b. Kamaljit Jhooti, 26 March 1981, Southall, Middlesex, England. The highly talented vocalist Jay Sean became the first UK Asian R&B artist to breakthrough into the mainstream, riding high on the pop charts during 2003/4 with a string of hit singles. Jhooti had always dreamed of becoming a singer and while still at school formed the rap duo Compulsive Disorder with his cousin Pritpal. Academic success led to the offer of a place at London University’s Queen Mary & Westfield College to train as a doctor, although Jhooti maintained his commitment to music by continuing to perform and write songs in his spare time.
Having tired of the rap scene during his time with Compulsive Disorder he began to drift towards R&B. Renaming himself Jay Sean, the pivotal point in the singer’s career came at the start of 2003 when he teamed up with esteemed producer Rishi Rich. A demo of his track ‘One Minute’ had been passed on to Rich who invited the singer to his studio for a trial session. Shortly afterwards Sean joined 2Point9 Productions and began recording with Rich as part of his talent-promoting Rishi Rich Project. A £1 million recording contract with the Virgin Records’ offshoot Relentless followed as Sean decided to end his medical studies to concentrate on his burgeoning music career. He teamed up with Rich and Punjabi vocalist Juggy D to release Rishi Rich Project’s ‘Dance With You (Nachna Tere Naal)’ in September 2003. The single reached the UK Top 20, helping introduce Jay Sean to a wider audience and laying the groundwork for the launch of his solo career. Rishi Rich was again instrumental in helping create the Jay Sean sound, a highly commercial bhangra-influenced R&B/pop hybrid representing the cutting edge of the British Asian scene. Sean enjoyed immediate success with the UK hit singles ‘Eyes On You’ and ‘Stolen’, the latter a Top 3 hit at the end of 2004. The attendant Me Against Myself was welcomed by both underground and mainstream critics and was also a commercial success.
