Where the Fuck was Jai Paul?
One of the most trying times of my life was between 2012 and 2016, when we, humanity, experienced a four-year lapse in output from the saint, bodhisattva, superhuman music producer, songwriter, icon, Frank Ocean.
You may not yet be aware, but another dark age ended this past Sunday. Jai Paul released music. If this news is just now reaching you and means anything to you, I’m sure all of your bodily functions just halted in their tracks. The last time we truly heard of Jai Paul was in 2013. His last (and first) official release was in 2012. For me, this new release was the equivalent of a family member waking up from a coma.
If you haven’t noticed the hole in your heart these past 6 years, here’s why you should care about Jai Paul. In 2012, Jai Paul released two singles, “BTSU” and “Jasmine.” The tracks were dark, mystique filled, and featured an exotic and totally original sound. They instantly attracted attention from players near the top of the music industry food chain such as Drake.
Jai and his brother, AK Paul
Then, in 2013, an entire album of Jai Paul’s leaked on Bandcamp. Why? Who? How? There’s a lot of controversy surrounding this leak (see: Wikipedia). The 3 AM stunt was presented as an official release, however Jai Paul claimed otherwise. It wouldn’t be the internet of course if there wasn’t lingering speculation that the leak was an inside job. (EDIT: with his recent release, Jai Paul released a statement regarding this album. I’ve attached it below). The bones & scones of it: despite this record’s hazy origins and unfinished quality, it is fire. If you don’t believe me, listen to the song “Str8 Outta Mumbai.” You’ve never felt anything like it before.
The comparison is unnecessary, but Frank Ocean hardly went off the radar compared to Jai Paul. He’d pop up in a video here, a blog post there, and an obscure feature. Jai Paul went fucking Jason Bourne. I’ve read internet forum posts where amateur sleuths identified Jai Paul in photos on real estate websites. There was the one picture on Miguel’s Instagram of Jai Paul, AK Paul, and Miguel in the studio. AK Paul, Jai Paul’s younger brother who began releasing music in 2016, had managed to become more prominent name, appearing on a few music festival lineups. In 2016, Jai and AK announced “The Paul Institute”, a studio and label currently hosting four artists.
Hard evidence of Jai Paul’s existence between 2013 and 2019.
The veil shattered this past Sunday. Jai released a double B-Side releasing “Do You Love Her Now”, and “He”, which both sound like the contemporary music being played in hipper boroughs of heaven. Concurrently, Jai paul also published the leaked 2013 album to streaming platforms sans certain samples which were unable to clear copyright restrictions.
The release was accompanied by a revelatory letter from Jai Paul to his fans. In it, Jai describes how his music was stolen and released and goes into surprising detail about the law enforcement procedure surrounding the event. He then recounts the unjust scrutiny he faced surrounding the event, the psychological effect of being framed for the premature release of his own music, and XL’s dilute response to the crisis. Even as artists go, Jai Paul has an obviously refined attention to detail. Jai describes having “a breakdown of sorts” which lead to his inability to work on music following the 2013 leak. Though now he is able to “appreciate that people have enjoyed” the leak, even Paul mentions “what could have been.”
The sincerity of the letter is unmissable. There is no question at this point that Jai Paul was not responsible for his album leaking. From a fan’s perspective, maybe this letter would have been more timely four years ago, but healing takes place at its own pace. The mind blowing, encouraging aspect of these two new releases, is that none of the music is actually new. According to the leak, they’re songs that Jai Paul “was working on at the time of the leak.” Never without mystery, we’ll have to hold our breath a little longer to hear what Paul has been working on in recent years.