Jason Newman (born November 3rd, 1986)[1] better known for his stage name The Young Yay, is an American rapper and producer. He is currently based in Petaluma, California and was raised in the north bay.[2] He has made 5 independent albums under the record label, Criminal Minded Sadists.[3]

Life and career

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The Young Yay is one of the few openly LGBTQIA+ rap/hip-hop artists in the music industry.[4] Hoping to open the door for more queer hip-hop and rap artists in a field that has not always been welcoming to this group of individuals.[5] The Young Yay has also been a strong advocate for LGBTQIA+ rights in his personal life. Appearing to work with news reporters to uncover state funding of anti-gay churches in Sonoma County.[6][7]

The Young Yay shared in the article about how as a teen he had attempted to take his own life due to his sexuality but found music as a way to help cope through the difficult times.[6]

The Young Yay is open about his sexuality as it is a main topic in his music and how it has played a

role in his life form trying to make it into the music industry or how it led to substance use disorder.[2]

The Young Yay himself states in his bio on ReverbNation that he has been writing music since he was a teen but only since April of 2024 has he been recording. He cites dealing with substance use disorder is what brought him to music and is one of his strongest coping skills to get through the difficult times.[2]

The Young Yay initially started off as a Tik Tok rapper with 21k followers[8] and now boasts 83.8K monthly listeners on Spotify[1] and nearly 30k listens a month on sound cloud[3]

DISCOGRAPHY:

Stayin sober (April 2024)

Old School N New School (June 2024)

Gay Rap God 3 (July 2024)

Success & Pain (August 2024)

Livin in the North Bay Vol 1 (September 2024 upcoming relase)

References

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  1. ^ a b "Spotify". www.spotify.com. Retrieved 2024-09-21.
  2. ^ a b c Ltd, BandLab Singapore Pte. "The Young Yay | Rap from Petaluma, CA". ReverbNation. Retrieved 2024-09-21.
  3. ^ a b "SoundCloud for Artists". artists.soundcloud.com. Retrieved 2024-09-21.
  4. ^ The Gay Rap God, 2024-07-21, retrieved 2024-09-21
  5. ^ LGBTQ Rappers Discuss Representation In Hip-Hop (theroot.com)
  6. ^ a b "Anti-gay church gets $400,000 - Press Democrat". edition.pagesuite.com. Retrieved 2024-09-22.
  7. ^ "Activists outraged as anti-LGBTQ Santa Rosa church receives state grant". CBS News. 10 July 2023.
  8. ^ "TikTok - Make Your Day".