UK-based artist, Jai Paul has released very little music to his name, but what he has, has received approval from the likes of Drake himself. In 2007, he released his debut single “BTSTU” on MySpace, which eventually caught the ear of XL Recordings, who ended up rereleasing the single in 2011. Since then, Paul has notably appeared in pictures with artists such as Miguel, and his 2012 track “Jasmine” has been co-signed by Drake. In 2013, however, disaster struck for the booming artists, when an entire album of his demos appeared on Bandcamp only to quickly be taken down, with a statement announcing that it had been leaked without Paul's approval. Now, six years later, the inconspicuous artist is back with two completely new songs and an official version of the 2013 leaked release.
The two tracks are titled “Do You Love Her Now” and “He,” and are accompanied by the launch of a new website, which includes an official download of the 2013 demos for a customizable price. The album also appears on streaming platforms, including Spotify and Apple Music, for the first time. The website features other tracks of his that have finally been released as official streams, as well as limited vinyl editions of a number of releases, almost all of which have already sold out.
Jai took to Twitter last night to let fans know of his official comeback, saying: “I’ve been working on some music and a website recently so I’d like to share that with you. Have a look on desktop if u can, I think it works a bit better on there. I hope u like it, cheers, Jai.”
Paul also shared a longer statement with fans, which was later deleted, in which he addresses the 2013 album leak, saying that though it “might have seemed like a positive thing to a lot of people," for him, "it was very difficult to deal with.” The statement went on to describe a police investigation into the leaks that was ultimately inconclusive, and how Paul lost faith in the creative process, with thousands of people ultimately believing that he was responsible for leaking his own demos.The artists continues to describe the "frustration" he felt at the lack of "ownership over the story (or the music) and that people were choosing to believe a different truth.” “On a personal level, things gradually went south and I had a breakdown of sorts. I was in quite a bad place for some time. I was unable to work and withdrew from life in general,” he explained of his sudden disappearance from the music scene.
Paul goes on to say that he’s now made peace with the leaks and is ready to put new music out into the world. “I truly appreciate the help and positivity I’ve been given to get back on my feet,” he writes. “I wanted to put two new tracks out to say thank you.”