Jay West

Jay West has arrived. I roll up my sleeves and write songs about heartbreak, lusting after women i can’t afford, and my predilections with my very own brand of “cool”. Just how cool am I? Well, mine is a little more accidental. Like, my ball cap sits carelessly on the crown of my head. My thoughts crawl from beneath the hat and in between kicks and snares. In case you’ve just tuned in, I’m a rapper by the way….and as a rapper, I’ll stay true to form, keep it as real as I can, and write what I would like you to know.

I grew up with a very church-going father with old-fashioned values in San Bernardino, CA --a forsaken little city eclipsed by the shine of a very godless Hollywood. The dichotomy between what was being taught inside my home and outside sets the backdrop for the music i make. In fact, it’s my namesake. I put the coast on my name because it was the best way for me to represent the California that crafted me. The coast raised me. More specifically, with hip-hop music, it just seemed befitting. Where else could someone be an Old Dirty Bastard and Big Baby Jesus? What world would house Nas Escobar and God’s Son? Hip-hop embraced me before I ever considered experimenting with other sounds and genres.
I wrote rhymes to keep the demons off me and it gave me an excuse to be out of my mind. See, under the guise of the “nice guy” and the sheepish grin, i’m crazy like a fox. My music chronicles the tales of me losing my wits in a pretty manner. Long story short, i lost my balls to my first love. I took them back but then i got lonely. To this day, I still find it hard to keep them out of the vice grips of my vices. My music gave me permission to backslide.
I used to want to be a role model (hell, I used to want to be a model, period) but i traded that card in when i started calling myself a rapper. I graduated high school and committed to not committing to anything. I procrastinated and dated older women who turned me on and turned me out. Now, looking back at those summers of cooling my heels, i think i’ve danced myself into a corner. I practically partied on the moon and made a little cheese. My friends did too but, they also went to prestigious colleges. Sure, I talked big about secondary schooling but I never really pursued that. I just squandered dollars on pretty faces and empty heads. I bought clothes and made mistakes. I also made memories and made some friends. Or so I think. So, I’ll either die right here on this very couch writing this or I’ll dream so hard my feet leave the ground. Whichever the fate, you won’t be able to wake me. Sweet dreams I suppose. Drugs and Candy, anyone?