Paul's 2007 demo "BTSTU" received widespread blog coverage throughout 2010, and has been played on UK national radio by DJs including Gilles Peterson, Zane Lowe, Nick Grimshaw, Reggie Yates and Fearne Cotton.
In December 2010, Paul was longlisted for the BBC Sound of 2011 poll.
"BTSTU (Edit)" was playlisted on BBC Radio 1 following its release as a digital download on April 21, 2011, via XL. The single received favourable reviews, and was made 'Hottest Record in the World' on Zane Lowe's BBC Radio 1 show.
On May 20, 2011, Canadian hip hop artist Drake leaked a track titled "Dreams Money Can Buy" via his blog. Shortly afterward, "Till The End Of Time", a song by American R&B artist Beyoncé surfaced online. Both tracks feature a sample of Paul's "BTSTU" demo. On August 30, 2011, "BTSTU (Edit)" was included on Radio Nova's "Nova Tunes 2.4" compilation in France, and on October 25 of the same year the track appeared on "Annie Mac Presents 2011" in the UK (listed as "BTSU").
On March 30, 2012, Jai Paul uploaded a new demo titled "Jasmine (Demo)" to his SoundCloud page. The demo was given an official release via XL on April 9, 2012. Pitchfork named it “Best New Track” within an hour of its appearance on Paul’s Soundcloud page, where it clocked over 500,000 plays within a month. On April 2, "Jasmine (Demo)" was played on BBC Radio One by Zane Lowe, who chose it as his Next Hype Track. On April 9, Annie Mac named it her Record of the Week. "Jasmine (Demo)" received universal critical acclaim in the media, with The New York Times praising its “Prince era sensuality” and The Guardian simply describing the production as “amazing.”
There has been media speculation about Paul's background and motivation, as he has remained out of the public eye. The British publication Clash commented on Jai’s mysteriousness, saying “Hype is a fascinating commodity. Where some quickly melt down the attention for liquid purpose, promising talent Jai Paul removed all his music from MySpace and went to get his shit together”. XL Recordings founder and owner Richard Russell acknowledged Paul's unpredictability, saying, "Jai is a wizard...the way he's going about things is, I think for many, baffling. But...he's going about things in the most Jai Paul way you could possibly go about things. And who knows where that may lead."
On April 14th, 2013, an unknown user leaked a number of his unfinished tracks on Bandcamp as a self-titled project. The leak is believed to have come a misplaced burned CD, according to Jai, himself. The music press would soon report on this release and would publicize the release as his debut album. Because of this, the album leak would end up on two year end lists by both The Guardian and Pitchfork, as the 28th and the 20th best album of 2013, respectably, as well Pitchfork's 2014 "The 100 Best Albums of the Decade So Far" list at 99. The music press would also call into account if the release was orchestrated by Jai and his record label, XL. The leak would deal a heavy blow to Jai personally, and following a City Of London police investigation into finding those reasonable for the leak and refunding the money from sales of the album from their PayPal accounts, Jai would find it hard to deal with those in the public and the media who believed his was the one behind the leak, and would be in his words, the main reason he felt a "loss of trust" and why he "withdrew from life in general" for a few years. In the meantime, Jai and his brother, A.K. Paul, would launch the Paul Institute in 2016, where he would work on the production for some of its single releases.
It wouldn't be until 2019 following "therapy of various kinds", that he felt it was time for him to return to music and officially release the unfinished music that was leaked 6 years earlier. On June 1st, 2019, Jai and XL Recordings would officially release the leaked album under the title "Leak 04-13 (Bait Ones)" alongside the 'double B-side' "Do You Love Her Now" / "He". The release of the album also came with a letter from Jai in which he addressed the leak and his hiatus from music. Following its official release, the album would included in Pitchfork's "The 200 Best Albums of the 2010s" list, as the 95th best album of the decade, and Jai provided miscellaneous production on Childish Gambino's song "Time" off his "3.15.20" album. Reissues of "BTSTU" and "Jasmine" on vinyl followed suit.
In 2023, the world was again shocked as Paul announced his intentions to debut his catalogue at Coachella. After his critically acclaimed set, "Leak 04-13 (Bait Ones)" was released on vinyl for the first time. Paul followed suit with a number of band-backed live performances internationally, as well as supporting Paul Institute creative Fabiana Palladino on the 2023 single "I Care".
Genevieve
Jai Paul Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Stole my thunder again
They say I ain't half the man
I act like I am, but they're wrong
You can see a crook in my smile
You know it's worthwhile, yeah, you do
Now I like the way you walk in them shoes
They don't make 'em like you anymore
That's why I'm begging you, Genevieve
Why don't you come back to me?
Why don't you even chat to me?
Let's go back to how we used to be, yeah (woo)
It's like the more I try
The more you just lie, and that's a trait
Remember how we
I know you felt that too, yeah, I do
That's why you keep me hanging around
You love to know that I'm bound to you
Haha
That's why I'm begging you, Genevieve
Why don't you come back to me?
Why don't you even chat to me?
Let's go back to how we used to be, yeah
That's why I'm begging you, Genevieve
Why don't you come back to me?
Why don't you even chat to me?
Let's go back to how we used to be, yeah
Why don't you give me a chance?
You never know, it might last if you do
You can't just play on my mind
For all of this time, that ain't right
You can see the guilt in my smile
You know I'm worthwhile, yeah, you do
Now I like
They don't make 'em like you anymore, nah
That's why I'm telling you
Genevieve
Genevieve
Genevieve (what's that, baby, now?)
Genevieve (we can work it out)
Genevieve
I know you still love me
And it won't be easy
Don't mean it ain't meant to be, whoa
Genevieve
I know you still love me (we can work it out)
It won't be easy
Don't mean it ain't meant to be, whoa (what's that, baby, now?)
(We can work it out)
Genevieve (what's that, baby, now?)
Genevieve (we can work it out)
The lyrics to Jai Paul's song Genevieve are a plea to an ex-girlfriend to come back to the singer. He starts off by lamenting how a "number cruncher" has stolen his thunder once again and how people say that he's not half the man he thinks he is. The singer admits that he has a crooked smile that shows his deceitful nature, but he likes the way his ex-girlfriend Genevieve walks in her shoes. He pleads with her to come back to him and chat with him, so they can go back to how they used to be.
The chorus repeats his plea for Genevieve to come back to him, but he also asks her to give him a chance because "you never know, it might last if you do." He acknowledges that she's been playing with his mind for a long time, but he can see the guilt in his smile and that he's still worthwhile. The song ends with Jai Paul saying he knows Genevieve still loves him, and though it won't be easy, it's meant to be.
The song is a mix of sadness, regret, and hope. Jai Paul paints himself as a flawed individual but sees hope for reconciliation with his ex-girlfriend. The lyrics are poignant and express a relatable feeling of wanting to win back someone you've lost.
Line by Line Meaning
That fucking number cruncher
Someone who works with numbers and calculations has caused frustration for the singer
Stole my thunder again
The person mentioned above has taken credit for something that the singer did
They say I ain't half the man
Others don't think the singer is as good as he thinks he is
I act like I am, but they're wrong
Despite what others say, the artist still tries to act like he's amazing
You can see a crook in my smile
The artist's smile seems fake or insincere
You know it's worthwhile, yeah, you do
Despite the fake smile, the listener knows that the singer is worth their time
Now I like the way you walk in them shoes
The singer admires the listener's fashion sense
They don't make 'em like you anymore
The person's fashion sense is unique and not commonly seen nowadays
That's why I'm begging you, Genevieve
The artist is pleading with Genevieve for something
Why don't you come back to me?
The artist wants Genevieve to return to their relationship
Why don't you even chat to me?
The singer wants Genevieve to communicate with them
Let's go back to how we used to be, yeah (woo)
The artist wants to return to the way things were between them before
It's like the more I try
The singer is having difficulty making progress with Genevieve
The more you just lie, and that's a trait
Genevieve has a tendency to be dishonest
Remember how we
The singer is reminiscing about their past with Genevieve
I know you felt that too, yeah, I do
The artist is sure that Genevieve felt the same way about their past
That's why you keep me hanging around
Genevieve keeps the artist in her life for a reason despite their difficulties
You love to know that I'm bound to you
Genevieve enjoys having control over the singer's feelings
That's why I'm— you, Genevieve
The singer continues to plead with Genevieve for something
Why don't you give me a chance?
The artist wants Genevieve to try again with them
You never know, it might last if you do
The artist believes that their relationship has the potential to work out
You can't just play on my mind
Genevieve is causing the artist a lot of mental distress
For all of this time, that ain't right
The singer believes that Genevieve has been causing them undue stress for a long time
You can see the guilt in my smile
The artist feels guilty about something and it shows in their smile
You know I'm worthwhile, yeah, you do
Despite feeling guilty, the listener knows that the singer is worth their time
Genevieve
The singer addresses Genevieve by name
I know you still love me
The singer believes that Genevieve still has feelings for them
And it won't be easy
Despite their feelings, getting back together will be difficult
Don't mean it ain't meant to be, whoa
Despite the difficulties, the artist believes that their relationship is meant to be
(we can work it out)
The singer is expressing optimism about their ability to reconcile with Genevieve
Genevieve (what's that, baby, now?)
The singer repeats Genevieve's name and adds a question, indicating their confusion or uncertainty about the situation
Genevieve (we can work it out)
The artist again repeats her name and adds encouragement that they can resolve their issues
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: Jai Paul
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind