album review:jay prince
Jay Prince isn’t chasing the loudest moment, he’s chasing truth.
words BY KOfi Owusu
Shine, his long-awaited album, dropped May 16th and lands like something deeper than a project. It feels like a document. A letting go. A stepping into. A man making peace with his past and power.
For an artist who’s spent the better part of a decade orbiting genre lines — from rap and jazz to soul, funk, and hip-hop — Shine finally feels like home. It’s not trying to be everything. It just is. The sound is richer. The words are sharper. The mission is clearer: Find the light. Be the light. Share the light.
The album is 14 tracks, but it doesn’t feel long — it feels lived in. You’re walking through chapters of Jay’s story: faith, family, heartbreak, heritage, resilience. “How Far” deals with pressure and expectation. “New Day” is hope in full bloom. “Solitude” speaks to silence and stillness. “US,” featuring Yussef Dayes and Chief Adjuah, might be one of the most spiritual tracks Jay has ever released — jazz-inflected, raw, ancestral.
There’s this moment on Shine — it creeps up quiet, no big drop, no flex, just truth. It happens somewhere between “US” and “Solitude,” like the album exhales. The noise fades, and what’s left is just Jay. No masks, no edits. You feel him — like really feel him — not as a rapper, not as a producer, but as a man learning how to carry his light without shrinking. It’s not even music anymore. It’s memory. It’s prayer. It’s presence.
Shine was made across a four-year period in Los Angeles. Far from East London, Jay found stillness in the chaos — diving deep into self-work, faith, and healing. That inner journey lives in the record. You hear it in the way the songs breathe.
The album blends live instrumentation with precise production, often pulling in sounds that feel rooted in diaspora, yet universally resonant.
Features include Estelle, Oddisee, Sam Wise, Elujay, anaiis, Tiny Spys, and more. None of them feel like guests — they feel like family. Voices that arrive to reflect or enhance a moment, never to outshine it. Everything on this album is intentional.
Standout Tracks
“US”
“Solitude”
“How Far”
“New Day”
“Chasing Thrills”
For anyone building, healing, or just trying to find their way home.
SHINE:LISTENING session
We were invited to Jay’s exclusive Shine listening party at KEF GALLERY. The room wasn’t loud. It was respectful Jay moved through the crowd with grace, letting the music speak. You could feel the years in each track. The setbacks. The breakthroughs. The patience. Photos from That night are live now in our gallery — you’ll see what we mean.
Pictures By: Yomi KADEJO
