Bio

Jay-Lyriq" born James Michael Cohen, Jr. a native of Tallahassee FL. The Tallahassee based R & B - Pop crooner whose sentimental and deeply spiritual harmonic vocals have captured the ears and attention of many music industries executives, to include Matthew Knowles, Jim Johnson, and T-Pain. Jay-Lyriq began mastering his vocal gifts as a young boy, " I admire Sam Cooke. His soulful sound is like no other. I was introduced to this soulful sound by my grandmother. She always would play the Temptations ,Otis Redding and Sam Cooke , just to name a few. I still have my collection. I love to hear the harmonic sound of voices and music.” As a young soulful vocalist, he was trained by the best in the Church of Christ which sternly requires spirituals be sung acapella. "We didn't have choirs, pianos, or guitars because we believed that we were to sing using your own instruments ,our voice given to us by God. I come from a long line of soulful singers.” At the age of twelve years old, the hunger to perform caused Jay-Lyriq to venture outside of the Church walls to form a five member R&B group called Ob'Cession. "We entered numerous talent shows we could find and we won everyone show that we entered." Eventually Ob'Cession became known as Next Level and in 2001; the group lost a key member. With all of the personal changes the group encountered, Jay-Lyriq felt a bond with the rising yet "embattled" female group, Destiny's Child. "One day we (Next Level )decided to got the address off the internet and drove non- stop to Houston Texas to met with Matthew Knowles. When we arrived, Matthew Knowles just happened to be standing outside and welcomed us in. We performed for him and we blew him away." Singing in front of Matthew Knowles was an honor, however at the time, Music World was going through pains of their own as each member of Destiny's Child began working on solo projects. A future of having a recording contract with Music World never manifested. In 2004, Lou Pearlman invited Next Level to Orlando to perform at Fashion Rock. Next Level won the competition and was offered a recording contract but we did not agree to the terms and declined the contract. "We felt there were other opportunities opening for us at the time so we kept our options open." In 2005, the group disbanded and Jay-Lyriq considered a solo career. Jay-Lyriq confided in his best friend at the time, T-Pain, before deciding to go solo. T-Pain was the group's producer, and had been through all the ups and downs. "He told me not to worry, I would be his backup singer and he would release me as his solo artist." At the time, T-Pain's single, "I'm Sprung" began to rapidly climb up the charts. "One day T-Pain showed up at my job (construction site) and told me it was time to go. At first I was in shock but I threw down my construction hat and walked off the job, and never looked back. My long life dream to take my talents to the next level finally arrived. It was so un real we that we were opening for Brian McKnight and traveling the world. Soon we took over the music industry performing side-by-side all over the U.S. and various countries. Performances and appearances on Jay Leno, Jimmy Kimmel, 50th & 51st Grammy awards, & The '06 London Mobo Awards, BET's 106 & Park, and the BET Awards. Jay-Lyriq's vocals proceeded to be featured on T-Pain's Epiphany & Three Ringz, along with co-writing accreditation for songs entitled, "Tallahassee Love", "69", "Tipsy", and "Reality Show." As Jay-Lyriq talent progressed he co-wrote and performed movie featured song, "In the Club" for the movie, "Step Up 2." Now, with all experiences and dexterity in hand, Jay-Lyriq's focus is to touch souls and reach hearts with his melodious vocals. He is seeking to establish his place among the music industry greats with several up coming projects in the works. “Life is a tool that we should use to achieve our goals and expiations, never allow it to be hindered “ (Jay Lyriq) http://jaylyriq-com.webs.com contact Keith Jackson (manager) 229-740-0482 email: [email protected]