It’s going to be a long day for budding rapper Jay Payd – a series of recordings, business meetings, and a live gig later in the day before he hits the sack. He takes a moment off his busy day to chat with him about his music and what drives his creativity.

Jay’s genre is rap music. ‘I did not choose rap music. It chose me’, says Jay. Hip-hop originated in the early ’70s as the voice of angry young immigrants from Africa and the Caribbean. It gave them an outlet to express their opinion through music. The songs describe the struggles and hold a mirror to a society fraught with inequality and injustice.

Having started his life from the rough end, Jay naturally took to hip-hop music. Listening to hip- hop energized him, filled him up with positivity as he went through his struggles. It channelized his anger into creativity. It motivated him to focus his energies to overcome his adversities and achieve his dreams.