Jermaine [Mavuso], formerly “Youngie Jay” is a new independent South African hip hop artist/musician who has passion for music and is very versatile in his style. Hailing from the streets of Soweto, Diepkloof to be precise – Jermaine started his music career at a very early age, expressing himself through hip hop beats, proving his rapping and writing skills in that regard. Coming from a musical background where both his parents were also involved in the same industry (with his mom being a former Joyous Celebration member), it is by no surprise Jermaine was set to follow in the same footsteps.

In his journey of music, he has since released 3 mixtapes to date, namely Swagga University (2013), Free At Last (2016) and his latest Paranoid City (2017). One of his songs “Put It On” is featured on “Uncut Gems”, a compilation mixtape for upcoming rappers by another hot hip-hop disc jockey Da Careless DJ.

Currently, he is the only rapper among other musicians featured on Kalawa Jazmee’s new signee, Dej Soweto’s 2 singles which got various airplays on Metro FM and other local stations. The song got so much push they have performed it on Etv’s Hip Hop Show, Shiz Niz (Live), where Jermaine made his appearance also alongside upcoming female musician Dolly Charmaine, who is from Durban.

His musical influences range from a lot of different artists both locally and internationally. However, he is trying to bring something new into the music scene as well, not just hip hop. The brand “Jermaine” is growing, and his vision is to be a brand that can be easily identified and a force to be reckoned with.

Youngie Jay switched from his previous name to the current new one because he felt like he needed change, to grow and a fresh new musical approach also. This transition or transformation has come with a lot of growth and maturity from past experiences and is ready to take over the South African music industry by storm, like his past counterparts.

The name change birthed a new artist with a completely different style of music, that’s new and advanced and most importantly; what South Africa and the rest of the world need to hear.