MM Exclusive: JayaHadADream

It’s safe to say JayaHadADream has had a crazy year. Playing her second Glastonbury show, releasing the stellar mixtape Happiness from Agony, winning twice at the Youth Music Awards, being endorsed by grime royalty, and embarking on a UK tour are just some of the accolades she has garnered in 2025. She kindly spoke to me amongst her busy schedule to discuss her sociologically informed pen game, shedding a different light on her hometown, and celebrating the women who raised her.

So, your London show was a few nights ago. Cardiff and then Glasgow are next. What’s your favourite city been so far? 

They’ve all been good for different reasons. Cambridge was good because the city really showed up. It seemed to spark a new energy there. I’ve already seen, like, three new events coming up off the back of my tour and a lot of collaborations have started to happen, but, I think London has got to be the GOAT. It’s just mad how many of my favourite MCs pulled up; Jammer, Scorcher, Big Zuu, Frisco – everyone really made it a moment. The support was crazy, especially considering it was on a Monday. Jammer said it best: “if people come out on a Monday, they’ve come out for you”. 

Which tune from the new tape seems to be going down the best live?

Maybe ‘Bug’, to be fair, just because it’s so funny when I say: “one of the coldest writers, but man don’t say it ’cause I’ve got…”, I put the mic towards the crowd, and they scream: “vagina!” – which is such a sick moment. It’s bare liberating. ‘Yoga’ with Keeya Keys is a bit of a hidden gem too. I think that’s had a wheel-up at almost every show. Even Frisco was like “Yo that tune is different”. It’s a cool link – Keeya Keys, me, and one of my producers from Cambridge; Big Smash. 

Take us through your writing process – how do you start a verse?

I let my subconscious lead initially. Then I reflect and think: “where am I going with this?”. With all the pressure I’ve had recently and the new environments that I’m in, I just want to continue to be the same person because that’s got me to where I am, so I let my unconscious lead. To be honest, a lot of the time I start with stuff that irritates me. I’ll see something that I feel needs to be talked about or maybe I’ve learnt something that I want to relay. That all came from being a really shy kid and not feeling listened to. Once I started to rap, people were really listening to what I was saying. 

Do you have a favourite bar from the tape generally?

“Tryna up my faculty, I made happiness from agony”, on ‘State of the World’, feels like such a full circle moment. It really makes me reflect about where I’ve come to. I’ve always been really focussed on my mind being the strongest muscle and I’ve gone through so much stuff, which has helped me be resilient. So, it just makes me feel this big sense of relief. 

‘State of the World’ has your nan on the intro, why did you want her to be the first voice people heard on the tape?

My nan and mum are a big part of my story. One of my first big tracks that got played on BBC 1Xtra was ‘Force’, and that had my mum talking about my childhood on the intro. I wanted to do the same for this project. I did think about the fact that my nan would be played across the shows, and it’s a bit of comfort for me – it’s like a hug before I start the set. People know that my nan helps a lot. She’s almost part of the team. On social media I have this ongoing thing about my nan. I don’t use her for content, but she’s involved behind the scenes. The fans are starting to say “JayaHadANan” – so it’s a whole thing. She came to Cambridge and to the release party in London. It was jokes seeing her with Brusa and Tinchy Stryder. She really gets on with everyone and even people who didn’t know her knew it was my nan, just because of our features and the way we move. But, you know, I was raised in a matriarchy, in an all-female household, and I just really want to celebrate the women who’ve raised me.

The cover of the tape is your room in Cambridge. What were you trying to convey with that image? 

So, that was actually taken in my Nan’s room. Not a lot of things have been consistent in my life, including physical spaces. I moved out when I was 16, but I always remember going upstairs and knocking on her door and asking, “can I have a quid to go to the shop?”. So that bedroom has always been a consistent source of comfort for me. Also, my mum grew up in that house. In the picture there’s different trinkets from my bedroom and the Jamaican and Irish flag and everything. I just wanted to connect it all, basically.

Staying on the topic of Cambridge; ‘At the Abbey’ conjures a different sense of place for Cambridge than the stereotypes in wider society. Were you going against that deliberately?

I was just telling my story, but I’m definitely deliberately trying to rap about Cambridge. At the beginning of my career, I used to say, ” I’m from near London” because I was so anxious about the assumptions around Cambridge, but I’ve realised how important it is to redefine it. That song was written a while ago, and I wasn’t actually going to drop it, but I put it on this project because there’s a lot of ‘town vs gown’; a big split between the uni, the people who come here as tourists, the students, and then the locals. Most people born in Cambridge stay here and there’s a lot of poverty issues. I live in one of the poorest areas. I think the big thing about that song is the discontent; how relative poverty is a real thing and how every city has a ‘ghetto’. 

I know you’re a big Bell Hooks fan. What is it about her work that inspires you so much? 

When I was in sixth form, I was going through quite a lot and my sociology teacher gave me her book; Killing Rage. I’ve always been very socially conscious, but that book taught me intersectionality and how gender, race, and capitalism impact life. When I first read it, I wrote a whole project based on the themes and concepts that she wrote about. I used her writing for my dissertation around austerity cuts and drill music. I used Headie One and DigDat lyrics and showed how a lot of what they’re saying is a reaction to austerity cuts. I ended up winning the award for best dissertation as well. I think Bell Hooks unlocked something in me. A mix of her and Nas – because Nas is so sociological – taught me that I’m really good at academia, but not every young person is going to be able to tap into that. So, I wanted to translate her ideas into music whilst sharing stories. Recently, I’ve leaned more towards making it consumable, but it’s inherently political and gives insight into social life in the UK, especially as a mixed-race female from outside of London.

It feels like grime runs throughout your tape, not just with some of the features, but rhythmically too. At what point did you get into grime?

It definitely came a bit later than I wanted it to. Maybe around 2010 or 2011 I started tapping into the scene through SBTV videos. I just loved the freestyles. It took me a while to get confident enough to jump on the riddims, but I was always a big listener. I love rapping over 140 BPM now, which is crazy because, even three years ago, I’d have probably said 90 BPM was the most comfortable for me. Realising that I can say very intentional stuff over grime was the missing piece. Scorcher, Manga St. Hilaire, and Capo Lee influenced me a lot with that. 

You’ve said before that authenticity and consistency are the most important things. Have you ever had to do anything that made you feel inauthentic? 

Yeah. I’ve had producers that, in a way, treat rappers as objects. They just want any vocal, no matter what you say. People have tried to get me to put buzzwords into songs because they think it would do well on TikTok. I do find the content side hard when I’m trying to sell them something. It was quite hard posting during the tour, because it can feel quite repetitive. I always think “how would I want to consume this?” and try to be real. I try not to think about the algorithm too much – the likes and stuff – because it’s very hit and miss. I just treat it like a portfolio and remember that people see things even if they don’t engage with it. 

My favourite track on Happiness from Agony is ‘Main Characters’ with Big Zuu. How did you two meet and have you learned anything from him? 

Every rapper on this project, I have met through Instagram, but from Big Zuu, I’ve learned a lot about dealing with negative stuff. When we dropped the song, there was a lot going on for him, and he was so chill about it. I’d actually message him, like, “Yo, this is messed up.” And he’d be like, “Nah, it’s all love, it’s all good.” He’s really good at managing hate, but also managing fans – when we’re filming and people are coming up to him on the street, he’s just so chill and nice. He’s also taught me a lot about how to put your people on. All of his team are his friends and family. He understands, I guess, the celebrity aspect. I’m really lucky that he’s there for me. I’ve confided in him quite a few times. 

I haven’t heard synergy like you two have on that tune in a while. Were you in the same room when you were writing those verses? 

Apart from the Capo Lee tune, it’s the only song on the project we wrote together, in-person. I feel like you can really hear that. When I got in the studio with him and Crafty, it was the first time I properly met them. Zuu is cool because he’s got his eggs in so many baskets – he’s having to accept collaboration posts in between recording. It was good being around someone who was so busy, but still managed to do a tune.  

You have said you try and avoid “pseudo-empowerment around femininity”. Can you give an example of this and why it doesn’t feel empowering for you?

I feel like there’s a lot of songs where female artists are pushed to say: “I don’t need a man.” At this point I’m not sure it needs to be said. I think there’s enough songs that do that job really intentionally, like, ‘Young Hearts Run Free’ by Candi Stanton. I like Miley Cyrus’ ‘Flowers’ though, because that’s got a story to it – I think we should just focus on writing our stories. There are rarely songs made by women that don’t reference a male lover. I want to hear more songs that are talking about womanhood. I’m not saying that women shouldn’t write about men, but I think it’s focussed on way too much; almost like drillers talking about ops. 

You became a fan of female rappers later in life. When was it that you encountered those female rappers later on and who were they? 

I should say, I always had Missy Elliot, but she wasn’t, like, rappity rappin’. There was Lil’ Kim as well, but my mum was into very conscious music. So, I think the only people I listened to was, like, Lauryn Hill, but then again I saw her more as a singer – not that she doesn’t rap, though. Once I started to get into the grime scene, I found NoLay, and then Little Sims after. I found Ms Dynamite, but I’m gutted that it was through Akala. I liked a lot of female artists across other genres, like Amy Winehouse and Nina Simone. I actually feel like if I heard more female rappers early on, I might not have felt like there was space for me. Me feeling there weren’t many female rappers was a big reason I started rapping, because I felt people weren’t telling certain stories, which encouraged me. 

Words by Charlie Edmondson