Birth name Jonathan Hay Years active 1994-present Role Producer | Occupation(s) Music entrepreneur Name Jonathan Hay | |
 | ||
Born December 16, 1973 (age 50)
Leesburg, Florida ( 1973-12-16 ) Associated acts Rihanna, Crooked I, Cyhi the Prynce, Chris Webby, Johnny Depp, Big Pun, Twista, Wiz Khalifa, MC Breed | ||
Jonathan Hay (born December 16, 1973) is an American celebrity publicist and record producer. His music career started in Louisville, Kentucky at Studio 550. Hay is a TIDAL Rising Producer/Artist who has been described as a "legendary music producer" and "media mogul". He's worked with clients from Sony Music to Wiz Khalifa and provides PR crisis management. Hay is no stranger to controversy and is outspoken with his opinions, that are often quoted in the press such as The Washington Post. Hay openly supports marijuana.
Contents
Background
Jonathan Hay is a Leesburg, Florida native. He was adopted as a child. His biological parents are Ron Bradley (Lakeland, Florida) and Pamela Nicely (Ashtabula, Ohio) and their first time meeting in 43 years is part of a reality series. He has two teenage daughters named Hannah Lynn and Iliana Eve.
Hay got his start in the music industry with Travis Meeks who was signed to Interscope Records. He was slammed by Meeks for issuing a press release announcing Meeks' audition for the new band Velvet Revolver formed by ex-Guns N' Roses members Slash, Izzy Stradlin, Duff McKagan and Matt Sorum. In 2001, Hay had involvement with Prince for "When Will We Be Paid", a cover song originally performed by The Staple Singers. In 2005, Hay helped publicize "Pon de Replay" the debut single from Rihanna with controversial marketing tactics. Hay worked as a publicist for Death Row Records and he's worked with a wide range of music talent, including Whitney Houston and Ice Cube. In 2012, Hay was in the middle of a high-profile guardianship case involving teen actress Ariel Winter, a star on the TV series Modern Family, and her mother, Chrisoula "Crystal" Workman. Winter's mother approached Hay about leaking nude photos of her other daughter, Shanelle Workman, to the press in an attempt to counter allegations of abuse. Crystal Workman sent a cease and desist to Hay. Hay testified and signed a declaration for Ariel Winter in favor of her staying with Shanelle.
In 2013, Hay co-founded SMH Records with Mike Smith a Charlotte, North Carolina based record label. Hay got into a public dispute with Kanye West and Kim Kardashian over the song "These Walls Revisted" and a charity auction of an original painting of West, where it was alleged that 100% of the proceeds would go to Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, the couples charity of choice. Hay was a co-executive producer on "Sex, Money and Hip-Hop" by Kxng Crooked fka Crooked I of Slaughterhouse, a rap group that is signed to Eminem and Shady Records. Hay executive produced an album featuring urban music by Kentucky artists and film star Johnny Depp. In 2014, it was announced that Hay was a music producer on the TV show "One Shot" with T.I., RZA, DJ Khaled, Tech N9ne, Sway Calloway and others. The show airs on BET starting August 23.
In February 2015, Hay had a six-figure departure deal from SMH Records and formed Jonathan Hay Celebrity. In May, When Music Worlds Collide the debut studio album of Jonathan Hay and Mike Smith that features notable names in the hip-hop genre was released as a streaming only album and was featured on Fox News, Billboard, and Business Insider. On July 1, Billboard Magazine announced the release of Jonathan Hay's produced "Don't Close Your Eyes (Ashamed)" a song about suicide and alcohol abuse as a tribute to the late Keith Whitley on his 60th birthday. The music video premiered on MTV News on August 27.
On October 23, Hay appeared on Inside Edition and publicly apologized to Beyoncé for his story in the unauthorized biography Becoming Beyonce. Hay is in the Beyonce book for his 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." Neither star, Rihanna or Jay Z was aware of his machinations he told Newsday.
In December, Jonathan Hay was in both Vogue and Vanity Fair in Italy for a recording project and reality show taping in Tampa, Florida. Jonathan Hay's compilation album The Urban Hitchcock LP was released in March 2016, followed by Deluxe: The Urban Hitchcock LP in August 2016.
Hay spoke out in Rolling Stone Magazine [March 24, 2016 (Issue 1257)] to publicly support Kesha during her sexual assault lawsuit against Dr. Luke. The magazine called Hay a "crisis management expert". In June, Hay produced a single that was released through Snoop Dogg's relaunched record label Doggy Style Records.
In July, he co-produced Deluxe: When Music Worlds Collide with Mike Smith and King Tech of Sway & Tech that features many rappers from several eras that was released through SMH Records and Urban Hitchcock. 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. 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."
In August, Hay took a stand against Afrika Bambaataa and released a remix featuring Ron "Bee Stinger" Savage. In the diss track, produced by Hay, Jonathan replays the notes from Bambaataa's song "Planet Rock" while Savage speaks out about child molestation
Songs
Long Damn TimeThe Urban Hitchcock LP · 2016
Dude Looks Like a SuperstarThe Urban Hitchcock LP · 2016
Don't Close Your Eyes [Extended Album Version]The Urban Hitchcock LP · 2016