Jay Prime released his EP, "Pardon My French", following his listening party held at East Lansing record store Flat, Black and Circular. Photo courtesy of Christopher Thompson.
Advertising management sophomore A. J. Hines' music career began with just a laptop, a microphone and help from a friend. Hines — whose rapper name is Jay Príme — released his debut EP, "Pardon My French," Friday morning.
With the help of his branding manager Skyler Motley and manager Christopher Thompson, the Brooklyn Park, Minnesota native held a listening party at Flat, Black and Circular — a record store in Downtown East Lansing — a day before the release.
"The entire experience was just really pressure intensive because I had this time crunch to really make sure I had everything finished and prepared," Hines said. “When it was finished, I feel like I came out with a diamond because it was so much hard work put into it and it was really me pressing myself to push forward.”
Hines said his biggest music influence is Grammy-nominated rapper J. Cole. Though Cole’s music was a blueprint for him, Hines said "Pardon My French" has its own sound.
“I would say every song is different from one another, but they all coexist behind the meaning,” Hines said. “The EP itself is about confidence and how I am going to be hundred percent myself without worrying about anyone’s opinions or statements.”
With the help of Motley — also an advertising management sophomore — Hines was able to secure Flat, Black and Circular to celebrate the debut EP's release.
“We were looking at a lot of different locations for the listening party,” Motley said. “I thought it (Flat, Black and Circular) was perfect. It was intimate and perfect for where Jay Príme is at right now with his fan base and everything, so this would provide the best listening experience.”
Hines and Motley met in their Business 190 class, and since then, the two have been working together for about four months. Motley also has a passion for music, and aspires to have a career in it. She does his bookings, news releases and helps with publicity.
“This has given me experience. I’ve obviously been taking classes so I knew how to do some things,” Motley said. “I did the album cover. I’ve had a little background — but actually putting it in and implementing it — that was a brand new process for both of us.”
Hines said one of his main goals is to gain popularity on campus.
“Now that we have this first event, people will have a glimpse of Jay Príme and what he can really do," Hines said. "With that in people’s mind, we are going to press that as hard as possible. Make sure we are at every single event, make sure everyone on campus knows about us. And by the end of the semester, we should be where we want to be.”
Thompson is an advertising management sophomore as well, and met Hines after a number of coincidental meetings. Eventually, Hines showed Thompson his music and he's now a part of his team.
“He's grown tremendously since I first met him, and honestly since the first song I've heard until now, it's been nothing but progress – and I'm honestly proud of him more so than ever," Thompson said. "He's really come to his own as an artist, and he’s showing that growth that a lot of artists need to push to (get to) that next level.”
Hines' single, "Oh Me," and EP, "Pardon My French," can be found on multiple music platforms, including Spotify, Apple Music, SoundCloud, YouTube and iTunes.
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