Life & Work with Jaylen Washington of Lawrenceville, GA

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jaylen Washington.

Hi Jaylen, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I was born in Montgomery, Alabama (ROLL TIDE!!!) in 2007 to two young parents. My father used to rap and even had a few mixtapes that never ended up being released due to certain circumstances. He went by “Automatic”. I remember being a kid and finding his rap notebooks all around the house. I would sneak and read them, never knowing the actual scheme or the rap that I was reading. I moved to Georgia in the summer of 2016. This place taught me a lot.

Growing up, my biggest influences in music were J. Cole, Michael Jackson, Kendrick Lamar, Big L, Capital STEEZ, Eric B. & Rakim, Fleetwood Mack, Audioslave, Future, Jay-Z, Juice WRLD, Lucki, Lupe, Nas, X, Denzel Curry, Joey Bada$$ and LL Cool J.

Lil Bow Wow is another notable name. I listened to a lot of his music when I was around seven years old. Around that same time, I was listening to records like “Choosin” by Lil Pnut and “Make ‘Em Say Uhh” by No Limit Records. J. Cole did a lot for me though. I was onto “Truly Yours” by the time I was in the fourth grade. Some notable songs off that work are “Kenny Lofton”, “Head Bussa” and “How High”. Cole needs to find a way to make that mixtape available on all platforms.

LL was the first rapper other than Cole who I really showed interest in. “I’m bad” was the song that showed me that I too could freestyle rap. Basketball was a big influence of mine as well, so when I heard “40 Bars” by Allen Iverson, my view on rapping was shifted. This song taught me that there’s more to a person than what meets the eye. Here, we have a world-famous hooper with the same passion as a kid like me.

I began to actually rap when I was nine years old. My music intake began to expand after I had gotten my first phone at seven years old and remembered a conversation with my dad where he showed me a song by the “Greatest Rapper that Ever Lived”(Tupac). Up until that point, J. Cole had not yet dropped “2014 Forest Hills Drive” until later that December. Amongst many other artists, Cole was the blueprint. I began to study and analyze the Complex YouTube videos and the breakdown of the scheme patterns. This would become my focal point within my artistry— my lyricism. As I got older, my influences came in the form of a lot of contemporary rap. Some notable songs: Saba(Calligraphy), Ovrkast(TBH!), Jay Electronica(Exhibit C), Glokk40Spaz(Bad Man), Max B (So Hard), El Cousteau (Redlines), Freddie Gibbs(Fake Names), Greyson & Jaysun (Livin’ Like A Troopa’), Mac Miller (Buttons), and Mos Def (Mathematics). I’m certain I’ll forget more names, but the point is that I am a “Hip-Hop-Head”.

Music has been such a major influence. I ended up becoming inspired by all that’s around me and eventually, December 24, 2022, I released my first song “The Ferryman” under the name ‘Axhillxs’ (like Achilles). That part of my career would begin to fade away after I released my first 10-song project titled “From Da Dungeon”, with the reason being that I could genuinely see a brighter future by letting go of my frustrations. Summer, 2024, I came up with the name ‘3buhlow’, after going back to the song “Runaway” by J. Cole and reciting the opening lines to the third verse, “Unbelievable,
Seen evil that not even Knievel know..
At age three I knew this world was three below..
Listen, even though my ego low, achieved the unachievable..
Imagine if my confidence was halfway decent yo..”

—My life in words, and I wasn’t even the one to quote them. Hopefully I can release a song paying homage to Cole for the lob.—

Since then, my career has only been up. I am working on a project called “Flyin’ Solo”. Monumental, if you ask me. I released my DEMO tape the other day under the name “platinumcatalog”(also my IG handle) on the ‘[untitled]’ app. I have the highest hopes for this project. I write all my songs so this form of artistry is an easy bag to pull tricks out of.

If anyone’d like to get a hold of my lyrics, they’d only be able to lay eyes on some random notebook I might not even have anymore. They have to come to me, the source, for the information. My Mother and Father, High School Track Coach, Max B, and Mach-Hommy taught me how important it is to protect your soul. Your art is yours and you should be able to do with it as you please. Before you’re gone though, make sure you consider the possibility of someone just like you coming through the game and making a huge name for themselves. If they feel inspired by you, they should be allowed to express that. The beauty of the world we inhabit was mean to be shared by everyone, not just some big names celebrity with a jet ski and a Rosetta Stone.

—I still haven’t even been on a plane and I am 18. I know how I’ll get there though..

“3 Steps Ahead”—

Thank you for tuning in for a bit of my story.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Being a kid who experienced a lot of embarrassment from situations out of my control, I grew up with a shallow level of confidence. I got my rise from free-styling over the washing of the dishes. Mess-up or not, the sound of the stove’s fan at max, combined with the sink water on full blast made for a pretty secluded hiding spot. I would use this dish time to hone in on my craft and do the necessary work to ensure that I would not walk away from that sink without having learned a valuable takeaway.

Similies, metaphors, all that good stuff—practice it aloud! How else will you get any better? You don’t even hear it if you never say it, so who will? Theater taught me that I can do a lot with a performance. Improv, projection, and all the giddy little exercises we’d do for teamwork helped me become a better performer, a better linguist, and I became far more skilled with my presence, whether it be on stage or in a verse. Music Tech also was there as a guideline on how to prepare myself for the incompetence of others.

The reality is that you cannot count on everyone to give their all into something only you are truly passionate about. That passion has to become your responsibility and it needs to be protected and raised as if it were a child.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
3buhlow is an upcoming artist whose goals in this industry are to bring authentic, charged words, filled with relatable quotes and ‘Real-Eye-Zen-Sations’. I do not have to be the deepest thinker, but I am still a deep thinker. In my music, I reference everything possible. There are so many references that many listeners will not understand until they listen more. My inaccessibility to my lyrics from the outside comes from the wise words of all my elders. My parents raised me with a good head on my shoulders, and an even better swivel to be able to detect snakes in the grass.

Though I am Atlanta based artist, I recognize that I am not a ‘Pradabagshawty’ nor am I a ‘Wee2Hard’, but they are some of my favorite rappers from the city. People I know tell me that my music sounds “old-school”. Though I am aware they mean no harm, it is still important to note that this year is not 1997, it is 2025. I am here to bring a change, but it is not my goal to resurrect the dead. Every era gets my respect, because I know that I wouldn’t be who I am without figures like ‘Big Daddy Kane’, shows like ‘Snowfall’, and movies like ‘Lottery Ticket’. Mad props to every era of black exposure. “Da Art liveZ On” wrdd, life.

ViVa!¡

Notable lines of mine—

“Live 4 ‘Da Weekend, Mane,
I know dis week done drained you,
But you gotta hold ya’ head,
Stay on yo ten, cuz you got bills to pay..
Intoxication while you whippin’-
Leads to clinic aid,
I know betta than that,
Dats’ da reason I’m takin’ center stage..”

“Tryna make dem dollaz’
Flippin’ pamphlets..
Kinda like my father was an owner-/
Of da Mavericks..
My stash thick,
Gettin’ guava on my left lip…
Ha ass thick…
Thou shall make a clap trick..”

“You dealin’ wit da..
‘Da best in da world..
Fresha’ than a breath of Heaven,
Mo’ perfected than pearls…”

“I think it’s clear dat-
Most of y’all n* confused ‘da GOAT-
For someone who had fables,
Listen, I am only human, bro..
Runnin’ a race,
I gap deez n*, like I’m B. Simone..
Done in a way-
‘Dat only docs wit’ PhD’s would know..”

“Yeah, n*.. A superhero..
I came to save the day,
And nothin’ mo’ than that’s what I’m fo’..
A Roman, I remain the changin’ force,
Like Cupid luh bow..
A most courageous one with heart and soul,
You seen that befo’?
I sing it loud, you hear La Veaux,
From all the way ‘round the globe
I give it to you live,
Delight that brings out sunny rainbows..

What makes you happy?
What makes me happy is optimism. My mind is always sent on what will be and what is coming my way. I feel happiest when I can help others to make sure they aren’t missing a piece to their puzzle. Wherever my help is wanted and truly needed is where I will likely be found. When I find that nobody needs my help though, I just find something to do that doesn’t consume too much of my time. I do need to stay off my phone for longer periods of time though.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://unitedmasters.com/3buhlow
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/platinumcatalog?igsh=OWwxNm0xZXdtOWl4&utm_source=qr
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@3buhlow?si=h4UW0AgxAnQ5d0cn
• soundcloud: https://on.soundcloud.com/RtigQHlXrTSYDLM049
• Other: https://untitled.stream/library/project/KFxyiKCGZ5x8QzXd432zw