Artist Spotlight: Jay-Lee – All or Nothing Remix Tape

Earlier this year, Glasgow hip-hop producer Jay-Lee opened up his impressive debut album All or Nothing to remixers. Always up for a remix, I went through the album and one track grabbed my attention the most, Stuck In Time. After reaching out to him, he sent the stems over and I got to work.

As it turned out, the call was huge. Remixes came in from all over the globe, across a wide range of genres, with a total of 11 remixes making the cut.

Since remixing Stuck In Time, I’ve followed Jay regularly on his socials, and I’ve been genuinely impressed with how much work he puts in, both making music and pushing the Scottish hip hop scene forward as a promoter. So I recently asked him to sit down for a short written interview, where we talk about his journey in the scene, his approach to making and finishing music, and what advice he’d give to independent producers and artists trying to do the same. Here’s what he had to say:

You’ve talked about how community driven the Scottish hip hop scene has been since the early 90s, and how grassroots your approach to releasing music is. Has not having the same funding or label infrastructure that somewhere like London has changed the way you approach releasing music, or even how you think about success as an artist?

I think lack of funding and backing from a label has definitely impacted the way I promote and release music, as it’s DIY, but I always try to think of fun and new ways of releasing music. For example, when releasing my first album (All or Nothing) I opted to only put it on Bandcamp and not streaming sites. I think it’s a better approach in order to try and monetize it as much as possible and not to feed the machine that is basically ripping artists off. Although Bandcamp takes a 25 percent cut, I think it is more fair towards the artists. For my next project I plan to make a website and put it exclusively on there instead of the well known streaming sites.

Earlier this year, you teamed up with a London promoter to set up a Glasgow gig, giving a handful of top Scottish MCs the chance to showcase their skills, with a shot at going on to London and Canada. Can you talk more about how that came together, and what kind of impact you think it’ll have on the scene?

Aye, so I met the promoter of the End of the Weak MC competition while I was on tour in London. He approached me with the idea, and I loved it. When he told me we would get 5 of the best MCs in Scotland and put them through 5 different rounds to find the best one, I thought it was an amazing idea. I also thought it was the right time to do something like this in Scotland, because the talent has got increasingly better over the years and I feel we will be properly represented nowadays with the talent that is on display. I feel some artists from the Scottish hip hop scene can definitely benefit from the opportunity of performing in London and Canada, and I feel like that’s where we should be represented. In my opinion Scotland has some of the best rappers and singers the UK has ever seen.

On your “All or Nothing” tour, you hit multiple UK cities: Manchester, Newcastle, Birmingham, Leicester, and London. How different is it organizing and promoting shows locally versus outside Scotland? Any plans to push things further, into Europe or beyond?

It is definitely more tricky putting on and performing in other cities as there are a lot of moving parts, and even missing one train or bus can put all that on the line. Being less known in these areas compared to Scotland is challenging, as people are always more skeptical of your presence and intentions there, but I love a challenge. As the name of the album states, I’m an all or nothing kind of person, so I always try to put my all into performing, promoting and finding the connections I need to make it work. I definitely have plans to do some shows in Europe, in places such as Germany, Bulgaria, Spain and France. As much as it’s setting up shows for me, it’s all about connecting with people and sharing our cultures with each other. The more you do this, the more you find out we are really pretty similar, more than we once thought.

You travel a fair bit as both artist and promoter. Are there any places you’ve been that stand out as special to you, or any experiences from those travels that stuck with you and maybe even influenced how you approach writing and producing?

Definitely, performing in places like Newcastle and Manchester is always an amazing experience. I think some of the cultures are similar, so we blend well and seem to get each other on a musical and also personal level. For example, the crowds in Newcastle are always really hyped and love to get involved in the music. We seem to have a real connection with Manchester too, and the way both of our scenes are really up and coming at the moment. I also think going to these places helped to open my mind, give me a different perspective to write from and help to teach me some valuable lessons along the way.

One of the things I write about a lot is how much producers struggle to finish tracks. You’ve mentioned having close to 200 unreleased songs, which is wild. Does finishing music come naturally to you, or has it ever been a struggle? If so, what’s been the hardest part to get past?

I think I have learned through time to finish a song in one session instead of just writing a verse and coming back to it later. I find that if I don’t, it never gets done, or I lose the spark I once had for the song. I always try to write all the verses as soon as I make the song and finish it even if it’s hard or not as good as it could be. I know that I can make changes and re write or produce parts again after. That being said, I very rarely change the song after it’s been made. I always like to think my best songs still inside me, so that gives me the hunger to keep going and move on to the next one.

I want to thank you for giving me the opportunity to remix your track Stuck in Time, which I really enjoyed working on. What struck me most about it is how self-reflective the lyrics are and how deeply personal the whole track feels. Would it be okay to ask what motivated you to write it, and how difficult is it for you to get into that headspace to write on such an emotional level?

First off, I would just like to thank you for remixing Stuck in Time. I feel like you added a lot to the song and took it in a direction I was not expecting. Same with the samples you added. I feel like they really fit well with what I was saying and added a lot to the track. I wrote that track and all of the album when I was first getting sober from alcohol and drugs, so a lot of it came out really self reflective and dark at times. I wasn’t really planning it to be like that, it’s just kind of the way it turned out. I also feel like I don’t really like to share or talk about my emotions a lot, so most of the time music really becomes the canvas for that. It’s not until I’ve actually made the song and been in a rush to finish it that I actually work out what I was saying and what the song actually meant. And each time I listen to the album and that track in particular it always seems to tell me something different, and I find a new perspective on it. Also, with it being that dark, every time I listen it takes me back to that place I was in my life and helps me to understand how far I’ve come.

You’ve mentioned the workshops you run for young people. How did that get started, what do you actually teach in them, and have any of the kids you’ve worked with impressed you or gone on to follow in your footsteps?

So running the workshops kind of came accidentally. One time I was performing at a festival, and after it a guy called Tom Spirals from an amazing Scottish reggae band called An Dannsa Dub came up to me and asked me for my details. He then give me a phone call and approached me with the opportunity of going into secondary schools and teaching young people how to make music. I was delighted and jumped at the chance. It’s funny because when I first got into hip hop I done a similar workshop myself when I was around 15, so it’s kind of like a full circle moment. I’ve since then went on to do different kinds of workshops and writing retreats with young people from different backgrounds, and it feels good to connect with them and try to help them in any way I can.

With your background as producer, artist, and promoter, what advice would you give someone new to the game who’s trying to figure out how to juggle everything it takes to build something as an independent artist?

Some advice I would give to an up and coming artist trying to juggle being a producer, promoter and artist: definitely try to focus on one at first. In my case I spent nearly 10 years writing raps and singing before I even thought about making a beat or promoting an event. Although I always liked the idea of producing, I never knew what tools I needed until I met the right people. Same with putting on events, it’s a lot of work, but I would definitely say focus on one discipline, get good at that before trying to do it all.

Last one… any words of wisdom you want to leave people with, and what can we expect from you for the rest of 2026 and beyond?

Yeah, would just like to say to anyone out there that might be struggling with finishing music and getting it out there, just do the best you can with each track and have that cut off point where you say, “Ok, I’ve put enough time into this track and gave it all I’ve got, now I just need to let go of it.” Put it out in the world and push it to the people that need to hear it and might love it. Also make music you want to hear, and put out music you are happy with. Then, no matter what happens, you can be proud of what you have done. Thanks for taking the time to read this, all the best, one love.

Jay, thank you so much for taking the time to share your thoughts and insight. I truly admire your work ethic and your music. What you’ve built is a real example of what’s possible when you put in the work and stay dedicated to the craft.

All or Nothing Remix Tape is now available on Bandcamp. –