Jai’Len Josey is Atlanta’s new R&B leader, years after ‘trial and error’
On a windy Tuesday afternoon in mid-March, Jai’Len Josey is doing a photo shoot outside of downtown Atlanta’s Anatolia Cafe. It’s four days after another failed release date for her debut album, “Serial Romantic.”
The project, originally slated for last summer, had been delayed too many times to count since then. Yet, Josey seems composed on first glance. By the time we’re seated at the cafe for an interview, though, Josey’s mind appears anything but. The singer is hyper-aware of the album’s past lives — and future.
“I don’t know how people will truly perceive it,” Josey said, comparing the album to a “second puberty.” “Sometimes when I hear people say, ‘Oh, I’m proud of you,’ I don’t hear when they give a good compliment. It’s almost like I’m looking for them to say something bad, just so I can one-up myself.”
“Serial Romantic,” released today via Def Jam, tested the 27-year-old’s patience and penchant for perfectionism. For her, the album’s completion marks the end of an “overdue” journey, culminating in the anxiety and gratitude that come with releasing a proper debut. In turn, “Serial Romantic” proves to be worth the wait, thrusting the singer to the brink of R&B stardom, delays be damned.
“It’s really just trial and error,” Josey said about album preparation.
Album delays are nearly as inevitable as albums themselves in the music industry. While there isn’t one clear reason for Josey’s holdup, she cites a mix of factors: waiting for producers to finalize contracts, not having help to make content, and overanalyzing every move in between.
But her fastidious care is understandable for a debut that’s backed by music’s most venerated hitmakers.
Songwriting and production partners on “Serial Romantic” include Grammy winners The-Dream, Leon Thomas and Theron Thomas. Atlanta’s Tricky Stewart, another Grammy winner who’ll be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in June, serves as the album’s executive producer.
“I feel like this is a blessing in a way,” Josey said about her collaborators. “But when you’re carrying it, it’s heavy and it can be a little tiresome, but it’s nothing that I don’t think I can handle.”
A star is born
Though “Serial Romantic” took nearly two years to complete, Josey has prepared for this moment her entire life. Hailing from Atlanta’s east side, she had musical talent even before she could speak, said her mom LaTanya Davis. Josey, an only child, was raised in a single-parent household, with help from her grandparents.
At 4 months old, Josey hummed a near-pitch-perfect melody of “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.” By age 5, Josey informed Davis of her purpose: “Sing to people’s souls.”
“If you believe it, then I’m going to support you in whatever you want to do,” Davis said, recalling her response.
She swiftly enrolled Josey in the Youth Ensemble of Atlanta, chasing a musical theater dream with stops at Tri-Cities High School (which offers a visual and performing arts magnet program), a year at Baldwin Wallace University Conservatory in Ohio and a brief stint on Broadway. She made her Broadway debut in 2017 as Pearl in “The SpongeBob Musical: Live on Stage!”
Josey left Broadway shortly after to pursue a solo recording career. Davis, who previously worked in marketing for So So Def and LaFace Records, told her to stay grounded and remain patient, especially given the music industry’s precarious nature.
“She has to go all the way,” Davis told her after leaving Broadway. “She can’t be sidestepping. If this is what you want to do, you have to commit.”
In 2020, Josey independently released her debut EP “Illustrations.” She later signed with Def Jam and dropped another project, 2023’s “Southern Delicacy.” Since then, she’s written for and toured with Ari Lennox, performed at One MusicFest and was named an artist to watch by Spotify, Billboard, NME and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Her music recently received nods from Kehlani and SZA.
Still, the negative self-talk often prevails. Josey sets high standards for herself, internalizing even the wins as small by her metrics. For example, she casually mentioned working on new music with Atlanta rap legend Ludacris. After the studio session, she recalls “going straight to the negative, first.”
What’s the negative?
“We don’t know if he wants to keep the song.”
In ‘a league of her own’
Josey approached creating “Serial Romantic” with the same intensity. She began working on the project in 2024 in Los Angeles, but returned to Atlanta after Def Jam enlisted Tricky Stewart to executive produce. The rest of the album was recorded at his Sessions Studios in Atlanta’s Upper Westside.
Stewart, whose credits include Rihanna’s “Umbrella,’ Justin Bieber’s “Baby” and Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies,” paired the strongest six songs Josey recorded in Los Angeles with the strongest songs he wrote for her to complete the album (“Hence why they call him ‘The Finisher’,” Josey noted).
The creative partnership struck R&B gold with “Serial Romantic,” one of this year’s best projects. With 13 tracks, the album takes listeners on an expansive ride to the depths of Josey’s heart — her influences.
Lead single “New Girl” is a Detroit ghetto-tech (a genre weaving electronic music and rap) groove capturing the bliss of the honeymoon phase. “Out of My Body” is a sultry funk tune that sounds like seduction personified. “Truce” wields Josey’s smoldering vocals to illustrate a relationship in crisis. The Chicago house-tinged “This Time Around” makes love after heartbreak sound thrilling.
Only one track slightly deviates from the album’s ingenuity: “Love Ain’t S---.” The song, originally planned for Ella Mai, has a catchy hook that’ll likely produce a radio hit. But it mainly sounds too familiar for its own good. The blip certainly isn’t enough to deter from Josey’s massive talent and potential (reinforced by virtuosic vocals that could compete against music’s best), though.
“I think there’s a chance that Jai’Len might be the best R&B/soul singer that ever came from Atlanta,” Tricky Stewart told the AJC. “She’s a superior vocalist. We’ve had a lot of success in Atlanta, but I don’t know that we’ve ever had a voice to this caliber. Putting the icing on the cake, her (being) a writer and a producer, I think puts her in a league of her own.”
Josey’s DIY approach to music is why she decided not to have any features on “Serial Romantic.” It’s also why it was hard for her to “bend a little” after welcoming other producers and collaborators with different ideas.
But that didn’t stop her from inserting her expertise when necessary. She didn’t instantly like the Jozzy-written “Truce” because she felt it sounded too similar to Frank Ocean’s 2013 song “Super Rich Kids.” After advocating for the addition of a bridge, she grew to love it.
“I still get to be at the forefront,” Josey said.
In romance, though, Josey said she’s been less assured, inspiring the music on “Serial Romantic.” At the project’s core lies a woman with a big and inviting heart, even after being misused — ultimately learning that some people simply aren’t worth the compassion.
It’s a growing pain that Josey confronted following her grandfather’s death in 2023. She used romance and a desire to be desired as anchors for her grief — mindlessly zooming from one relationship to the next.
“ (For me), being a serial romantic truly is the act of breaking that cycle so that you don’t have to go to the next person and mess up,” Josey said. “You can have a clear mind, which is why people always say, heal before you get into the next relationship … or maybe the next relationship is yourself. I think that that’s where I am right now, giving to myself what I gave to other relationships,”
During the interview, though, she revealed she’s not single.
“He sleep on me right now, though, so I could be.”
Regardless of her relationship status, Josey wants to bring more Atlanta flavor to R&B. The city, which boasts mainstream female R&B acts like Mariah the Scientist and Summer Walker, remains known for its rap scene.
“Atlanta right now is dominating in rap for women,” Josey said. “So I don’t think that we have someone in Atlanta, with the newer generation, that’s dominating R&B.”
Josey plans to tour behind “Serial Romantic” (or serve as an opener for another touring act).
By the end of our conversation, Josey sounds less critical about the path she’s taken. She’s ready to tackle the fame that “Serial Romantic” could bring — challenges and all. Josey has done it before, and, according to her, she can do it again.
“I believe in the music,” she affirmed. “(Forget) the timing, you know? Or my jadedness, or the feelings that I felt when creating it. It’s all boiling down to this very moment, this day, and that’s something to look forward to.”
About the Author
DeAsia is a music and culture reporter for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. She focuses on the intersection of arts, culture and diverse communities, as well as how emerging social trends are being expressed through the lens of the Atlanta aesthetic. DeAsia's work can be seen in Pitchfork, Essence, Teen Vogue, Elle and more.
