It’s been a healthy four years since Jaykae released the body of work Where Have You Been, which saw eight tracks and additional appearances from Murkage Dave, TiGA, YaSeeN RosaY, and S-X. Since then, the Birmingham emcee has blessed fans with loose tracks like “Heartache,” “On The Way Home” with Aitch and Bowser Boss, “Chat” with Local, and “On Top.” In addition to his own work, Jaykae also contributed show-stealing bars to tracks from The Streets, Tom Zanetti, Nathan Dawe, Kida Kudz, CLIPZ, and more.
This week, the Grime veteran returns with a new single titled “Chop (Henry the 8th),” a Swift Beater-production that also sees an accompanying visual courtesy of Wowa. Throughout the medieval-esque clip, Jaykae channels the song’s royal namesake, plotting wars with his crew, getting cozy with beautiful women, dispatching his enemies, and otherwise enjoying the benefits of the proverbial throne.
Alongside top quality lyricists like Sox, D2, Rosay, Tempa, Hitman, Tazzle, Subzee, MK, Vader, and Big Mikee, Jaykae previously conquered the Midlands as part of the grime collective Invasion Alert, both through posse cuts and live freestyles. Tragically, fellow member and close mate Depzman would lose his life following a knife attack in 2013, permanently changing his trajectory from crew member to solo goliath in his own right. He would later connect with fellow Brum emcee Dapz On The Map, creating the classic Froggy EP in 2014, which contained five hard-hitting and emotionally charged cuts for fans to enjoy. Froggy’s closing track, “Standing Alone,” saw Jaykae reminiscing about his fallen friend:
“I’m lost without you, and it feels like I can’t be a boss without you, road to success in front of my face and it feels like I can’t run across without you, havin’ flashbacks about that night, thinkin’ why couldn’t that doctor help you, yeah it’s mad how things change, trust me it’s insane…/”
Press play on Jaykae’s “Chop (Henry the 8th)” video below. Hopefully, he’ll be liberating another full body of work sooner than later.