Ayo Jay

Nigerian wunderkind Ayo Jay continues charming the ladies for their digits with his first single “Your Number.” Originally released in 2013, the Afrobeats-infused dancehall jam even landed a remix from New Jersey rapper Fetty Wap. The song’s infectious melody made a viral splash among international fans from parts of North America, the U.K, Canada and beyond, who created their own dance videos to Ayo Jay’s uptempo number on apps like Triller, Musical.ly, Snapchat and Instagram despite its lukewarm reception in his native Africa.

“It didn’t necessarily work out there because the “Your Number” vibe is not the kind of vibe they really mess with out there, but a lot of the comments we got online were from places outside of Africa, around the world,” he says. “We knew this song wasn’t definitely for Africa – it was international.”

Born in London, England, Ayo Jay (real name Ayoola Ogundeyi Jr.) migrated to Lagos, Nigeria’s largest city, three months after his birth. He lived a “comfortable” lifestyle with both parents (his father was an engineer and his mom was a nurse) and his three siblings, where the family’s focus was education. He attended private primary and secondary schools before moving to New York around 17 years old to live with his older brother and enroll in CUNY’s Baruch College, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and finance. Despite the pressures of pursuing a career in business from his parents, Ayo Jay found a passion for creating songs his second year of college.

“Two years into college, I realized music is what I wanted to do ‘cause it was easy for me than doing any other thing,” he says. “So even though there was pressure, I felt like I needed to do my own thing to survive and make a living for myself because you gotta do what’s best for you. I believed that as long as I got the right results in what I was doing, my parents would approve.”

His first exposure to music was listening to American acts in Nigeria like Eminem, Nelly and Akon, copying down their lyrics pre-Rap Genius and singing along. While a broke undergrad at Baruch, he would write to beats he downloaded for free online and record music. In 2011, he placed his first feature on rapper Cap B’s song “She Like It.” Ayo Jay also began listening to then-bubbling Nigerian artist Wande Coal, whose 2008 album Mushin 2 Mohits made a fan of Ayo Jay. “He actually inspired me to want to go to Nigeria, make music and make an impact there,” he says. “Anybody you think of in Afrobeats, they were inspired by Wande Coal.”

The former Wall Street intern would also meet with producers like Melvitto, the beatsmith for “Your Number.” Recorded in Melvitto’s Brooklyn home, the song’s beat was originally intended for another artist who wasn’t picking up his phone. “I just happened to come to the house that day and [Melvitto] played the beat and made me freestyle on it. When I did the freestyle, the first thing I was saying was ‘Can I get your number?’” Also a college student, Melvitto didn’t charge Ayo Jay for his beats. “He felt like we had potential to be big,” he says.

After graduating in May 2013, Ayo Jay inked a deal with One Nation Records, a boutique label with headquarters in New York and offices in Lagos. The singer then moved back to Nigeria to push out “Your Number” in Africa only to recognize his international star appeal. In April 2016, Rolling Stone named Ayo Jay one of the “10 Artists You Need To Know,” which preceded a deal with RCA Records two months later. “The hype was crazy,” he says. “A lot of labels expressed interest but RCA had the right plan for me and they showed me they were interested in not just a song, but a career.”

The current New Jersey resident’s next steps are releasing the video for “Your Number,” a remix to the single and a mixtape, slated to drop later this year. “It’s gonna be a lot of songs like ‘Your Number,’” he teases, assuring dancehall records, Afropop jams and even “Afrotrap” music – a fusion of trap with a little bit of Afrobeats, he says, will make the cut. Ayo Jay will also keep his attention on the women. “I sing a lot about the ladies because I’m a young guy and looking for love,” he says.

The rising singer, nicknamed “Boy Wonder,” aspires to become the face of Afrobeats over the next five to 10 years – a movement already spearheaded by the likes of global sensation Wizkid and “One Dance” hitmaker Drake – but assures his talents aren’t one-sided. “I’d like to be the face of Afrobeats in the next five to ten years but I have my own plans. My music is not just Afrobeats. I have stuff that transcends, crosses over,” he says. “I’m also trying to show other parts of Ayo Jay, other parts of the Boy Wonder. I can do pop music, I can rap, I’m very versatile but I have to show something first and the rest will follow.”