Written by: Jennifer Ward

Jay Indigo is an aspiring rap artist paving his way in the industry. With his imaginative world-building and upbeat personality, he makes his mark hard and fast on music.

Jay Indigo grew up switching between living on Long Island during school years and spending summers in Brooklyn. Coming from a Haitian background, Jay Indigo was constantly surrounded by music with his creative family. Growing up with a dad and siblings who had passions for the arts, it was inevitable for Jay Indigo to follow the same path. “I had the split between a quiet life, and then chaos,” said Jay Indigo.

Leaning toward inspirations such as Tyler, The Creator, and Childish Gambino, as well as the 2014 Beast Coast movement in New York, he leans towards music that makes everyone feel included and a sense of community.

“Coming from a Haitian background, they play loud music, and everyone’s involved, everyone’s dancing and everyone’s having a good time,” said Jay Indigo. “I feel like just seeing the community from that lens, I wanted to make something that can make everyone feel welcome. That definitely plays a big part in the music that I make.”

Jay Indigo first got into making music on a whim, working with the artist Spectrxm on a project that later became Jay’s second album “SKYFALL” released in 2022. Spectrxm told Jay Indigo to “go crazy” when he decided to try and make music of his own, which turned into not only his first project but his first album, “World Indigo,” released in 2020.

“Fu** it let’s do it,” thought Jay Indigo when dropping his album. “‘Alright, let’s just go with it.’ Show the world what I got. And that’s why I called it ‘World Indigo,’ an introduction to who I am and the way I perceive the world basically.”

Jay Indigo shared that making this album was less daunting than he imagined it would end up being. He highlighted the importance of creating music for yourself and off of pure instinct, rather than creating just for the sake of putting something out. Jay shared looking back at that album is fun to see his first project. “I hear the heart in the project, that’s timeless,” said Jay Indigo. “I hear the younger me figuring it out and having fun with it.”

When working on new music, Jay Indigo tries to keep the process as effortless as possible. Going on walks and keeping his mind in a “naturally reflective state” is his usual process when writing. Jay also highlights the importance of not forcing writing, and only working when he has something to say.

Although Jay Indigo enjoys the writing process, his favorite is when he gets to put the albums together. All of his albums are particularly crafted, and all his songs have a concept or context in which they exist. When making songs, he fills in the gaps to write a story.

When working on his most recent album, “Reconstruction: ONYX” released in 2023, he heard the first four beats and knew the story behind the album. “I was like okay, I’ll make an album on what it feels like to leave home as a warrior and come back to a village destroyed, and rap from the perspective of what it’s like to rebuild one’s foundation,” said Jay Indigo.

Album
Reconstruction: ONYX
2023
Jay Indigo

“Reconstruction: ONYX” isn’t Jay Indigo’s only album with a backstory, as he attempts to show what he’s going through in his music. “SKYFALL” is based on “mad psychedelics” and a trippy album portraying going to a different world. Along with the backstory of a warrior returning home, “Reconstruction: ONYX” is also based on Jay Indigo returning home after graduating from Purchase College in 2023.

“I’ve been away at school for so long, how does life look after being done with school all these years,” said Jay Indigo. “What does life look like, what do I like now? I also moved back into my childhood home. I haven’t been here in a mad long time so that project is just about figuring out going back to your roots and seeing what fits and what doesn’t and how you reconstruct from the ground up.”

Creating a world in his music is not where Jay Indigo stops. Starting as just drawings in his notebooks, Mad Ones is a world crafted by Jay Indigo, telling a story of its own. The Mad Ones is a universe that follows these three alien creatures from this place called “The Beyond.” Jay Indigo’s character, named “Indigo,” is the overseer. The aliens are trying to take over the whole world and Indigo is trying to stop them.

Jay Indigo plans to have this story follow through each project he does, and not end with just music. Aiming through the years to also make a TV show, movies, graphic novels, and comics. From the character’s story being blatantly shown to the smaller details such as a chord progression in a song, Jay Indigo plans to show the characters’ progression in all of his work. All of these individual projects will connect to this universe.

Aiming to make music as long as he can, along with multimedia artistry creating his universe, Jay Indigo is not your typical artist with his multiple talents and ideas. You can follow Jay Indigo on Instagram @jay.indig0 and follow the Mad Ones world @itsamad.world and you can find his music on all streaming platforms.

Link to Jay Indigo’s Music

Jay Indigo

Spectrxm

WeirdGirlMarie