Starting out in the music business as a publicist, Jonathan Hay worked with established recording artists and record labels alike.[10] His first professional project was with Quo, the short lived hip-hip duo that was signed to Michael Jackson's MJJ Productions.[13]
Hay's first success was achieved with Days of the New, the multi-platinum rock band who had four hit singles; most notably "Touch, Peel and Stand" that Billboard awarded "All-Time Greatest Mainstream Rock Song".[14][15] In 2003, Travis Meeks, the lead singer of the group slammed the publicist for making unauthorized and premature disclosures, which the musician felt "actually damaged his chances" to advance his career.[16] After the purported conflict, Hay still worked with Meeks years later.[17]
Hay worked for Whitney Houston through her father's John Houston Entertainment company.[18] In 2005, Hay tried to promote Rihanna's debut single by "fabricat[ing] stories of Rihanna and Jay Z, leaking false rumors to tabloids, working with Internet message boards, etc."[19] Hay worked as a publicist for Suge Knight's Death Row Records and announced its catalog was being sold to Hasbro.[20][21] In 2012, Hay was part of a guardianship case involving teen actress Ariel Winter, a star on the TV series Modern Family, and her mother, Chrisoula "Crystal" Workman.[22] Hay testified and signed a declaration for Ariel Winter in favor of her staying with her sister Shanelle Workman Gray.[23]
On October 23, 2015, Hay appeared on Inside Edition and publicly apologized to Beyoncé for his part in the unauthorized biographyBecoming Beyoncé.[24] Hay is a subject in the book for a publicity stunt in 2005 for spreading rumors that Jay Z was dating Rihanna to boost the then 17-year-old's "Pon De Replay". Hay confessed that he started those rumors during a difficult time. "The PR stunt that I did was out of desperation to help break 'Pon de Replay,'" Hay said. "It was reckless and I didn't think it was going to work. I was just throwing spaghetti at the wall to see what would stick."[25] Neither Rihanna or Jay Z was aware of his machinations Hay told Newsday.[26] As he noted during an interview with HipHopDX:[27]
"In 2005 the rumor was just a pitch to try and get people talking about Rihanna. It was never intended to be a big ordeal, it was just intended to get people asking, Who’s Rihanna? It was just gossip. If anything, I thought that it might trigger some interest about this new artist, just enough to give her single a boost and then the rumor would quickly dissipate. I never imagined 10 years later that it would be added to a Beyoncé book that is going to be a New York Times Bestseller. It was never meant to be malicious."
In December, Hay was in both Vogue and Vanity Fair for a recording project in Florida.[28][29] Hay spoke out in Rolling Stone magazine [March 24, 2016 (Issue 1257)] to publicly support Kesha during her sexual assault lawsuit against Dr. Luke.[30] The magazine called Hay a "crisis management expert".[31]
Hay told The Sun that his frequent collaborator Cyhi The Prynce wrote the lyrics to "Famous", the song that caused the public battle between Taylor Swift, Kanye West and Kim Kardashian.[32] According to Hollywood Life, a source close to West said, "Cyhi is a creative contributor on the song, in which he has been credited accordingly. However, the specific Taylor lyrics were written by Kanye himself."[33]
Hay stated to The Huffington Post that the Kathy Griffin and Donald Trump photo scandal was "flat-out gross". He explained, "From a PR perspective, she did do the right thing, by apologizing … but still that isn't enough. Not even close."[40] From the viewpoint of a crisis publicist, Hay was quoted in The New York Times about XXXTentacion's posthumous album release Skin.[41]
During October 2022, Hay defended Ye, previously known as Kanye West in SOHH, and said he's “profoundly misunderstood by the media,” and that Ye was “grossly misconstrued and taken way out of context.”[42]
Jonathan Hay's first notable collaboration was Prince and Audio Stepchild's "When Will We Be Paid", a cover song originally performed by The Staple Singers.[44] The song was released through Prince's independent label NPG Records in April 2001 as part of a four-song extended play that peaked at No. 59 on the US Charts.[45]
Hay produced three consecutive No. 1 Billboard Jazz Albums.[82] In January 2018, Hay's jazz debut release Jazz (Deluxe) landed at No. 1 on the Billboard Jazz Charts.[83][84] In July 2019 Jazz Part Two hit No.1 on the Billboard Contemporary Jazz Charts.[85][86] On July 26, Hay produced Follow the Leader, a cover of Eric B. & Rakim's album in the style of jazz with Benny Reid that scored also scored a No. 1 on the Billboard Jazz Charts and was up for Grammy consideration.[87][88][89] Peaking at No. 1, the album remained on the Billboard Charts for 11 weeks.[90] In an interview with Billboard, Hay said:[91]
"This was a magical evening when Benny Reid and I worked on this 'Follow the Leader' remix at the legendary Quad Recording Studios," Hay explains. "I literally met the love of my life that night. The album had just hit No. 1 on the Jazz [Albums] charts and we signed a worldwide distribution deal with Fat Beats, along with a licensing deal with Seven Seas Music. It was crazy!"
The deluxe version of the album was released with Eric B. & Rakim by Fat Beats on December 13, 2019, that included physical formats of vinyl, cd and cassettes.[92][93] Eric B. & Rakim spoke about the Follow the Leader Re-Imagined as Jazz and were quoted as saying:
"I couldn't have done a better job myself and I created the original album (laughs). It's a great body of work, and all the guys should be so proud of themselves. The simple way to put it is that life imitates art, and art imitates life, and it's all coming around full circle." - Eric B as told to Billboard[94]
"The trajectory of this project is the ultimate blessing. It’s tapping into a divine consciousness and showing how the universe continues to spin full circle. Eric and I were always heavy in our influence from the jazz genre. Then three decades in, we are influencing a jazz album, then that album is coming back around to influence hip-hop production greats. We used to dig through the crates at record stores to pull vinyl instrumentals and sample them for our tracks and now Follow The Leader is on vinyl for another generation to expand on with next level music. It’s breaking new barriers, which is the core of Hip Hop culture." - Rakim as told to HipHopDX[95]
House music and EDM releases (2020–2024)
Jonathan Hay on the set of 'Nirvana Reimagined as House and Techno' in Dallas, Texas.
"Our re-imagination of ‘Big Poppa’ is laced with style and grace. With the original spirit of the Notorious B.I.G. spun into a new house classic. Dedicated to all the honeys getting money and the ravers dancing to the sounds from house gods like Martinez Brothers and Carl Cox, our aim was to create music that makes you wanna move and honor BIG’s legacy."
"And while a fair amount of tomb-raiding has occurred on Kurt Cobain's behalf—Nirvana Reimagined is one of a few tributes that align with his principles. Back in 2014, the surviving members of the band played at St. Vitus in Brooklyn with a succession of female lead singers(opens in a new tab), from Joan Jett to St. Vincent—which Cobain, an ardent feminist(opens in a new tab), arguably would have loved.""
On April 20, 2017, Jonathan Hay was a victim in a home invasion where he was held at gunpoint as reported by the New York Daily News.[117] Hay was bound by duct tape during the attack in the Mallard at St. Matthews complex.[118]
WHAS-TV and WAVE (TV) reported that St. Matthews Police arrested Michael Brooks and Louis Simmons Jr. and they were charged with first degree robbery, two counts of kidnapping, possession of a handgun by a convicted felon, receiving stolen property, possession of drug paraphernalia and two counts fraudulent use of a credit card.[119][71][120] Quantez Gibson was the third person arrested.[121] Gibson is currently in prison at the Kentucky State Reformatory for the two offenses of "criminal facilitation kidnapping and robbery."[122]
JT Barnett who helped create 'Joe Exotic The Tiger King' started the true crime documentary that's based on the violent home invasion incident that happened while Hay was working on a crisis management situation involving hip-hop superstar Drake.[123] The home invasion took place in a suburb of Louisville, Kentucky.[citation needed] The teaser trailer was released on the director's Instagram.[124] Netflix star Joe Exotic announced on X (previously named Twitter) that he was an executive producer.[125]
Personal life
The media reported that Jonathan Hay and Adele were romantically involved after meeting in a recording studio in New York.[126][127] Adele and Hay declined to comment on the dating speculation.[128][129] Hay is a Leesburg, Florida native.[130] He went to Waggener High School but switched to a private school system to play basketball at Christian Academy of Louisville.[1] He was adopted as a child by Donald and Nancy Stivers.[131][132] With the help of 23andMe, he met his biological mother, Pamela Nicely Rappe, for the first time in February 2017.[133] She died unexpectedly in February 2021.[134] He has two daughters, Hannah Lynn and Iliana Eve.[135]
