YouKnowIGotSoul had a chance to talk to emerging singer/songwriter Jae Stephens. She’s currently on the road with the R&B group FLO to promote her latest EP “SELLOUT” which includes the viral hit “Body Favors”. We had a chance to talk to her about the success of that song, her new single “That’s My Baby” as well as some of her inspirations growing up. We also talked to her about her challenges as an independent artist early on and her current situation now with Def Jam/Raedio.
YouKnowIGotSoul: You’re currently on the road with FLO for the Access All Areas Tour. Talk about how that’s going.
Jae Stephens: Oh my gosh, this tour has been like a monumental learning process and the opportunity of a lifetime. It started out a bit tough, I’m not going to lie. I had to like learn a lot on the job, but I’m so grateful for like this time and this opportunity. Everything that I’ve picked up every night, I’m having a blast now. I’m really getting into it. And yeah, I’m just so excited to do more of it and it’s almost over.
YouKnowIGotSoul: I had a chance to check out the “SELLOUT” EP a few months back and what I love about the EP is that it just sounded so big and colorful. Just talk about that EP and just how fun it was for you to make that project because that sounded like you had a blast making it.
Jae Stephens: I’m glad it sounded big. I’m glad it sounded fun because it was 100% what I wanted it to be. It was definitely my first project that I went full steam ahead in on. I focused really on what I wanted to say, how I wanted it to sound, how I wanted it to look, but I also didn’t want to overthink anything. I just wanted it to be reminiscent of where I was in my life, which was just trying new shit and being a new girl and having fun. And yeah, I didn’t overthink anything or second guess anything. I wrote what I felt and what I wanted to hear. And the end result was “SELLOUT”. So I’m glad that people are having fun listening to it because I definitely had fun making it.
YouKnowIGotSoul: “Body Favors” is obviously the big one from that EP. At what point did you realize that was going to be a special one? It gave me heavy Neptunes vibes on that one.
Jae Stephens: I knew it as soon as I wrote it. I’m a songwriter in addition to being an artist. And “Body Favors” was not necessarily written for me. I wrote it with my collaborators and it was one of those “we should send this to so and so”. While we were making it, I was like “I’m not sending this to anyone. Like this is like my favorite song, this energy, the feel, the humor”. It just felt like what I had been wanting to make, what I had been needing to make for the longest time. And that was definitely the first song that I was like, “Everything you make and release from here on out needs to sound and feel like this”. So it definitely shaped the rest of “SELLOUT” and quite honestly everything that I’m about to release going forward.
YouKnowIGotSoul: Girls Don’t Cheat gave me Timbaland vibes. It seems like you’re somebody that’s influenced by sounds, maybe more than just vocals. Just talk about some of your influences growing up, maybe producer wise or even artists.
Jae Stephens: I’m just huge on the girls who brought sex appeal and energy and feminism to Pop. I mean Beyonce back in the day and today and forever until we all die. You know, Rihanna, Pussycat Dolls, Fergie, Gwen Stefani, Cassie and like just these girls who were such badasses. It was sexy without being vulgar and it was fun without being corny. I just really try to capture that energy and everything that I sing and I write. I really like how the Pop back then always had like a bit of a Hip Hop edge. I feel like that’s something that the Neptunes, Timbaland and Ryan Leslie did so well finding that balance. And yeah, that’s a balance. I’m constantly chasing these days.
YouKnowIGotSoul: I feel like artists, they’re kind of like superheroes, right? They have their superpowers in the studio and I feel like for you, your superpower is your melody choices. You’re able to sound fresh and interesting on different productions and styles. Where does that come from?
Jae Stephens: Well, firstly, thank you so much. I appreciate you saying that because that’s definitely where I put most of my pride. I like to sometimes say I’m a bit of a lazy songwriter. Like if I could release an album full of gibberish with no lyrics and just endless melodies, I absolutely would. Melodies are just like everything to me. And yeah, I just feel like that is the root of the song for me. I want the melodies to go to unexpected places, places that are really fun to sing. And that’s how I start every song is just by like humming and singing and seeing what comes naturally. And then I fill in the lyrics afterwards. Yeah, that’s my favorite part.
YouKnowIGotSoul: Yeah, those changes, especially on the bridge “SMH”. It was a journey!
Jae Stephens: Thank you! I wanted it to be a journey because I felt like the song is like pretty dope. It’s just like “Oh” the whole time. So I wanted the bridge to give a bit of musicality and switch it up and turn it on its head. I was like, “What if we change keys like three times”? Yes.
YouKnowIGotSoul: For sure. Now obviously you have the Def Jam situation. Was it always part of the plan for you to be signed to a major? Like if we go back in time, was that on your vision board?
Jae Stephens: I feel like it wasn’t always a goal. I just always wanted to make music. I feel like the situation with Def Jam and Raedio was really a blessing that fell into my lap at a time where I felt like, “I don’t know what I want to do. I give up. I can’t do it. I shouldn’t do it anymore”. And then this just came at such a time where I couldn’t take it as anything other than “This is your opportunity. You’re crazy if you quit. You need to take it and you need to give it an honest shot and not doubt it and not give up basically”. So yeah, it was really a blessing how it all came about and the team that has come and surrounded me. And yeah, I just feel really happy with how it has all fallen into place. Very naturally, nothing forced. And yeah, it definitely came at an amazing time. So I’m grateful.
YouKnowIGotSoul: Now I just want to take it back to your project “Fuck It I’ll Do It Myself”. When we go back to that, obviously the title is significant, but reflecting back on that now, how proud of yourself are you that you actually followed through and created that?
Jae Stephens: Whoa! I’m really proud. That’s actually a really nice question because I was just talking with someone else about how I famously, once I got signed, tried to scrub everything that I did before “SELLOUT”. I was like, “No, forget that. I want everything to be fresh. I want a clean slate”. I wanted to change my name. I wanted everybody to hear “SELLOUT” and nothing else. But I think a lot of people who are discovering me now, my music, they take a lot of joy and delight in seeing the journey and what it took to get here. And I think ““Fuck It I’ll Do It Myself” is a really instrumental part of that because that was me doing it myself. It was absolutely out of frustration. I had no idea what I wanted to make and how I wanted my music to sound and what I was doing and where I was going. And I just said “Fuck it. I’ll just make whatever comes out. I’m going to put it out”. And it ended up really connecting with people and resonating. And yeah, I feel like that was kind of my first lesson. I don’t think we would have had “SELLOUT” without “Fuck It I’ll Do It Myself”.
YouKnowIGotSoul: Talk about the new single “That’s My Baby”.
Jae Stephens: Oh man, I’m so excited. I’ve loved singing it and teaching it to people on tour. They pick it up really fast because it’s really easy to learn. But yeah, I’m so excited for it. I don’t have any songs that sound like “That’s My Baby”, I feel, especially, especially not on this project. I feel like it’s that slower, sexier moment that I haven’t even touched upon on any other projects. And yeah, I took a lot of inspiration from Mother Mariah. I just love how she was just floating and humming and cooing and ooing on these heavy hip hop beats back in the day with rappers. You know, and I wanted to do something like that with this song. And it felt right when I put it on the project. It’s like a nice little middle ground centerpiece. So I’m excited for everyone to hear it.
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