ominous echo, he begins to sing “Like Basquiat, 'I'm very crazy like Basquiat” over a simple trap beat. As the lyrics continue to flaunt his legacy, he draws constant comparisons between himself and the late Puerto Rican/Haitian painter over the subdued, moody beat, all while weaving the narrative of sleeping with someone in a museum (“Baby, you “It's art, let's do it inside a museum”). He calls the track a harbinger of what's to come.
“Is [the song] about the things I've learned from Basquiat and how I really connect with his personality and his art,” Jhayco said. “I feel like the way he conveys his message is not that he wants to be famous or that he wants to be number one. It's about expressing art. And that's the way I see music.”
Continuing his “Vida Rockstar” era, Jhayco will embark on a 10-stop North American tour this November. He will perform at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on November 21.
