With more talentless rappers popping out of the brush every day, Jeffrey Wallace, or Jaye Newton as you might know him, is a breath of fresh air.
Coming off his fourth project and debut album, “Real Men Wear Pink,” Newton is quickly gaining notoriety, headlining his own shows and even opening for platinum-recording artist Jeremih at Kennesaw State’s homecoming concert on Thursday, Oct. 19.
“I’m excited, but I’m more so anxious than anything,” Newton said in the final hour before his set. “I always love performing in front of my peers, so I’m humbled and grateful for the opportunity.”
Newton stood at the helm of a crowd of over 300, demanding a good time from everyone in attendance.
“I perform my butt off, and I want to leave an audience knowing I’m a great performer and that it isn’t just the music,” Newton said.
The crowd went wild when Newton and his live band performed his high-intensity single, “Relate.” In the height of the excitement, one of Newton’s friends accidentally knocked him to the stage floor, but what could’ve been a scary moment quickly turned into more fuel for the party atmosphere as Newton continued rapping on the ground, to which the crowd erupted.
“I had never heard of Jaye Newton before the concert, but I’m definitely a fan now,” said culinary major junior Brittney Washington. “He had a great stage presence and knew how to rock the crowd.”
“Real Men Wear Pink” features popular songs like “Shoot Your Shot” and “Salsa Witcha Mama.” Newton’s album has high production value and boasts a great mix of party songs as well as music for a gloomy day.
His sound is uniquely his, but the animated inflection of his vocals is reminiscent of Ludacris while his flow hints at influences of Big Sean.
“I want to be able to touch all types of makes and all types of creeds of people and be able to have positive, very inspirational but introspective music,” Newton said. “I want to be relatable whether that’s a gay person, a straight person, black, white or anything. I just want everybody to resonate with the music that I make.”
Newton expressed his stance on social equality at the end of his set on Thursday when he took the opportunity to speak his mind, reciting a powerful elegy addressing the Kennesaw Five and other injustices.
“In recent light of everything that’s been going on on campus with the Kennesaw Five, I’m real big on representation, and I feel like with my platform I have the ability to speak to my people and have it resonate more than just a person that somebody doesn’t necessarily know,” Newton said.
Most of the crowd seemed to be in support of Newton’s message as he called out both KSU President Sam Olens and Cobb County Sheriff Neil Warren.
Newton’s comments directed at Warren addressed the looming issue of the gross amount of police killings of black people.
“You tell me if I protest and then I take a knee, Sheriffs at Cobb PD will then threaten me, so much for the land of the free, paying thousands for degrees just to fund an unfit president’s salary,” Newton said at the end of his performance as he pointed toward Kennesaw Hall, directly at President Olens’ top-floor office.
When asked if Newton was fearful of any repercussion from the university he replied, “I don’t fear no one but God.”
Listeners can find Jaye Newton’s newest album, “Real Men Wear Pink,” on Spotify, Spinrilla, Apple Music, Tidal and Soundcloud. Stay up to date with Newton’s latest moves and shows by following him on Twitter and Instagram @JayeNewton.
