Jay Maq Releases “No Love”

Jay Maq is out now with “No Love”, the first single from his upcoming album.  Written and produced by the artist, the chilled island, dancehall track questions whether or not it is a crime to break someone’s heart and cautions listeners to stop chasing after people who don’t give you the love that you deserve.  It’s advice that Jay Maq plans to follow.  “A person I thought I was dating turned out to be not that into me and never said anything,” he explains. “It was a wake-up call that made me realize I was asking for love without really understanding what love means.”  Jay Maq’s “No Love” featuring Macc is being distributed through Distrokid and is available on Apple Music, Spotify, and all digital platforms.

“I’d like for listeners to learn from my mistakes but I also hope the song is a message for people to be more honest with those they get into relationships with,” Jay Maq continues from his LA home.   “Learn what love means to you and make sure that it means the same to the person you are with.”

In the music video, directed by Quenton Burdette and shot at Cine-Spaces in Los Angeles, Jay Maq is arrested for his love crime and goes through the motions of the judicial system.   Though meant to be playful, the video intentionally parallels the harsh reality faced by men of color who are unfairly imprisoned for non-violent offences.

Jay Maq grew up the son of a preacher man in Sanford, North Carolina. He recalls his childhood feeling like it was on a constant loop of church, school, church, school, church.   He came out to his parents as gay two times. The first at 13, when he received no response.   Then again at 14, when after hearing the news, his mother punched him in the chest. The next day at church she cried on the altar during prayer.  Jay Maq feared his mother would stop loving him or maybe even kick him out of the home but she didn’t. Today, she is one of the biggest supporters of his music.

A majority of the topics that Jay Maq explores in his upcoming album have to do with love and the journey to finding it.   That includes the longing for love, healing after being cheated on and the conflict of falling in love with people who are unavailable.

His major music influences are in the realm of R&B.  They include Toni Braxton, Avant, Aaliyah, Joe, Monica, Tyrese and Whitney Houston.

He strongly believes there is room for him as an out artist in R&B.   “I’m creating music that’s about love, longing, lust, sex, and heartache,” he explains.  “There is nothing exclusively gay about those subjects. Love is complicated and messy.  So is the human condition.

“One of the things I’d really like to encourage people to do is love who they want and make sure that happiness is the goal.   The rest will fall into place.”