Jaylien

St. Louis native John Wesley has built an extensive résumé as a rapper, singer, songwriter, and producer. In the studio he has penned material for Akon, will.i.am, Britney Spears, Chris Brown, T-Pain, Snoop Dogg, and additional artists. Performing under the name Jaylien, he crafts pop-friendly hybrid R&B, and after years working behind the scenes he stepped forward as an artist with the 2016 release Summer's Over.

He grew up in a musical household where his father served as a college choir director and his mother sang in the choir, which fostered an early passion for music that led him to study piano, saxophone, and clarinet. Drawing influence from producers such as Quincy Jones, Kanye West, Timbaland, Pharrell Williams, and Max Martin, he began creating beats for local artists while still in high school. His initial major production credit came on rapper Huey's 2007 debut album Notebook Paper.

After a short period of further study at New York's SAE Institute, he relocated to Atlanta and connected with Akon, an encounter that produced Wesley's first hit on the track "Beautiful" featuring Kardinal Offishall and Colby O'Donis. Following additional songwriting for various prominent artists, he chose to concentrate on his own recordings under the Jaylien moniker. He first built an audience online before issuing his debut EP, Summer's Over, in 2016. The seven-track project mixed electronic dance synths, trap beats, soul, R&B, and both rapping and singing, evoking a blend of Frank Ocean, the Weeknd, and the-Dream; among its songs were "We Fcuk" and "Hotel Costes." After several independent singles, the full-length Summer's Over 2 arrived in 2018.