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Centricity Music, the No. 1 Billboard Top Christian Albums Imprint for three consecutive years, signs Bradenton, Florida (Tampa) native and current Nashville area-based artist and songwriter Jaye King to an exclusive, worldwide recording and publishing contract. King’s debut digital single from the label, “Hard Place,” is available now at streaming and digital outlets everywhere.
Raised by a single mom, King’s story is both messy and miraculous. Given his upbringing, one might assume that he’d be guarded, but instead, King is surprisingly an open book. His melodies are as big and bold as his personality, but...
Read More Centricity Music, the No. 1 Billboard Top Christian Albums Imprint for three consecutive years, signs Bradenton, Florida (Tampa) native and current Nashville area-based artist and songwriter Jaye King to an exclusive, worldwide recording and publishing contract. King’s debut digital single from the label, “Hard Place,” is available now at streaming and digital outlets everywhere.
Raised by a single mom, King’s story is both messy and miraculous. Given his upbringing, one might assume that he’d be guarded, but instead, King is surprisingly an open book. His melodies are as big and bold as his personality, but his lyrics are as intimate as his prayers.
“What really drew us to sign Jaye was certainly his remarkable musicality, but also the maturity and servant heart that he carries with him when he walks into a room,” says Matt Ewald, VP of A&R. “Jaye is a professional level drummer, bass guitar and keys player, but those gifts are more than matched by his heart for family, the local church and his mission to spread the hope of the Gospel. When you get to know Jaye you quickly encounter a person you want to get behind and be in lock step with.”
While King is comfortable in a supporting role behind a drum kit, he says people regularly commend how he appears to own the stage with notable charisma and confidence. “That’s God. That’s the Lord working, because I get up there, and I know why I’m there,” shares King, whose love of entertainers like Michael Jackson and Bruno Mars is channeled into his live show. “When you’re an artist, usually it’s ‘look at me,’ but my sole calling is to tell people to look at Him.”
That’s precisely the approach he takes with the original music he’s rolling out via his freshly minted label partnership with Centricity — songs that blend feel-good funk, smooth R&B and enthusiastic Gospel with lyrics that are fueled by high optimism and an unshakable belief in a God who is in the business of redemption.
Triumphant introductory single “Hard Place” turns the familiar “rock and a hard place” idiom on its head with personal depth set to a soulful, pop-centric groove. “It’s this idea that I had to go a long way to get to where the Lord has called me — and I haven’t arrived — but I know He’s the rock because I found Him in a place that was low. I found Him in a place that was messy,” King observes of the original he penned with Sajan Nauriyal and Nick Bays. “What kind of God, in true perfection, is willing to get dirty? Well, that’s the God I serve. The places in my life where I was the most stuck are the places where I found Christ.”
“Hard Place” refrain:
How sweet the sound that saved my soul
Found me broke down and made me whole
He called my name that’s how I know
He’s the rock in a hard place
At its core, King’s music speaks to the heart of a kid without a dad present in his life, but grew into a man who can’t help but tell others about his Heavenly Father. King insists he could never write a story that good.
“The only part I’m playing in all of this is saying ‘yes’ every day,” he says of his musical journey. “It’s just obedience and day-to-day trust in where the Lord is leading. Wherever He leads, I’m going to obey and follow.”
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