Biography
Originally hailing from the Midwest, the contemporary R&B performer Upstrz ("upstairs") channels the spirit of his chosen Atlanta base through a fluid shift between post-New Jack Swing ballads rooted in the LaFace Records lineage and trap-inflected slow jams. This independent singer/songwriter began tracking material during his teenage years and drew vocal parallels to Chris Brown alongside the Weeknd, particularly the Trilogy-era Weeknd. He soon distinguished himself as both a songwriter—incidentally contributing to Brown and several additional acts—and a layered vocalist who claimed center stage under his adopted moniker while balancing external projects. Upstrz made his official introduction in 2020 and has since delivered the albums Love Ain't Easy (2020) and Meet Me Upstrz (2022), plus a steady stream of singles.
Prior to adopting the name Upstrz, Jabreh Shaw performed as JayBree. He appeared on WillieJamez’s 2014 single “SpontenousLove,” and roughly two years afterward, Shaw joined forces with his Saint Paul’s High School for Recording Arts classmates to record “Royalty” alongside Sounds of Blackness. Within another few years he secured initial songwriting opportunities for fellow artists. After establishing himself in Atlanta, Shaw reached a pivotal point in 2020: he founded his own Sevyn Figures Music imprint, released the earliest Upstrz singles, and unveiled the album Love Ain't Easy on December 25 of that year. He also earned two prominent writing placements that same year on Chris Brown and Young Thug’s “I Got Time” and Lyrica Anderson’s “Notice Me.” Additional Upstrz singles surfaced in 2021, a period when Shaw further expanded his behind-the-scenes work by co-writing tracks including Mariana Velletto’s “For Me,” Vedo’s “Yesterday,” and Eric Bellinger’s “Go Get It,” the last of which featured on Bellinger’s New Light, later nominated for a Grammy in the Best Urban Contemporary Album category.
Sustaining his dual focus on solo and collaborative output throughout 2022, Shaw notably contributed to Chris Brown’s “Mmhmm,” participated on three selections from Vedo and OG Parker’s While You Wait, and issued further singles under his own name. Toward year’s end Bellinger put out another Shaw-co-written single, “BNB,” while Shaw himself returned with the second Upstrz album, Meet Me Upstrz.
Prior to adopting the name Upstrz, Jabreh Shaw performed as JayBree. He appeared on WillieJamez’s 2014 single “SpontenousLove,” and roughly two years afterward, Shaw joined forces with his Saint Paul’s High School for Recording Arts classmates to record “Royalty” alongside Sounds of Blackness. Within another few years he secured initial songwriting opportunities for fellow artists. After establishing himself in Atlanta, Shaw reached a pivotal point in 2020: he founded his own Sevyn Figures Music imprint, released the earliest Upstrz singles, and unveiled the album Love Ain't Easy on December 25 of that year. He also earned two prominent writing placements that same year on Chris Brown and Young Thug’s “I Got Time” and Lyrica Anderson’s “Notice Me.” Additional Upstrz singles surfaced in 2021, a period when Shaw further expanded his behind-the-scenes work by co-writing tracks including Mariana Velletto’s “For Me,” Vedo’s “Yesterday,” and Eric Bellinger’s “Go Get It,” the last of which featured on Bellinger’s New Light, later nominated for a Grammy in the Best Urban Contemporary Album category.
Sustaining his dual focus on solo and collaborative output throughout 2022, Shaw notably contributed to Chris Brown’s “Mmhmm,” participated on three selections from Vedo and OG Parker’s While You Wait, and issued further singles under his own name. Toward year’s end Bellinger put out another Shaw-co-written single, “BNB,” while Shaw himself returned with the second Upstrz album, Meet Me Upstrz.