J-Sol’s Simmering New Single ‘Grey Area’ Live at Jazz Cafe’s Vibe Village
Courtesy of Ruth Harding-Brown
By Ruth Harding-Brown
Thursdays at The Jazz Café in Camden provides the perfect space for upcoming artists with the wonderful Vibe Village experience. According to their website this event is, ‘where music, good vibes and beautiful people collide,’ and they couldn’t have described it more appropriately. As a black woman new to London, I have been super excited about finding quirky spots which are bursting with black beauty and friends, as London’s diversity is what makes it one of the top cities in the world, and this deserves to be high up on your list of must-sees.
Courtesy of Ruth Harding-Brown
The venue was perfect to hold this intimate open mic, jam session, with the crowd so close to the stage it was as if they were singing only for you. Our host for the night Matt Maijah was a combination of energy, excitement and even graced us with his own talented vocals, accompanied by an array of gifted musicians on the piano, guitar or his team of supporting vocalists. Standing underneath a giant disco ball, it was beautiful to watch such a musical gift and skill.
The Vibe Village event prides itself on creating a space for musicians, rappers or singers early in their career and I was inspired by the capacity of the performers to captivate the audience, with some being as young as fifteen or eighteen. Throughout the evening, many people graced the stage either singing or rapping both originals and covers in their own unique style allowing the crowd to interact with them and sing along, as a way to broadcast their new music or simply gain live performance experience.
One of the special guest performers of the night, performing at Vibe Village for the first time, was J-Sol. A British singer-songwriter from East London, J-Sol appeared on Season 15 of The X Factor UK with his performance song, ‘Bullet in my Heart,’ going viral with over 20 million views. J Sol has opened for countless artists including Boyz II Men, Jeremih and Little Mix whilst his own debut headline show at London O2 Academy was sold out. J-Sol's rise to fame was not without obstacles, as is a common experience for British R&B artists who have had to overcome the aftermath of the overhype and peak times of PBR&B or Alternative R&B in 2013.
His performance at Vibe village kicked off with heaps of energy as J-Sol performed a montage of Mario’s Let Me Love you, Tamia’s So into You, Chris Brown’s Yo (Excuse me Miss) and others demonstrating an impressive range of lower more full-bodied notes and higher tenor ones. Not only this but our performer took over the stage with his fun, vibrant dance moves!
Courtesy of Ruth Harding-Brown
J-Sol recently released his new Afropop/R&B single called Toxic Love, which stems from his own experience of being called toxic by an ex and his exploration of this idea with his therapist.
“How can this be possible, I am a Sagittarius and Nigerian,” he laughed, but the singer described how his music can resonate with anyone who has been stupid and mad in love as it is an introspective and intimate journey into the intricate nuances of love and relationships. Another song performed by J-Sol was his newest piece Grey Area which is a fresh new single, to be released on the 7th of December as the second offering for J-Sol’s upcoming EP, poised for release in 2024.
“The lyrics explore the apprehension of commitment, stemming from personal past traumas and heartbreaks, which have left me feeling jaded, cynical and cautious,” explains J-Sol. “With this song I tried to capture the “grey area” of my emotions, as I grappled with the fear of vulnerability while simultaneously yearning for a deep connection.”
Courtesy of Ruth Harding-Brown
The EP project comes after last year's ‘R4L’ which earned the title "Record of the Week" on BBC 1xtra and was featured on Kiss Fresh's B-list playlist. The same single peaked at #5 on the Music Week chart and spent 9 weeks on the chart, with his 2021 ballad ‘Free’, premiering on Kiss FM.
The EP, for J-Sol, is a healing journey about his experiences with love, from romantic relationships to platonic love including friendships and family and he is proud to say that he wrote, recorded and executively produced it all himself.
We wish J Sol the best of luck with his EP release, but if his stunning performance is anything to go by, I’m sure it will be a shining success.