"I grew up listening to hip-hop, R&B, Lovers Rock, and Afrobeats,” Jay Weathers tell Apple Music. “I’ve always taken pride in that fusion and I have that mixture of influences in my music”. Born to Nigerian and Jamaican parents and raised in Hackney, East London, Weathers’ eclectic influences helped make Not3s and Mabel’s bouncy, infectious collab “My Lover” a breakout hit in 2017. “Working with Not3s was a big turning point,” he recalls. “We were just supposed to meet, but then I started playing him ideas. All of a sudden ‘My Lover’ was a single, it was all over the radio, and everything changed from there.” That success led to work with artists including Mahalia, WSTRN, Wretch 32, and Mr Eazi (which birthed the standout track from 2018’s Life Is Eazi, Vol. 2: the Burna Boy-featuring “Miss You Bad”). Just before work began on Heavy Is the Head, Stormzy also noticed Jay’s sound. “We met in early 2018 and the first song we made is on the album. It's called 'Rainfall,' and it's definitely one of my favourites. I ended up working on four songs for the album, including 'Own It'. He's a perfectionist and it was an amazing process.”