The Bite Magazine - Spring/Summer 2024 - Issue 35

bitemusicceleb J. Rey Soul first lent her vocals on Black Eyed Peas’ conscious rap anthem ‘Ring The Alarm’ and near the end of ‘Constant Part 1 and 2’. However, she shone through on the Latin-in- fused ‘Mamacita’ with Puerto Rico reggaeton star Ozuna, taken from their eighth studio album Translation. She told Nylon Manila she fell in love with music at a young age. “I started singing at a young age, around nine years old, and it felt like an escape. From a young age, I knew my purpose and gift was music.” Her stage name was coined by will.i.am . “I always wanted a stage name, so when I was originally brainstorming, I would call myself ‘J. Rey’ but I never really committed.” While working in the studio one day, will.i.am asked what her sur- name was. “He said, ‘Reynoso’ sounds like ‘Rey no soul’, but you have so much soul, so you should take out the ‘no’ in the middle and make it ‘Rey Soul’. I merged both ideas, so J. Rey Soul came about.” Black Eyed Peas continues their reggaeton and Latin pop flair in their ninth studio album, Elevation , which features several guest artists, including Anitta, Daddy Yankee, David Guetta, Ozuna, Nicole Scherzinger, and Shakira. The digitally enhanced song ‘Guarantee’ with J. Rey Soul features a blend of hip-hop, R&B, and pop, characterised by catchy hooks, melodic verses, and a smooth, rhythmic beat. It explores relationship commitment and reliability and emphasises the importance of loyalty and support. The song’s music video uses AI technology to create futuristic scenes and the member’s striking static poses with will.i.am hailing the technology as a ‘new renaissance’ in music. While he admits AI mimics his actions, it also creates something new. “It was a brand new song, and it wrote it how I would have written it,” he explained. “The concern is what we do as people and the regulations and guidelines we put on folks building the models.” On ITV’s Good Morning Britain, the music producer said, “People have to decide what types of songs they want to write because, although I wrote songs like ‘Boom Boom Pow’ and ‘I Gotta Feeling’ and ‘Where Is The Love?’, the machine is going to write amazing versions or original Boom Boom Pows.” He added AI can create songs people desire which could be a ‘social commentary’ on the news but raised the argument of “we haven’t put in clauses for where people own their likeness in their essence.” As Black Eyed Peas continue their world tour across seven countries, we’ll see what’s next for the ever-evolving group.