Jay The Judge Releases EP "Car On Fire"

Jay The Judge released the EP Car On Fire, the first solo project under his name, back in mid-February. This introduction to the hip hop scene focuses on loss as the central theme. Jay is relatively new to Athens in terms of being a student-turned-townie, and for new listeners, he says it’s important to know that he uses “lyricism to turn sympathy to empathy.”

Growing up in coastal southeast Georgia, Jay left his hometown to attend UGA in 2017. After graduating in May of 2022, he’s remained in Athens since and has now released this EP as a reflection of himself and the things he’s lost and gained throughout life.

“The EP went through a lot of stages when it came to the message that I wanted to convey and the theme I wanted it to carry. It wound up just being a reflection of how I felt in the moment and what emotions have been lingering since I started working on it. The oldest song on the EP is ‘S.a.d.’ I started working on that track around two years ago at this point,” says Jay.

For a debut EP from an unknown artist, this is an incredibly cohesive and solid listen. Jay stands out as a storyteller with the empathetic lyricism he touts. If this is the starting point, he’ll be an artist to watch as he continues to hone his sound. There’s definitely a relatability present that offers a peak into where Jay comes from.

“I spend a lot of time in my car, especially when I used to work as a delivery driver. I actually have written most of my lyrics in my car. It's almost as if I am just better at being creative or thinking when I am driving. So I felt like naming my EP Car On Fire was a clever way to say that my life was on fire, like a metaphor for a car crash,” says Jay.

Last year, Jay worked on a collaborative project, Red Dot Optics, released by Druidic Records. Currently, he’s working on more music both for himself and with others. So if you’re also impressed with this introduction to Jay The Judge, stay tuned for more releases to come.

Be sure to follow Jay The Judge on Twitter and listen to the EP on Spotify.