On August 7th, Jay Ham debuted his new single, “Ooh La La.” This summer vibe song, featuring Natiive and Tre Wright, has an amazing bumping beat and fresh rhymes.
“Ooh La La” showcases Ham’s vocal talent and mesmerizing lyrics.
Inspired by a mix of genres, including Jazz, Rap and Country, all of Ham’s music infuses engaging melodies and first-pumping beats..
Nominated for “Best Rap Song of the Year” at the HMMA Awards in 2018, Ham continues to amass a growing following, particularly in his home Los Angeles/SoCal territory.
We chatted with Jay Ham about influences, his single and more!
How did you first become interested in music?
I’ve been making music since I was about 10 years old, but I also moved around frequently as a young teenager. From California to South Dakota to Ohio and back to California, haha. Music was always there for me throughout those times. Ever since, I’ve just always been in love with music and displaying my emotions through song. Music is what I always leaned on most when I needed a pick me up, so I started writing my own and here we are.
How would you describe your sound?
It’s a dope unique sound that can move across multiple genres. Tre (my producer) and I have been working on our own sound for a long time now and it’s something very unique and unusual in a sense. We make music for any and every mood. I’d like to say it’s a one of a kind sound for sure!
Who did you listen to growing up and do you feel they had an influence on your sound today?
I listened to every type of music growing up, from rap to country to jazz. You’d probably be surprised to see what artists are in my playlists. But J. Cole was a big inspiration for me growing up while trying to find myself, and had a lot to do with me even wanting to be a musician. My older brother also did music while I was growing up and had bars for days so I always wanted to be able to emulate his style. I loved anybody with a message in their music from Bob Marley to Nipsey. And nowadays I listen to a lot more R&B like Justin Bieber and Kehlani, etc.
You grew up in California and lived in Ohio. Did either of those places inspire or influence your music?
Big time! Living in Northern California I was inspired by a lot of Bay area artists growing up like E-40, HBK, and like I previously stated, Kehlani as well. But Ohio changed the way I listened to music in ways you couldn’t imagine. I began to love other genres and began to take interest in Jason Aldean and artists I never thought I’d have an interest for. I like to say I have a Midwest sound due to living in Ohio.
What was the inspiration behind “Ooh La La”?
We wanted to create the next summer anthem for people to jam out to! Something that would be timeless, repeat worthy, and people could have a good time to! There were a lot of friends in the studio that night so it was a really dope vibe which made it easier to come up with the topic of partying on the weekends because we were already doing so. Sometimes I simply get high off of life and make dope music just because of the moment at hand.
What did the writing process look like for “Ooh La La”?
Tre and I wrote the song about two years ago with some great friends of ours, Taylor Beau and Spencer Hendricks, and never released it over time. Tre always starts his production first though and then I get to writing as soon as he gets started so he can build around what I write. Normally, by the time he’s done producing I’ve finished writing and that’s exactly how it went for this one. Tre added his verse there on the spot as well.
The song features NATIIVE and Tre Wright. How did you all get connected?
Tre actually has been on the song since the beginning, like I said previously. And we usually NEVER hold songs that are this great but some plans fell through with it and it collected dust in a folder for a while. It was kind of outdated and just needed a new sound, so with Tre being good friends with NATIIVE, we asked if NATIIVE could reproduce it from scratch. NATIIVE was hella down and gave it an all new sound that I truly love. I always wanted a song produced like this and NATIIVE hit the nail for me.
If you could set fans up in the perfect environment to listen to “Ooh La La,” what do you imagine it looking like?
Haha that’s a good one because I actually think about what the perfect environment is for me while listening to this song too! But a drive down the PCH with the top down and hair blowing in the wind. That’s what I imagine. It’s that party song that gets your weekend started right!
What can fans look forward to next?
We’re releasing a lot of content right now so they can expect quite a bit. Just in the next two months we plan to release a few more singles, a couple videos to our fan favorite songs, and a project before the summer ends as well! Just keep ya eyes peeled! Non stop the rest of the year.
What is one quote that you have heard or that you go by that you want to ECHO out to the world?
Ooooh. My man Mahatma Gandhi always gave us fruit for our minds. One of my favorites would be, “Be the change you wish to see in the world.”