JAY-L's real name is Jerry Latimer and he comes from a family of vocal artists. Being both born
and raised in Rochester New York he began to sing in the Saint Bridget's children's choir at the age of
eight. Learning from his Mother, Aunt, Sister and Cousins all of whom belonged to the Disciples for Christ
community choir he was awarded a lot of the acquired skills which put him well on his way to being a
vocalist.
Life changed dramatically while Jay was nine years old with the sudden death of his twenty nine
year old Father to a massive heart attack . Jay's Father was survived by his five daughters and one son,
Jerry. With his Mother working both days and nights to support himself and his sister, Jay became the man
of the house. With his Mother's time already occupied with a nearly continuous work schedule and his sister
only being four years old, the only person Jay was able to confide in with his still fresh grief was his
Grandmother, who later passed away from a heart attack as well. It was a strenuous time for the entire
family including Jay, and he was faced with an infinite array of directions that his painful grief could propel
him in. An inevitable future that could easily have been dark stalked Jay-L almost beckoning him to channel
his bottled up anger in terrible, non-constructive ways. All that was certain was that he loved both his
Father and Grandmother very much, and after extensive soul searching he chose to focus his emotions
through his singing.
By fourteen years old he had begun writing his own songs and a recording studio inside of Greece
Ridge Mall was the site of his first recording ever. Taking a boosted confidence and fresh knowledge from
the experience he recognized that he was in fact gifted. During his high school career he performed in talent
shows and at basketball games, all the while something in his head kept on reiterating that he had what it
takes to be successful.
Eventually a group called "Dominion" was formed by a sixteen year old Jay-L and his best friend Golden which was comprised of the two of them and another teenager named "KP" who unfortunately was far less consistent than Golden and Jay would have liked. Due to inconsistencies and other contributing factors the group split, yet Jay acquired life experience that was invaluable.
A glimpse into the "Club Scene" came from "Blue", a well-known local R+B singer who Jay-L began to sing back up for in 2003. That same year Jay accompanied Blue at Rochester's Music Fest which was attended by over ten thousand people, where they shared the stage with other such artists as Ashanti, Al Green, Ketara Wyatt, Tweet and Gerald Levert. Later he also sang back up for gospel artist named Shawanda Owens at her live debut recording and in February of 2004 he performed at a Black History program downstate. A local playwright named Janet Baxter turned Jay onto acting during 2005 and once she heard his demo his place was secured in her next project both singing and acting. Portraying roles in two plays called "Love Power 2" and "My Baby" he embraced his newfound passions. As 2005 came to an end Jay-L decided to commit himself to recording a full length CD entitled "You Got the L" which is now Available for purchase.
