Meet Just Jay | Comedian/Storyteller

We had the good fortune of connecting with Just Jay and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Just, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking.
In a nutshell I believe you’ll never know your full potential if you’re never willing to risk a loss. It’s risks we take that push the boundaries of what we know and show us and those around us what we are capable of. The risks I’ve taken have pushed me to what I thought was my breaking point so many times, and each time I have succeeded I came out a better version of myself and a little bit further ahead than where I started.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I am a comedian/Storyteller And I travel city to city performing in front of any audience I can. Telling stories from my life as a kid, while incarcerated and life after incarceration. I’m 46 years old and have spent almost 23 years of my life incarcerated. I can’t speak for others but life has never been easy. But being on stage isn’t hard at all. It’s the one place I’m free. I hear all the time that doing Comedy is hard. Public speaking is hard. And it’s the one thing for me that isn’t. I live in my car traveling city to city performing and picking up jobs everywhere I go. I’m always meeting new people making new friends Have spent most of my life, locked up, prepared me for the rigors of this life and have you given me the willpower to keep going no matter how hard it gets. It’s my past experiences they have taught me how to move in the direction I’m driven. Having waited for a release date so many times has shown me that trusting the vision and being patient for the outcome always pays off. No matter how bad something looks it always gets better if you let it

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Uptown Comedy Corner, Kat’s Cafe, The Laughing Library, Life Bistro, The Monticello Bistro, Clutch are all places I love performing and taking friends. They all have a feel to them. An aura. Good vibes, good food and good people mixed with a creative spirit and energy. Zoo Atlanta and Yellow River Wildlife Sanctuary are always a blast. You can’t walk in and hold on to anything that doesn’t serve you. Your mind and heart are taken other places and I always leave them feeling energized and renewed.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My uncle Jimmie, my best friend Niyu, Roger, Nitara and a bunch of others that gave me strength, guidance, encouragement and support in a world I felt ill equipped to live or prosper in. My Uncle always told me that life is fictional. All you need to is want it and work for it to have the life you want. Niyu she doesn’t take no sh_t from me. She’s always there to help guide me and tell me what I need to hear even when it’s something I’m not wanting to hear. Roger from the first day has seen something in me that I don’t always see and has made sure I had the room and the insight to grow into who I am without trying to change my perception of who I am. Nitara understands the struggle of an artist and the discriminative world of entertainment. All of them have been there for me when I need food, money, shelter or wisdom. It’s very hard to find genuine people who want to help you on your life’s path without trying to alter its course.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/5o_shades_0f_jay?igsh=cDN1OTNuc3hqNDlu&utm_source=qr

Twitter: https://x.com/5o_shadesof_jay?s=21&t=zv_7U2VzPLtI-pE5Gc7OEg

Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/people/James-Cathey/100091405281513/

Youtube: https://youtube.com/@50_shades_of_jay?si=oGiydGLpxuj76CTG

Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@5o_shades_of_jay?_t=8re3wYoIe0k&_r=1

Image Credits
All my pics were taken by ppl who were around and will to shoot the shot in the moment it was being made. The first one was at a shoot for a talent show I was in. I asked the photographer to take a couple shots with my phone and liked that one the most. The second one was at life bistro. I walked in and the host didn’t show up. None of the other comedians showed up and it was just me the crew and a few of the audience members just hang out for an hour and a half half. The third one was me and my friend Wileek outside of the restaurant Clutch after an awesome performance. The fourth one is me and Pam Brown one of the dopest promoters and entertainers in the city of Atlanta. The fifth one is me and Tia “Da Hood Unicorn” Williams a female boxer I met on this journey who has been through a bit and has been as much a part of my journey as I have. The sixth was me and a bunch of Atlanta comics outside of the El Dorado Theater last year on one of the coldest but best nights ever. The seventh one was of me and Atlanta comic Laughin with Lauren, comedian Jugo and a few others having all met up in Charlotte. And the last is me a rapper named Affair that has grown on his life journey as I grew on mine. And always ends up in the same places and on the same stages as me