by mariah estran
photo by randijah t simmons
The internet asked for a “Black Pop Star” and Jae Stephens gave the audience just what they wanted.
She responded to the request on X, attaching her music video for “Body Favors.” The warmly hued visual montage of chic fashion and video-vixen energy is everything pop fans drool over.
“When I started doing what I wanted to do — you know, regardless of what that might look like to other people, I think people received it well,” she says about her current position in her artistry.
After signing to Issa Rae’s label Raedio, in mid-September, Stephens released her third EP, SELLOUT “This EP felt like a new foot forward and a new direction for me — sonically and visually,” she expresses about the milestone. There is now support from a team and a surplus of resources at hand. So, she saw no reason not to go all the way. “I felt like this was the time; I had no more excuses.”
Stephens was ready to reintroduce herself to new listeners and the ones who had been listening for years. SELLOUT marks her third EP, following up her 2022 release, High My Name Is, and the 2019 EP, f**k it i’ll do it myself. Her tenure not stopping there; since the early 2010s she has been releasing music, most notably known as the Tumblr screenname beyoncebeytwice. Posting to the popular blogging site, she would share her covers and still tell a joke or two in between. Something she now refers to as an “online crash course.”
Those initial stages of social media connected her to a large community who would ride or die for her work. “It warmed me up to the idea of how I would want to present myself,” she explains. “Also, how I want to market myself online and what I am comfortable with, even what my audience, my fans, or my followers want to hear.”
With that insight in mind, she tapped into what she envisioned, plus what listeners would resonate with. Stephens understood the assignment, stepping away from the mysterious type of sound she carried through her self-produced years and diving into a much bigger realm.
Two years in the making, she began shedding any reservations, homing in on a vibrant, bubbling pop sound that makes up the entirety of SELLOUT. “I wanted to edge my way into this new sound, let people know where I stood and what I was trying to accomplish here,” she explains, adding that the EP title is even a slight poke at the concept of selling out. “I think it can be tricky, particularly as a Black girl trying a new sound that's bigger, brighter, cleaner, poppier. You are corny, lame, or a sellout, especially if you come from a DIY space like I did.”
Instead, she was one step ahead of the criticism, owning that title in the boldest way possible. In six songs, you are brought into an effervescent blend of production that carries the vibrancy of Y2K with a hint of today's dance cadency.
“WET” sets the tone as the opening track reveals a cheeky beat and lyrics that chant, “Slip and slide / come closer, I don’t mind / If we get a little (wet).” The bouncy beat makes for that ideal, choreographed pop-star video, which she leans right into. In the visual, soap bubbles rise as she moves with a crew of backup dancers in a car wash parking lot.
“‘WET’ was so interesting for me because it was terrifying to watch,” Stephens reveals. “When I first got it back, it was like, ‘I’m dancing on top of a car, it’s dramatic and so pop-star.’ It intimidated me because I thought it was too much.”
In all its grandeur, her vision was coming to life, “Girls Don’t Cheat” expanded on that blend of pop-R&B as she declared what women need — just a little attention. She paid homage to the film Honey, dancing in front of a dance studio mirror in the track's corresponding video.
Stephens was becoming comfortable in this new light as a songstress.
But it was still “Body Favors” that solidified that feeling. The song that she says made it all click. “I finally tapped into that place that made sense for me,” she shares. It is that standout track, the one, as a listener, you keep coming back to. With its energetic charm served on a platter of irresistible lyricism, this is the three minute tune that’s worthy of a queue-up. And again, the internet agrees. Fans on X call it a hit, as others want the song to catapult her into the mainstream in 2025.
photo by randijah t simmons
The music video has been shared on over 4.1k profiles since its August release date.
“I'm happy it was the one that connected with the people in the beginning because I just had a feeling,” she says. “I just knew.”
When discussing the success of “Body Favors” and SELLOUT overall, she does not overlook the personal steps taken to feel comfortable in this authentic state. She looks back at that girl who started a Tumblr page, “I think there was always something invisible holding me back in fear of being embarrassed,” Stephens reveals. “She would be proud that she got over that, got unhinged, and went for it.”
There was no time like the present. In 2024, pop music was on fire. Billboard noted it was the best it had been in a decade. Not to mention, it was women leading the charge. “I think pop is in such an exciting space right now, there's so many girls killing it,” she says when asked about her being a topic within that genre discourse post-EP release.
“I just know that I would love to see someone like me, who looks like me, be a part of that. We deserve that chance to tap into that side of ourselves, musically, visually, or aesthetically.”
Freshly into 2025, she has teased that new music is in the works, humorously posting on X, “SELLOUT… honey you’re unemployed.” When asked about the future, she mentions going bigger, from sound to the possibility of shows and an album “full of songs that nobody doubts or questions, or I do not get any pushback from.”
There is no doubt that the support is there; she knows so herself. Her audience is waiting for the next step, and it is one that Stephens hopes will not only be an expansion of personal, musical success but one that inspires a movement.
“I want a lot of other Black girls to do the same if they feel anything other than the box that they are being told to fit into,” the singer begins to conclude. “I want them to follow suit and put out the music they want to put out and have fun with it. I want to see more of us.”