Jai Paul is a British songwriter and record producer from Rayners Lane, Uni… Read Full Bio ↴Jai Paul is a British songwriter and record producer from Rayners Lane, United Kingdom. He is signed to XL Recordings.

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".

Str8 Outta Mumbai
Jai Paul Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

It's on again
To the radio, I saw you
So let's try it out

I wanna help you I know I can
What you worried about

Want to talk to you but you don't know what to say

You don't know what to do and,
want to talk to you
But you don't know what to say
You don't know what to do and

Trying again
You say I'm quittin'
I know I'll last
It's gonna take time

I wanna help you I know I can
I want to make you mine

Want to talk to you but you don't know what to say
You don't know what to do
I want to talk to you
But you don't know what to say
You don't know what to do and

Want to talk to you but you don't know what to say
You don't know what to do
I want to talk to you
But you don't know what to say
You don't know what to do and

But you know I'll do anything for you
Oh but girl I'll do anything for you

Oh

It seems something's happening here

But you know I'll do anything for you

*Sample from Bala Main Bairagan Hoongi*

Yeah yeah
Yeah yeah

Overall Meaning

The song "Str8 Outta Mumbai" by Jai Paul is all about trying to connect with someone who's caught his attention. The lyrics describe a hesitancy on both sides, with the singer wanting to help the other person but unsure how to proceed. The chorus repeats the line "want to talk to you but you don't know what to say," emphasizing the awkwardness of the situation. However, despite the uncertainty, there's a sense of hopefulness here as well. The singer is willing to keep trying, willing to do anything for the other person. The song ends with a sample from the song "Bala Main Bairagan Hoongi" and a repeated affirmation of the sentiment "I'll do anything for you."

The lyrics of "Str8 Outta Mumbai" paint a picture of two people who are struggling to communicate, yet are unwilling to give up. They're willing to try and try again until they get it right, and the singer's persistence is paired with a sense of emotional vulnerability. The repetition of "want to talk to you but you don't know what to say" expresses that feeling of wanting desperately to connect with someone, but not knowing how. Overall, the song captures the uncertainty and excitement of new relationships and the willingness to work through difficulties in order to make a connection.

Line by Line Meaning

It's on again
We're back to trying to make this work.

To the radio, I saw you
I caught a glimpse of you through the radio waves.

So let's try it out
Let's see if this connection between us works.

I wanna help you I know I can
I have confidence in my ability to assist you.

What you worried about
Tell me your concerns.

Want to talk to you but you don't know what to say
I want to communicate with you, but you seem unsure or hesitant about what to say.

You don't know what to do and,
It seems like you're lost or unsure of how to proceed.

want to talk to you
I desire to engage in conversation with you.

Trying again
Let's give it another shot.

You say I'm quittin'
You accuse me of giving up too easily.

I know I'll last
I have faith in my endurance and persistence.