Jay Q discloses why he hardly produces music for Ghanaian artistes in recent times

Ghanaian music producer Jeff Quaye, known as Jay Q, is based in the USA. He recently explained why he has been less active in Ghanaian music productions.

Jay Q clarified that he has not retired from music production. However, he rarely produces beats for Ghanaian artists these days.

In an interview with Joy FM's Kwame Dadzie on March 22, 2025, he shared his reasons. Many artists who want to work with him do not meet his booking requirements.

"I still do music but not in the Ghanaian space like before," he said. He noted that many independent artists claim they lack budgets and record labels.

In the past, people thought he charged high fees for his work. Jay Q believes that how you present yourself affects how others perceive your value.

He mentioned that many artists want to follow current trends. However, he prefers to stay true to his craft and musical identity.

“I have been quiet in the Ghanaian space for this reason,” he explained. He feels pressured to conform to what others are doing instead of staying authentic.

Artists often request popular genres like amapiano, but Jay Q wants to define his own sound. He pioneered hiplife and aims to maintain its unique identity.

**About Jay Q**

Jeff Tennyson Quaye is a pioneer of hiplife music. He gave the genre a new identity through local Ga rhythms.

His music career began in 1993 when a friend visited him with a keyboard. They spent time together learning how to play songs on it.

His church recognized his talent and sponsored him at Oriental School Of Music in Accra. Later, he met Fred Kyei Mensah at Resurrection Power Ministries, who taught him music programming.

In the late 90s, Jay Q collaborated with many artists like Paapa Yaw Johnson and Alhaji K Frimpong. These productions were done using analogue equipment at Combined House of Music in Accra.

He later worked with notable artists such as Mzbel and Obrafour. As technology advanced in 2000, digital recordings became more popular than analogue ones.

Jay Q transitioned from Combined House of Music to Virtual Sound Lab for digital recording. He fell in love with Pro Tools on Apple Mac computers during this time.

In 2002, he moved to Hush Hush studio and won Best Recording Engineer at the Ghana Music Awards in 2003.