Jay Carter, a normal 27 year old from Teaneck NJ who aspires to be an actor but can’t ignore the fact he has a knack for spitting rhymes. It began with writing poetry in the fourth and fifth grade. Well, it really began when he begged his mom to buy him a ‘House Party’ mix tape. He liked what they had to say so he began to play it, then pause, rewind, and then play it back again. With each rewind he would write the verse and chorus down until the song was completed and he had it memorized.  From there, he went to school and performed it like it was his own – - at least thats what he told his classmates anyway. Since then, Jay Carter a.k.a STIZZY, knew that this was something he had to be a part of.

Jay draws his inspiration from good times, bad times, where he wants to be, and where he has been. Mostly, just things that happen to him. Jay said, “It should not matter where I am from, for me to be heard.”

His best rhymes come from anger. It’s when the words just come to him, repeating in his head until he has to grab a pen and paper to write it down. “I’m a Capricorn. We feed off adrenaline, and negativity. When someone says I can’t, best believe I will.”

His major influences? Tupac definitely, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Jay-Z, Nas. All the rap artists he has listen to growing up. Not mentioning any of todays hottest rap artists I had to ask him how he feels about Drake and his newfound fame. “I respect the dude for how he got into the game. I respect him for his business approach to it, but I disrespect the fact that his music sounds like everything else out there now,”

Jay isn’t looking for a deal, because he says, once labels get involved, the artist is already handing over money that they haven’t even seen yet. It is all about the shows for Jay. He has performed at Times Square Arts center for a battle/show called ‘Faces in the Crowd’ where he placed third by judges (label reps) of Motown Records, Bad Boy records, and Atlantic Records. He has also be seen in showcases awhile back in Ridgewood, Cliffside Park, and in the ‘Concrete Jungle’.

What is Jays message? He wants to show his fans, and the world that “You don’t have to be hood, or thug, or get shot, to go through struggles.” Quality rap is rapidly dying, and the struggle to stand out as an artist is getting harder and harder. “We are forgetting about why we wanted to get in the game, and once we get in, all it is about is maintaining an image.”

This is not what Jay is looking for. He wants his music to speak for itself. “I don’t tell people I’m a rapper, I tell people I make music. I have nothing to do with what you hear on the radio.”

Now, heading for the Apollo for his debut performance on television, which he landed with the help of his brother Michael Carter, who runs his self titled entertainment company, Michael Carter Entertainment. The show will be filmed in April around the 11th. Jay is looking forward to finishing up his latest track so he can perform it at the Apollo, but if the lyrics don’t come by that time, he decided on performing ‘Win Win Situation’ – which can be found after the first paragraph, be sure to check it out! Jay is also hitting up the Time Square Stage for round two of ‘Faces in the Crowd’, this coming Tuesday. For tickets check out the website – www.facesinthecrowd.com. Support all unsigned artists, they are the future of music.

To contact Jay for more music — email him at JJStarzCarter@aol.com

By: Sharon Meyer