Ayjay grew up on Rock and Roll, listening to and finding inspiration through Kings of Leon, INXS, and Nirvana. Through high school, Ayjay discovered his love for Hip-Hop and Rap music and found himself researching and binge-listening to the genre's pioneers. Music was an integral part of his coping habits and he found comfort in hearing mutual struggles in the lyrics of his idols, such as Kendrick Lamar, Mac Miller, JID, and J. Cole.
Post-graduation, Ayjay dove headfirst into developing and perfecting his sound, while also marrying the love of his life and celebrating the birth of his first child during the same year. Young Phantom Mixtape and Young Phantom Mixtape II, were compiled of singles released between 2022 and 2023 and furthered Ayjay's exploration of his unique genre-bending sound. Prada Fit's feature from SOLOCELO helped expand Ayjay's quaint and local fanbase, while performing small shows in Grand Rapids gave him some performance experience and exposure along the way as well. Ayjay’s next release, Agoraphobia, took a different route than the previous two mixtapes and was an EP of six acoustic tracks. Other top inspirations for Ayjay include The Kid LAROI, Lithe, Post Malone, Baby Keem, and Noah Kahan.
