Jae Stephens has emerged as a powerful voice in pop and R&B, blending her exceptional songwriting and production skills to create a distinctive sound that captivates audiences. Born in Dallas, raised in Pasadena, CA, and now based in Los Angeles, she first made waves as a teenage prodigy, showcasing her soul-stirring vocals and remarkable songwriting talent on platforms like Tumblr. There, she garnered an impressive 200,000 followers with captivating covers and engaging life updates. After stepping into the music scene with her debut single "24K" in 2017, she quickly established herself as a formidable force, releasing her self-written and self-produced EP f**k it, i’ll do it myself in 2019, featuring the fan-favorite track "got it like that."

Stephens has writing credits for major names like Jennifer Lopez, Normani, and Sinéad Harnett, further solidifying her reputation in the music industry. With over 50 million streams to her name, she continues to push the boundaries of R&B. Now signed to Raedio in partnership with Def Jam Recordings; she is poised to unveil her latest project, SELLOUT, a vibrant collection of R&B and pop singles that marks the beginning of an exciting new era for the artist, showcasing her evolution and limitless potential.

“I feel really excited, which is strange for me,” Stephens says of her new EP. “I've never really felt anything but anxiety surrounding a release. But, I'm mostly just excited because this is the first time I put so much intention and purpose and just, like, serious streamlined, 100% laser focus into everything from the music to the visuals, to the cover, to the styling. My foot was in everything, and I was exhausted. But I'm so happy with how it turned out.”

The 27-year-old acknowledges that this is the first time she's truly had the confidence to give something her all. “I really sat down and had a clear vision, you know, because I am a writer. I write all the time. I write for myself. I write for other people, and I think it can be easy to kinda get caught up in just endless songs and other people's or other artists' worlds,” she shares with BET.

SELLOUT features the standout single "Body Favors," a track inspired by ballroom house and the mid-2000s duets produced by Timbaland and The Neptunes. With its propulsive, rubbery bassline, "Body Favors" evolves into an irresistible dance floor anthem. After teasing the song in 2022, Stephens’ new single is now making waves on X (formally known as Twitter), amassing over 600K views and igniting an important conversation about the impact of Black girls on pop music. Stephens is confidently stepping up as the public calls for a new Black pop star. She emphasizes that she deeply resonated with the pop music era dominated by artists like Cassie, Nelly Furtado, the Pussycat Dolls, Gwen Stefani, Rihanna, and Beyoncé.

“Just girls who, they felt like, were very unapologetic and very intentional about just making an amazing song that was still for the girls. Now, I feel like a lot of people think you have to choose between the two. Those women knew how to keep it fun and sexy and still just make a great song,” she reflects.

Stephens draws clear inspiration from Pharrell Williams, one half of The Neptunes, and dreams of collaborating with the Grammy award-winning producer. “I just feel like we would make some real magic. I just need him to give me a hot 16. Like, he can just give me a loop and I'll add on to it, and I'll make it the biggest, hottest, sexiest thing. If he can whisper in the background of it a little bit, I will be into that, too,” she reveals. “I just think he has such a timeless sauce that's just been amazing for the past like, 30 years.”

She jokingly admits that not having met Pharrell yet is for the best. “I feel like it would be embarrassing,” she laughs. “I'll wait until I'm a bit cooler, and I have more to say to him. Because if I met him right now, I'd be like, ‘Please give me a beat.’ I’d just throw my CDs, my songs at him, like, ‘Just listen to it.’”

Stephens believes that embracing a little craziness in life is what's helping propel her career. “What’s that saying again?” she asks. “It's crazy until it works. It's actually my thing right now. Delusion is in. You gotta be a little crazy. You gotta think you're the exception. You gotta think you're different." Reflecting on her past, she adds, "I do think part of the reason I always held myself back a little bit before was just feeling scared of how it would look if it didn't work or feeling scared of how it would look just in general."

She continues, “It's such a public thing to be making music and releasing it, again and again, for people you know on Instagram and people you don’t know online. And I feel like once I got over that fear of worrying about how it would look to others, that's when things started working. You know? I just started listening to myself, doing what I wanted, and trying to have fun with it. It's only crazy if you start looking at yourself crazy. I use the gift that God gave me.”