Born out of appreciation for her man, Mobile County crooner Alexia Jayy connects with Big K.R.I.T. for cuffing season pre-game cut “You.” Produced by Jim Jonsin & Wlpwr, the song showcases the Alabama native’s radio-ready vocal abilities and follows the previously released single “I Need A Man” featuring Boosie.
“I became a K.R.I.T. fan when I heard a song called “Ride With Me.” From that day he’s been one of My favorites so when Jim Jonsin asked who I hear on YOU as a feature because he heard Big K.R.I.T., I was like “Yes, I love him, he’s one of my favorites. Can we actually get him? Jim smiled and said, “Let me reach out.” I was so excited! Then when we finally got the song back I was shocked! It was kind of surreal hearing him on one of my songs. He doesn’t even know how appreciated he is,” AJ recalls when describing how the collaboration came together in an exclusive press statement to Medium Creative Agency.
Raised in a small town called Irvington, music found Alexia very quickly. Her family has maintained long-standing roots in the close-knit quarters, which she describes as “super peaceful with a lot of cows, pigs, trees, crickets, frogs, and stars at night.” Her grandfather, Ben Dixon, became the first settler in the area. Owning and running sawmills, he donated land to the middle school, which now bears his name. Additionally, her family comprises the bulk of the congregation at the local community church where her uncle serves as pastor. At two years old, Alexia sang her first solo in church.
Growing up, her mother encouraged her to perform as much as possible. That encouragement and her raw talent resulted in winning the world-famous “Amateur Night” at The Apollo as well as talent shows in Washington, D.C., Hollywood, and beyond. At nine years old, she joined the local gospel group Grace and they released the Keith Bivens-directed visual for “Luke Warm,” which has now collected nearly 2M views.
Upon graduating from high school, she embraced R&B wholeheartedly. Inspired by the likes of Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, and Sam Cooke, she kept honing her voice. Following the birth of her son, she pursued this dream to the fullest and began sharing clips of her singing on social media. Among those clips, she shared an acapella performance of her original song “Who Raised You?.”
Shortly after sharing the video, she was introduced to the masses by way of a repost on social media from Chris Brown. If that wasn’t enough to put critics on notice, studio sessions with Rico Love, a co-sign from Jazmin Sullivan, and winning Muni Long’s ‘Open Verse’ challenge which led to her singing backup for the Def Jam recording artist’s debut performance on The Tonight Show w/ Jimmy Fallon all followed.
Press play on “You” via your DSP of choice below via Julius Talent Partners/Foundation Media and stay up to date with her on IG.