Jay Singh is the Latin and Indian music amalgamating Artist who gathers from the touchstone stones of Afro, Trap, Hip-hop, and Bollywood with an adept and nuanced taste. Performing under the nom de plume, "Indian Trap," the budding independent has had Shakira looking to him for his songwriting talents on tracks like, "Dare La La La," which he co-wrote and produced for her tenth studio album. From there, the song appeared on everything from FIFA games to Movies and even global advertisements. This year, Jay comes swerving off the heels of his previous sonic endeavors with a Trap-hop and Latin-winking cut titled, "Chingona (Bad B$tch)."
"I'm far from average," those are the resounding lines that immediately hook us into the variety and versatility of this homogenizing inventor's Contemporary and Global Music blending catalog. There's a blithe jingle from metallic bells cascading over the New-age mix's that produce a sense of wonder almost immediately, but the primary bounce behind the production renders in the form of a punchy Trap-beat that oversees the salacious measure as it grips with complete reign over the dominions of our minds. The top-line hook is simplistic enough to chant along to, and with the warbling voice of Priscilla Gypsxy commanding over the theme like the "Bad B$tch," she says she is, it's almost impossible not to find ourselves subdued by the inebriated sway of this song's crooning kinetics. It's the type of music we'd want to blast out of our car woofers while cruising down the freeway with our clique in-tow, dressed to the nines in the most stylish night-out garbs.
"Chingona (Bad B$tch)" stands as Indian Trap's ability to never traverses over the lines of becoming too kitsch for Modern Music, and lands healthy in our chests as the one song we're locking on repeat for weeks to come.
Can you tell us about how you conceptualized the idea behind this single, and what it meant for you as a producer?
Most of the music I've released under my Indian Trap moniker has leaned toward being more commercial, so with Chingona, I wanted to do something harder and edgier. Also as a producer, I wanted my fans and other artists to know that the Indian Trap sound encompasses many different styles and sub-genres. What was the narrative behind this banger? Did this song have any personal relation to your life experiences as a DJ and Producer?
As a producer, I've been blessed to work and remix many great female artists from Shakira, Beyonce to Lady Gaga to name a few and I wanted to create a badass female anthem. The song was written by Priscilla Gypsxy, and she wanted to embody and capture that boss B$tch side of herself and something that could really give other women from around the world the confidence to embrace that fearless boss B$tch side to them and feel good about it. She quoted "The true power of a woman is mysterious, but we’re gonna crack Pandora’s box and give y’all a lil taste with this one”. What made Priscilla Gypsxy the go-to Artist for the top-line feature on "Chingona (Bad B$tch)"? What made her perfect for this role?
I've worked with Priscilla Gypsxy on a number of occasions and she has always been on the same page as me, wanting to create a dope female badass anthem. After sending her the track she immediately hit me the next day and told me she had come up with something special called 'Chingona'. For many that don't know 'Chingona' is a Spanish slang term meaning “badass woman”. After listening to what she had written it was a no brainer we had our smash hit single! When did you know that this song hit every checkmark in your Producer hand-book as being "finished"? Do you ever run into issues finding that distinct line between a piece feeling complete or needing something more? The honest answer is that 'It's never finished'. Producers always have critiques even after the song is done and released. I have a 5 stage listening checkpoint system that I do and as long as all these have been checked off I move to send the finished song to the record label or artist who I produce the song for. 1. The Studio, 2. The Car, 3 My Bose Headphones, 4. Home Stereo and 5. Garage Bass Boom system. After listening to the song on all 5 systems I can hear if the vocals need to come up, are the 808 and kicks hitting right, are other sounds good or sonically right, etc. Each system gives me an overall picture. I usually repeat this process 3-5 times but 'Chingona' was a tough one as I had 2 different mixers take a shot at mixing the song and neither came close to my mix. So I decided to finish the mix and master the single myself and honestly, I'm completely happy how 'Chingona' came out. It translates great across all streaming platforms and music sound systems. What has been keeping you inspired in 2020?
It's definitely been a year of change and uncertainty but this has not stopped my creative process. Creating more songs and music has kept me inspired in 2020. I've been experimenting with many different musical cultures and genres. I'm excited to be releasing my next collaboration single with Vivaswan called 'Whatever It cost' with Indian Mantra chants and hard-hitting 808s and banging trap drums.