As a fan of hip-hop, lyrics are one of the most important aspects of the craft. When you think of today’s female emcees, lyrical is not always the word that comes to mind. That’s what Jay Triiiple wants to change in hip-hop. The 25-year-old Decatur, Illinois born emcee has lived in Denver since she was 15 years old and is quietly making waves in the local atmosphere.

“With music I’m able to give back, help others achieve their own goals, help them feel better about themselves, and face my demons and encourage my listeners to do the same,” stated Triiiple. Triiiple is an exceptional writer and a very talented artist. She is a fierce lyricist and her relatable content seems to resonate with fans well. First hearing her recent single 9/24, I was extremely impressed with the quality of the track and the skill of Triiiple’s rhyming. “My goal is to embrace all of my journey, face life despite any fear or pain, embrace love and all that it is, motivate and have faith while doing it.”

While she has yet to release a full-length project, Triiiple’s hard at work in the studio and steadily dropping very good remixes of some popular songs like “Chill Bill” and “Bad and Boujee.” She cites that her interest in poetry and the fact that she grew up around hip-hop as factors that motivated her to become a rapper.

She has her goals set high in terms of ultimate aspirations and says winning awards for best female artist are definitely on her list of goals. Not only because she is confident in her artistic ability, but also because she believes the female emcee has not been represented by the culture properly and deserves to be recognized for skill and talent, not for image and appearance. When asked about her views on where Colorado hip-hop is headed, Triiiple responded, “Growing. There’s a lot of talented artists out here and some really cool platforms that are be created to showcase them in the city. But growing is how I could characterize the movement as a whole, definitely don’t sleep on our local artists.”

Speaking on some of those platforms that are showcasing local Denver talent, Triiiple praises the work that Test Kitchen is doing at the BlackBox:

“Test Kitchen has been great for me because I get dope responses each time. I performed twice and huge shoutout to Ru (Johnson) for that. She put me on the stage and I had fun and shut it down each time. Ever since I performed at the Black Box twice, my fan base has grown by some surprising numbers. I get to showcase my talent in front of a different crowd than what I’m used to and got to network with people I normally wouldn’t be rubbing elbows with unless I was at a spot like Test Kitchen. It’s dope and I think Ru should keep doing it.” – Triiiple

Jay Triiiple. Photo by Will Sheehan

While its clear platforms like the Test Kitchen are extremely beneficial for the local culture, definitely keep an eye out for this rising emcee in the local scene as she continues to grow into an even better artist. Important Denver hip-hop figure Ru Johnson has already given high praise to Triiiple’s blossoming career and others in the industry have begun to take notice. It’s clear that the raw skill and ability is within her arsenal and she is motivated and determined to take over the game.With more and more shows being booked for 2017, and the upcoming release of her next project Who is Triiiple?, it’s evident that Jay Triiiple is ready for the takeoff in her career. Don’t miss her next performance on April 16 at Cervantes Otherside in Denver.