Southern rapper uses brother’s tragedy to spark musical career

MOBILE, AL – Five years ago, JayGotti had the worst birthday of his life.


At 4 a.m. of that day, he was awakened to a phone call saying that his older brother – one of the people he was closest to in his life – had been shot and killed outside of a club. At the time, JayGotti wasn’t making music, but his brother was. In fact, his brother – Brandarius “Dodie” Hill  

– was starting to make a name for himself, and JayGotti loved getting to be a part of that lifestyle as he saw his brother succeed at something he loved.


Today, JayGotti makes music every day – and he points to his brother as the inspiration for that.


“It’s something I talk about a lot in my songs,” JayGotti said of his brother’s influence on his musical career. “When my brother was killed on my birthday, it was the worst thing I’ve ever gone through. But I’ve learned that nothing in life comes easy. You’ve gotta’ grind and you’ve gotta’ work. Nothing is gonna’ happen overnight – it’s gonna’ take time. So don’t give up. Everybody can do it, and that’s what I want my music to be about.”


Over the past five years, JayGotti has worked to build his music career. He’s dropped singles on major mixtapes such as DJFiestiaBoii’s “Bangers of the Week” series, and the infamous DJ Miles’ “Tracks of the Month” series. His most recent single, “Litt,” was on DJMiles tracks of the month for August. It’s a party song that JayGotti said is a bit of a different sound than what he’s become known for, but something he’s proud to share with fans because it displays his diversity as a musician. To date the single has had nearly 300,000 plays and more than 113,500 downloads.


“That’s pretty big for a country boy from the middle of nowhere doing everything on his own,” JayGotti said. “And you can expect many more big things. This is just the beginning of my soon-to-be-luxurious career.”


Toward that end, JayGotti is announcing two new singles about to be released. The first is called “Ambition,” and is a song that is true to its title as it explores the effort it takes to realize your dreams. He said it’s a song that a lot of people can relate to, especially those who are “coming from the struggle.”


The second single is “Rolling Around,” a track he said was inspired by Kevin Gates’ “Roaming Around.” He said his song has different beats with his own unique rhythm. The song is about “riding around the city at night and thinking about all the stuff you’ve got on your mind.”


Fans wanting to get a sample of JayGotti’s music can check him out on Soundcloud @JAYHILL42, or follow him on social media @jaygotti42 on Instagram and @JAYHIIL42 on Twitter.