Jahlil Gunter (born January 24, 1998), known professionally as Jay Versace, is an American record producer and former internet personality. He began posting comedy videos onto

Vine A vine ( Latin ''vīnea'' "grapevine", "vineyard", from ''vīnum'' "wine") is any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent (that is, climbing) stems, lianas or runners. The word ''vine'' can also refer to such stems or runners thems ...

as a teenager and amassed over three million followers on the platform, before turning to music production for the first time in 2018. He has since produced songs on albums such as ''

SOS is a Morse code distress signal (), used internationally, that was originally established for maritime use. In formal notation is written with an overscore line, to indicate that the Morse code equivalents for the individual letters of "SOS" ...

'' (2022) by

SZA Solána Imani Rowe (born November 8, 1989), known professionally as SZA ( ), is an American singer and songwriter. Born in St. Louis, Missouri, she began making music in the early 2010s, releasing two extended plays before signing with the hip ...

, ''

Call Me If You Get Lost ''Call Me If You Get Lost'' is the sixth studio album by American rapper and producer Tyler, the Creator. The album was released on June 25, 2021, through Columbia Records. The album is narrated by DJ Drama and features guest appearances from ...

'' (2021) by

Tyler, the Creator Tyler Gregory Okonma (born March 6, 1991), known professionally as Tyler, the Creator, is an American rapper and record producer. He is one of the founding members of the music collective Odd Future. Okonma self-released his debut mixtape ' ...

, and ''

Scarlet Scarlet may refer to: * Scarlet (cloth), a type of woollen cloth common in medieval England * Scarlet (color), a bright tone of red that is slightly toward orange, named after the cloth * Scarlet (dye), the dye used to give the cloth its color * ...

'' (2023) by

Doja Cat Amala Ratna Zandile Dlamini (born October 21, 1995), known professionally as Doja Cat ( ), is an American rapper and singer. Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, she began making and releasing music on SoundCloud as a teenager. Her song ...

Early life

Versace is from

Pleasantville, New Jersey Pleasantville is a city in Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 20,629, which was an increase of 380 from the 2010 census count of 20,249, which reflected an increase of 1,2 ...

. His moniker was inspired by a

video in which American rapper Riff Raff feeds his dog "Versace water from the fountain of life".

Career

2014–2017: Social media career

In 2014, Versace began making comedic videos onto the video-sharing platform Vine, usually involving reenactments of certain scenarios involving his family members, friends, and entertainers. His work was also noted to involve the amplification of the spirituality, creativity, and mental health of

black people Black is a racialized classification of people, usually a political and skin color-based category for specific populations with a mid to dark brown complexion. Not all people considered "black" have dark skin; in certain countries, often ...

. He relocated to Los Angeles in 2016 at the age of 18. He was nominated for Viner of the Year at the

8th Shorty Awards The 8th Annual Shorty Awards, honoring the best in social media, took place on April 11, 2016, at The Times Center in New York City. The ceremony was hosted by YouTube comedian Mamrie Hart, who was accompanied by Flula Borg as the ceremony DJ. T ...

. Versace had amassed over three million followers and two billion total views on Vine before the platform was discontinued in January 2017. Thereafter, he turned to other social media platforms, amassing 2 million followers on

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

and 500,000 subscribers on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second most ...

. He also starred alongside American actors

Danielle Campbell Danielle Marie Campbell (born January 30, 1995) is an American actress. She is known for her starring roles as Jessica Olson in the 2010 Disney Channel Original Movie '' Starstruck'', Simone Daniels in the 2011 Disney film ''Prom'', Davina Clair ...

and

Nathan Kress Nathan Karl Kress (born November 18, 1992) is an American actor and director. Kress began his career at the age of four, notably appearing in several television commercials and providing the voices of Easy and Tough Pup in the comedy-drama film ...

in his own Fullscreen web series, ''Jay Versace is Stuck in the 90s'', which was nominated for Best Web Series at the

10th Shorty Awards The 10th Annual Shorty Awards powered by DirecTV Now, honoring the best in social media, took place on April 15, 2018, at the PlayStation Theater, New York City. The ceremony was hosted by actress, singer, songwriter, Keke Palmer Lauren Keyana ...

. Versace signed a representation contract with

United Talent Agency United Talent Agency (UTA) is a global talent agency based in Beverly Hills, California. Established in 1991, it represents artists and other professionals across the entertainment industry. , the company has more than 1,400 global employees. U ...

in January 2018, and then was slated to feature alongside American internet personality

Miles McKenna Miles McKenna (born November 2, 1995) is an American vlogger, actor, and LGBTQIA+ advocate. McKenna is a trans man and is among YouTube's most prominent trans creators with over one million subscribers. His videos incorporate comedic skits and ...

in an eight-part web series by

Portal A Interactive Portal A is a digital content company that creates branded and original entertainment. Portal A was founded by three childhood friends, Nate Houghteling, Kai Hasson, and Zach Blume. Portal A is independently owned with offices in SoMa and Downt ...

titled ''My Wizard & Me'', yet this did not come to fruition.

2018–present: Music career

Versace started experimenting with music production for the first time in May 2018, with help from his musician friends

Knxwledge Glen Earl Boothe (born March 8, 1988), professionally known as Knxwledge (pronounced "knowledge"), is an American hip hop record producer and songwriter based in Los Angeles, California. Since 2009, he has had over 100 releases via Bandcamp. His ...

and

Pink Siifu Livingston Lemorie Matthews, known professionally as Pink Siifu, and occasionally iiye, is an American rapper and singer from Cincinnati, Ohio, and Birmingham, Alabama. Life and career Matthews acquired an appreciation for music from his family, ...

. He began posting atmospheric,

lo-fi music Lo-fi (also typeset as lofi or low-fi; short for low fidelity) is a music or production quality in which elements usually regarded as imperfections in the context of a recording or performance are present, sometimes as a deliberate choice. The ...

instrumentals to his

SoundCloud SoundCloud is an online audio distribution platform and music sharing website that enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is one of the largest music streaming s ...

account. Versace approached American rapper

Westside Gunn Alvin Lamar Worthy (born July 27, 1982), known professionally as Westside Gunn, is an American rapper. He is a co-founder of independent hip-hop label Griselda Records. He is the brother of rapper Conway The Machine and cousin of rapper Benny the ...

and asked to work together, before the latter discovered his account and ended up using one of Versace's first-ever songs on his own album, ''

Pray for Paris ''Pray for Paris'' is the third studio album by American rapper Westside Gunn. It was released on April 17, 2020 through Griselda Records with distribution by Empire Distribution. The album was produced by Daringer, Beat Butcha, the Alchemist, ...

'' (2020), titling the track "Versace". He then produced all tracks on the mixtape, ''The Versace Tape'' (2020) by American rapper

Boldy James James Clay Jones III (born August 9, 1982), better known by his stage name Boldy James, is an American rapper from Detroit, Michigan. A member of the Griselda collective, his debut album, '' My 1st Chemistry Set'', was released on October 15, 20 ...

, which became the first-ever release on

Griselda Records Griselda Records is an American hip hop independent record label based in Buffalo, New York. It was founded by rapper Westside Gunn, his brother Conway the Machine, and Mach-Hommy in 2012. In addition to the founding members, Benny the Butche ...

in August 2020. In March 2021, Versace contributed a remix version of the song "Lay_Up.m4a" by

Denzel Curry Denzel Rae Don Curry (born February 16, 1995) is an American rapper and singer. Born and raised in Carol City, Florida, Curry started rapping while in the sixth grade and began working on his first mixtape in 2011. Influenced by underground Flo ...

and

Kenny Beats Kenneth Charles Blume III, known professionally as Kenny Beats, is an American record producer, audio engineer, and songwriter. Early life Kenneth Blume III was born and raised in Greenwich, Connecticut. He has been studying music since the age ...

to the duo's remix album, ''

Unlocked 1.5 ''Unlocked'' (stylized in all caps) is an EP by American rapper Denzel Curry in collaboration with American record producer Kenny Beats. It was released on February 7, 2020, by PH Recordings and Loma Vista Recordings. The album was accompanied b ...

'' (2021). He also produced the song "Safari" off of American rapper

's sixth studio album ''

'' (2021), which won the award for

Best Rap Album The Grammy Award for Best Rap Album is an award presented to recording artists for quality albums with rapping at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. Honors in several categories ...

at the

65th Annual Grammy Awards The 65th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony will be held at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on February 5, 2023. It will recognize the best recordings, compositions, and artists of the eligibility year, running from October 1, 2021, to September 3 ...

. Released in August 2022, the track "On God" by American rappers

Meechy Darko Demetri Simms, better known by his stage name Meechy Darko, is an American rapper and songwriter from Brooklyn, New York. He is best known as a member of the hip hop trio Flatbush Zombies, with whom he began his rapping career with his longtime f ...

Freddie Gibbs Fredrick Jamel Tipton (born June 14, 1982), better known by his stage name Freddie Gibbs, is an American rapper from Gary, Indiana. After initially being signed to Interscope Records in 2006, Gibbs recorded his debut studio album under the labe ...

and

A-Trak Alain Macklovitch (born March 30, 1982), known by his stage name A-Trak, is a Canadian DJ, record producer, and record executive. He came to prominence in the late 2000s as an international club DJ and remix artist, known for incorporating highly ...

, which was co-produced by Versace and

Dot da Genius Oladipo Omishore, known professionally as Dot da Genius is an American record producer and audio engineer from Brooklyn, New York City. He first gained recognition in 2008 for producing " Day 'n' Nite" by American musician Kid Cudi, with whom ...

. Versace then produced the songs "

" and "

Smoking on My Ex Pack "Smoking on My Ex Pack" is a song by American singer-songwriter SZA from her second studio album, ''SOS'' (2022). The second of the album's three rap tracks, it is a boom bap song with a chipmunk soul production style, fusing hard-hitting drum ...

" from American singer

's second studio album, ''

'' (2022), which earned him critical acclaim and commercial success. She had previously discovered him in 2017 through a video of him mocking her song " The Weekend", and they maintained a digital relationship for several years before meeting for the first time at a recording studio in 2019 once Versace had started producing. SZA credits her first attempts at rap music to Versace, who encouraged her to "talk her shit".

Personal life

Versace came out as queer via a

Snapchat Snapchat is an American multimedia instant messaging app and service developed by Snap Inc., originally Snapchat Inc. One of the principal features of Snapchat is that pictures and messages are usually only available for a short time before th ...

post in 2016, claiming that "I love people in general idgaf what gender you are". His mother, Nikesha Dolly Gunter, died of illness in May 2022.

Production discography

2020

- ''

'' * 09. "Versace"

- ''The Versace Tape'' * 01. "Pony Down Intro" * 02. "Maria" * 03. "Nu Wave" * 04. "Cartier" * 05. "Brick Van Exel" * 06. "Long Live Julio" * 07. "Monte Cristo" * 08. "Cardinal Sin" * 09. "Bentayga" * 10. "Roxycontin"

and

Fly Anakin Frank L. Walton, Jr (born July 9, 1994), better known by his stage name Fly Anakin is an American rapper and record producer from Richmond, Virginia. He is the co-founder of Richmond hip hop crew Mutant Academy. Early life Fly Anakin was raised ...

- ''FlySiifu's'' * 08. "Mind Right"

Lil Yachty Miles Parks McCollum (born August 23, 1997), known professionally as Lil Boat, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and producer. He first gained recognition on the internet in 2015 for his singles " One Night" and "Minnesota" (featuring ...

- '' Lil Boat 3.5'' * 20. "Lil Diamond Boy"

2021

and

- ''

'' * 06. "Lay_Up.m4a (Jay Versace Version)" Patrick Paige II - ''If I Fail Are We Still Cool?'' * 12. "Who Am I"

- ''

'' * 16. "Safari"

- ''Hitler Wears Hermes 8: Side B'' * 04. "Free Kutter" featuring

Jay Electronica Elpadaro F. Electronica Allah (born Timothy Elpadaro Thedford; September 19, 1976), known professionally as Jay Electronica (stylized as J A Y E L E C T R O N I C A), is an American rapper and record producer. Born and raised in New Orleans, he ...

2022

- ''

Frank Frank or Franks may refer to: People * Frank (given name) * Frank (surname) * Franks (surname) * Franks, a medieval Germanic people * Frank, a term in the Muslim world for all western Europeans, particularly during the Crusades - see Farang Curr ...

'' * 17. "Bag Man" Draft Day featuring

- "How Far Will I Go" (single) Xavier Omär - ''B l u r r'' * 01. "A Dream"

- ''Gothic Luxury'' * 07. "On God" featuring A-Trak and Freddie Gibbs

- ''

'' * 01. "SOS" * 11. "

2023

- ''

'' * 6. "97" * 12. "Often" * 13. "Love Life"

Awards and nominations

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Versace, Jay 1998 births Living people People from Pleasantville, New Jersey 21st-century American LGBT people 21st-century American musicians 21st-century African-American musicians 21st-century American comedians LGBT record producers American LGBT songwriters African-American LGBT people African-American male comedians Record producers from New Jersey American hip hop record producers American Vine (service) celebrities Comedy YouTubers Comedians from New Jersey American YouTubers Grammy Award winners Queer men Queer musicians