After Mike Smith and Jonathan Hay (collectively known as Smith and Hay) received exceptional feedback for their debut album Jazz, they still felt a little musically unsatisfied. They went back into the studio and reworked some of the debuts songs, added several new tunes and released Jazz (Deluxe).
The LP skyrocketed up the Billboard Charts and reached the top spot. Jazz (Deluxe) by Smith and Hay became the number one jazz album in the country. The LP is #1 Billboard Jazz, #1 Billboard Jazz Contemporary, #5 Billboard Heatseekers and #21 Billboard Independent.
This album features production work by the legendary King Tech along with a host of other features. The fiery and political first single “A Party Going On” featuring Kxng Crooked and Ranna Royce went viral. The 24 song Jazz (Deluxe) album has an array of features with both Kxng Crooked and Royce da 5’9” from Slaughterhouse, Cyhi The Prynce, Jerome “Bigfoot” Brailey of Parliament Funkadelic, DJ King Tech of Sway and Tech and the remaining member of the legendary PM Dawn. In addition to these collaborations, Smith and Hay worked with Iliana Eve, Antik, King Graint, Faincarter, Aneesa Badshaw and The Visionary and The Architect.
And what would jazz be without the jazz legends? Smith and Hay got some of the best horn players in music, Benny Reid and Jerry Hey, to play on Jazz (Deluxe). Reid’s work really shines on “Can’t Help Falling In Love” featuring 15 year old Iliana Eve.
Mike Smith told journalist Cyrus Langhorne, “Jazz is the musical form of freestyle rapping. This is a different kind of jazz. Many of the great jazz artists lived tragic lives and expressed that anguish in their music. We want to connect that artistic sentiment to a new audience.” Smith continued,
“It’s been a pretty quiet genre the last 30 years. The first great music stars came from jazz and many artists today mimic it, without realizing it, what the greats already did. We want to showcase that.”
Mike Smith has had a great month, along with Jazz (Deluxe), his Solo Album “Pieces Of My Soul”, Debuted at Number on the Billboard Heatseekers Chart on December 30. The first single from this album “I Know (I Love You) is rapidly climbing up the charts.
Smith and Hay are not stopping and celebrating their successes. They are busy working in the studio with Ranna Royce on their collaborative album The Hoodlum Ball (1 and 2) with The Game, Riff Raff, Conway, MC Eiht, Kxng Crooked, Chino XL, Twista and Cyhi The Prynce.
Stream the #1 Jazz album by Smith and Hay on Spotify –
