Jai Paul Releases Leaked Album and Two New Tracks

Jai Paul’s double B side of “Do You Love Her Now” and “He” is his first official release in seven years. These two tracks were released on June 1, along with an album of Paul’s unfinished songs that were leaked in 2013. The album, Leak 04-13 (Bait Ones), includes songs that were taken without his permission and uploaded to Bandcamp by an anonymous user.

The U.K. singer, songwriter, and producer’s two singles “BTSTU” and “Jasmine” were his only work that had been available to the public before the leak. Early in his career, Paul gained attention when “BTSTU” was sampled by a young Drake on his 2011 song “Dreams Money Can Buy.”

The leak halted Paul’s career for six years and fans were left with only one official statement from the musician. He tweeted in response to the situation, “To confirm: demos on bandcamp were not uploaded by me, this is not my debut album. Please don’t buy. Statement to follow later. Thanks, Jai.” His label XL Recordings later confirmed that the album was stolen and that those who purchased the leak would receive refunds. After this, the singer did not update fans until now.

On June 1, Paul broke his silence and tweeted, “I’ve been working on some music and a website recently so I’d like to share that with you.” He included a link to his website jai-paul.com where Leak 04-13 (Bait Ones) can be downloaded for a “pay what you want” price.

In a statement, Paul revealed that the two new songs were finished from old ideas that he was working on when the leak occurred.

In the same message, he opened up about his struggles in the industry and personally after his music was stolen. He said he was “frustrated” by the leak and “there was a significant loss of trust.” Today, he “has grown to appreciate that people have enjoyed [the leaked] music and lived with it.”

Abbey Collins
Author:
Abbey Collins is a senior Communication Specialist major at Baylor University in Waco, TX. She loves live music and discovering new artists. She is graduating this fall and plans to pursue a career in media communications.