Jay Kay

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Jason Kay (born December 30, 1969, Stretford, Manchester) is a British funk musician. He is the main composer and lead singer of Jamiroquai.

Kay grew up with his mother Karen Kay, a jazz singer who performed around the world. He did not meet his biological father, a man of Portuguese origin, until 2003. With the exception of a twin brother who died at birth, Kay had no siblings.

When Kay was young, he was homeless and survived by committing petty crimes. After an incident with the law, Kay decided to clean up his act and focus on music. He gathered other musicians to make the band known as Jamiroquai. The original members included Toby Smith, Stuart Zender, Derrick McKenzie and Wallis Buchanan, with Kay on vocals.

Jay first entered the music scene in 1992. He created the "buffalo man" logo seen on most Jamiroquai releases, when he sketched his own silhouette. Since then, it has become the symbol for Jamiroquai. The group derives its name from the Native American tribe the 'Iroquois' to which they added "Jam". Many aspects of the philosophies of the tribe and the band are relevant, especially their reverence of the earth.

In 1992, Jamiroquai released a single, "When You Gonna Learn," on the label Acid Jazz, followed closely by their debut album Emergency on Planet Earth. The following release in 1994, The Return of the Space Cowboy, outsold their debut and got them worldwide attention.

In 1996 the band released the album Travelling Without Moving that included the hit "Virtual Insanity." With the help of the groundbreaking video, Jamiroquai got recoginition in the United States. Their album achieved platinum status and earned them the "Video of the Year" award at the MTV Video Music Awards in the United States.

In 1998, Jamiroquai recorded the track "Deeper Underground" which was featured in the 1998 film Godzilla. Their fourth release, 1999's "Synkronized", was another hit, as well as 2001's "A Funk Oddyssey".

Jamiroquai released their sixth album, Dynamite in June 2005.

Jamiroquai's music is described as "funk with feeling". Their political messages and views on government, racism and the environment are expressed through their lyrics. Jay's voice has been compared to Stevie Wonder. While this has always been controversial to fans, the influence from musicians like Stevie Wonder, Kool and the Gang and other funk/soul artists, is undeniable.

Kay is well known for many things, including his love of cars. He has a large collection of sport cars, including Ferrari, Lamborghini, BMW, Mercedes, and Aston Martin. This love of motors was expressed with the release of the album "Travelling without Moving", where the cover featured an adaptation of the "Buffalo Man" logo and the Ferrari crest. In May 1998, Kay was caught driving at 111 mph and his license was suspended for 42 days. He said in an interview, "I should count myself lucky. I've clocked up 175 mph on a public road. If I'd been caught doing that, it would have been a prison sentence."

On September 2004 Jay was banned from the road once again for six months. He appeared at a court in Scotland to face charges for speeding after being clocked at 105 mph in a four-wheel drive vehicle in Perthshire, Scotland, on 26 February 2004. The speed limit for the road was 70 mph.

Jamiroquai has sold over twenty million albums, made four town gigs and spent 141 weeks on the UK singles chart in the 13 years since 1992.