Biography

“Then I seen the sacrifice and what he did for me /His compassion and his love reached back when I was deemed. A failure and messed up written off from my story/Now I am saved and it was all For His Glory”

JayMay – lyrics from the song “For His Glory”

Decisions guide us and it is through a series of them that we will reach our dreams, desires and destiny or fail to do so within our lives. Making a decision for Christ will create conflict with an un-renewed mind, but will bring contentment when seen in light of your past mistakes, flaws and missteps. The third full length release “For His Glory” by JayMay chronicles the journey of making the greatest decision a person can make. With memorable choruses and sing-along hooks, JayMay expresses a transformative message through the medium of rap. Through the fast paced hypnotic sound of “God Did It”, JayMay unapologetically explains the change that has occurred in his life. “I Am”, a bass heavy rhythmic track, provokes people to encourage themselves in the Lord while pushing them to be bold in who they are in Christ. Songs such as “All I Want” and the title track, “For His Glory”, display JayMay’s ability to transcend the Rap genre by encompassing contemporary Christian and traditional Gospel. This album takes a simple but effective approach in sharing the good news of the Gospel while being “For His Glory”.

JayMay was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan in a blue collar family. From an early age, he learned the value of hard work and education in a structured environment. He was brought up to attend church, pray and serve the Lord; but the allure of the streets, money, girls and fame captivated his youth. JayMay’s involvement with crime, drugs and alcohol dominated his time, wasting much of his younger years. He attended Cass Technical High School for three years but unfocused attention led to his dismissal. He eventually graduated from Henry Ford High School before joining the United States Army.

Always one to write, JayMay began creating rhymes at the age of 16. He rapped with several groups at clubs and bars with a message that appealed to the traditional hip hop culture. In 2001, all of that changed dramatically once God’s word entered his life. After becoming born again, JayMay served the Lord enthusiastically; operating within various ministries throughout the church. JayMay knew his true purpose in life was found in Christ. Soon after, a friend introduced him to rap that glorified God. He had never heard of this style of music, but was quickly engulfed in its positive, life-changing message and the way it appealed to his new lifestyle. This and hearing the word of God on a continual basis led him to destroy all of his secular music and meditate on God’s word.

Knowing that rap music could be used for the purposes of God, JayMay began to write after a friend asked him to come up with a verse for a song entitled “Do You Believe”. This experience sparked a passion and desire in JayMay to carry out the call God placed on his life to create God glorifying music. JayMay has been pursuing that passion ever since. In 2004, JayMay launched Double Edge Sword Records and through that venture released two albums, “Double Edge Sword” and “We Live Praise”, as well as an extended play, “The Winter Classics EP”. The label also released albums by artists S.O.C.O.M., Da Clay, UnknowN, Ghostwriters and Ferb. His groundbreaking song “Throw Em Off” has earned spots on the nationally released compilation album Holy Hip Hop Volume 5 and the Holy & Crunk Volume 1.

JayMay has shared the stage with many nationally known recording artists such as Mary Mary, Skillet, Canton Jones, Lecrae, TobyMac, Jeremy Camp, Tedashii, Group 1 Crew, Da T.R.U.T.H, K-Drama, Flame and many more. He is a graduate of Colorado Christian University with a concentration in Biblical studies which has helped him to further develop within his ministry. He is married with two children and still serves as an active duty Soldier in the United States Army.