SPOTLIGHT: Jay Wile Asks and Answers, “Where R We Now”?
THE STORY OF JAY WILE IS ONE THAT CONTINUES TO WRITE ITSELF — The name might ring a bell for some, but we’ll get there later. First, it all starts with just another kid from Texas called Justin Wiley. Growing up in a household that bumped legends such as Stevie Wonder, Prince, and Michael Jackson, Wiley initially got involved in music around the age of 14. Playing trumpet in band throughout school and singing in the church choir quickly transitioned to self-teaching rap, singing, and producing. As is the case for many artists, music, while a passion, was also just a side hobby as Wiley pursued a more traditional education, majoring in environmental studies and on the path to a career in water policy. It wasn’t until his last semester of college that his music journey started to pick up — Wiley officially became R&B artist Jay Wile, releasing his first project and garnering some unexpected public attention.
Wile has since stepped into music full-time and now resides in LA, a community with countless other creatives chasing the dream. Between the revving of engines outside of the coffee shop where we’re all sat, Wile lets us peek into the rearview mirror of his journey filled with hope, growth, some tough choices, and some easier ones.
With his freshly dyed hair and vibrant corduroy pants, Wile coincidentally radiates Channel Orange from head to toe. It wouldn’t be so ironic if not for the fact that at the beginning of his career, his tracks were suddenly circulating under the guise of being “unreleased Frank Ocean songs.” With similarities in the distinct tone of their respective soulful voices, the misunderstanding was totally plausible despite their very different sonic styles, with Wile’s sound a more vibrant and upbeat contrast to Ocean’s slow brilliance. As a listener, what could be more flattering than to be mistaken for one of the most vibrant musicians of this generation? As an artist, on the other hand, comparison can often box creativity in.
“I was such a young artist at the time, so moldable and so impressionable,” Wile says, opening up about the pressure. “I ejected it from the competition entirely — I stopped listening to Frank for a while, I stopped entertaining the comparison or anything of that nature. Not because I felt insecure but [because I wanted to know what I stand for] as someone who makes art and not be impacted by what the comments might say, what the fans might say, what the critics might say.”
Despite the push and pull that the Ocean allegations had on his forming identity, a now older and wiser Wile has taken up a new perspective. “You're hearing the familiarity that you love about this artist; you're finding that in my art,” he explains. “Maybe you can't describe it in eloquent words, but I understand the feeling you feel about me is how you feel about them. That's the thing I look at now — I know for sure I made my own music; I'm having my own voice. I don't think I'm copying anybody. Lyric-wise, production-wise, or singing-wise, I'm just being me.”
It’s been quite the last few years since the ordeal, both for Wile and the rest of us. As much as the beginning of the pandemic took away, it was also admittedly the most formative time for so many creative individuals. In a new world he’s felt has “radically changed from top to bottom,” the singer has bounced back stronger, releasing projects back to back all last year.
Wile’s latest track, “Where R We Now,” is almost a reintroduction of himself. He details the single as “acknowledging the past that's gotten us here and dreaming about the future that's ahead, while remaining somewhere in between ‘How do we take what we know and where we want to go to move forward in this current moment?’”
Though there were definitely times in which Wiles wanted to separate the past from the present in order to reinvent, “Where R We Now” is a big nod of acceptance to all the bits that make a person who they are today: the good, the bad, and the ugly. The song comes to life from a heartfelt conversation with Wile’s close friend and the track’s producer, Jay James. “Where R We Now” guides you to “enjoy the highs, embrace for the lows, and kind of live in that middle ground of these things [that] are happening in the moment,” Wile suggests, adding that this track is “the best version of me.”
Humble beginnings and all, we wouldn’t have the Wile that exists before us if he didn't come from the teenager selling bedroom tunes on hardcover CDs for $2, or the young adult bound for work in the environmental sector. With his parents in tow to support whatever path he eventually chose, they instilled in him the values that are helping Wile thrive in the industry today.
“I didn't want to do it — I was going to drop out,” Wile says. “But [finishing school] taught me so much. [If] you want to do something and you have to have an end goal, do the small steps in between to get there. Seeing my life today, that's the mode I live by… The life I live right now, it is such a season of putting in the work, knowing that it takes the small days to get to the end goal.”
Though his formal education may have ended, the lessons haven’t stopped. Those small steps have led the artist to LA for the past year and a half. From the way he speaks, it’s excruciatingly clear that Wile hasn’t let the city’s hustle culture get to his head.
“This chapter has taught me to be sure of what I want and who I want to be… [and about] relationships I've been in, whether it be friends, romance, or business,” the Texas local shares. “I get to build my own image, my own words, and own integrity of who I've been and who I’ve wanted to be all this time. So I get to stand on that now and prove to myself the person that I believe I am, the man that I want to be.”
Wile’s expanding values are something that he doesn’t feel the need to compartmentalize when it comes to the energy he surrounds himself with. Since moving out to LA, he’s made it a point to build his team to represent a world he wants to be a part of: more people of color, women who bring a “womanly touch” to projects, and Black creatives who understand how to portray Wile in a flattering light. In an industry in which networking and connections get you everywhere, having the ability to set boundaries as a growing artist is valuable. Wile stood firm when asked how he handles confrontation and saying “no” to others, answering that even though it might be a tough pill for others to swallow, he’s not interested in forcing any kind of relationship. Why hurt each other? Wile appreciates the sentiment of a transparent conversation.
“I care about who [they] are as a person,” he says. “I think it took me [time] to get to know these people in a way [in which] I appreciate [their] art and appreciate [them] as a person. I appreciate how [they] get down in between… It’s still a learning process for me as well.”
He’s not shy to admit his faults, either: “Sometimes I'm wrong,” Wile professes. “Sometimes I've been the wrong person in a relationship. In their eyes, I might have done them wrong because I didn't make the best decision. There's going to come times where there's people that do not like me and they have reason to because I may not [have done] the best by them. That's something that I had to go through [to] be a better version of myself.”
From our first meeting, it was obvious that Wile is nothing if not grounded, valuing the privacy in his identity as a person outside of just his artistry. Yet, in a generation in which TikTok is the epicenter for self-promotion in the creative industry, Wile navigates the platform on his own terms.
Instead of forcing any viral “song of the summer” moments, he brings us along in his daily life as Justin Wiley: producing music in his home, behind the scenes on projects, hanging out with friends, and even on his shift as a barista (every up-and-coming creative’s favorite side hustle).
“I don’t really care to go viral,” Wile shares. “I care about making one new fan each time I post. They click on it, and they see 50 more pieces of content of me doing something they like, and they hear the song. That's one more person on board. I'm much rather than about getting those people along the way… Let me just be me everywhere I go and put my best foot forward… [I don’t] try to adhere to the trends, but do things to be present. I know there's a lot of fans who are 14 years old, who are 34 years old, and everyone in between. They're finding something about me that they find authentic, that they see in themselves or want to be themselves. If I can be that, then that's my job.”
At this moment in time, “Where R We Now” is a reflection of Wile (and Wiley’s) journey thus far, and while there’s still a long road ahead, the sentiment will remain the same no matter how or when he may revisit the question. As a Taurus, he looks for stability in balance of the logic and emotion of life. Just as he’s found balance between education and passion, professionalism and authenticity, boundaries and accountability, the singer takes a balanced approach in his songwriting. When asked how the process changes and grows with him, he shares that it can come from anything, whether it be stories from friends or personal experiences, past and present.
“I enjoy letting the art speak to me first, versus times where I might have something I want to get off my chest,” he describes. “I pull from my own personal experiences, for sure; I also romanticize life… They tell me what was going on with their lives, I'll take that and commit my own idea to that, excluding their personal details, of course, [then] build a world that will make sense. Either that, or [I take] my own [current feelings] — if I can tap back into a moment when I was 18 or a little middle school me who's so insecure and trying to chase every girl that smiled his way. I wanna write songs that [feel like that kid] too.”
Wile has learned to take charge to create art that he’s most confident in by being the nucleus of what he partakes in, with the guidance of his all-star team. Their thoughtful execution brings his visions to life without compromise, and we get to reap the benefits. The R&B star named off some of his sound’s contemporary inspirations as Miguel, John Legend, Kanye, Kid Kudi, J. Cole, and Lil Wayne. At the top of them all, however, are his dream collaborators Jazmine Sullivan and Stevie Wonder.
“I want to write with Jasmine Sullivan,” he says. “I want to just be in the studio while she writes a song and witness [that], or write a song together. That'd be dope. I want to be in the studio with her. As far as a feature, I would love for Stevie to play harmonica on my song. I would love for him to help write and produce of course, but I would love for him to play the harmonica.”
As for right now, Wile was recently featured in the “Test Drive'' campaign by Honda, in collaboration with Raedio, for breakout artists, and he is focused on releasing tracks from his vault one by one following “Where R We Now.”
Second to that, he shares that he would love to perform more, whether that be on someone else’s tour or maybe his own next year. Either way, you might be lucky enough to catch some of the old hits from, as far back as his Blue Patio EP, paying homage to where it all started. Where have we been, “Where R We Now,” and where will we be?
The answer to them all: “You're gonna get to know Jay Wile as Justin, as a person, through this music that's gonna be coming out this summer, the rest this year, and next year.”
And if you need a last nudge to listen: “People should listen to Jay Wile if they want to have good taste in music, if they want to be considered cool amongst their friends, if they want to seem ahead of the curve… they should listen to my music,” the artist jokes. “Seriously, if you want to experience someone's point of view about life that may be similar to yours… I feel like I do a good job of doing that. Yeah, I feel like you would enjoy me. If you like people who can sing, who make cool bops, who sound like Frank Ocean or Daniel Caesar or SZA — whoever — then this is probably for you.”
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