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Janani K. Jha
Janani K. Jha is accustomed to breaking barriers. After graduating with academic honors from Harvard College in 2020 and earning acceptance to Harvard Law School at the age of twenty, Janani (a.k.a. J. Maya) decided to defer her legal ambitions to pursue her lifelong pipe dream: music. With millions of followers and hundreds of millions of lifetime streams, she has transformed this dream into reality. Driven by a deep love of wordplay, she used to compete as a teenager on the international pun circuit, where contestants create puns within five seconds on themes introduced on the spot. Crowned as the world championships’ MVP at the age of seventeen, she became the youngest pun championships award-winner in history. Her fascination with language manifests in her music. In 2021, Janani published a demo of a Greek mythology-inspired song, “Achilles Heel,” online, where it generated millions of views. Bestselling authors commended the song's wit and lyricism; music critics praised the soaring vocals and gritty sound. Upon its release as her debut single, Janani began writing more literature-infused alternative music in earnest and sharing it with her audience of millions. She’s been praised since for her “whip-smart” “hit[s]” and named as one of the freshest voices in music by media institutions like VOGUE, Forbes, NME, and the Recording Academy. With her debut album set to release in 2024 and planned ventures in film and theater, Janani is just getting started.

Songs

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1
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God Games
Jorge Rivera-Herrans
2
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Royal We
Janani K. Jha
3
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Echo
Janani K. Jha
4
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Library Card
Janani K. Jha
5
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Gladiators
Janani K. Jha

Albums

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The Rest of the Laurels: Epilogue

2026
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The Rest of the Laurels

2024
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Poetic License

2022

Singles & EPs

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Prometheus on the 405

Single • 2025
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Hellbent

Single • 2023
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Sunday Crossword

Single • 2022
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Rainmaker

Single • 2025
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The Maze

Single • 2023
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Golden Age

Single • 2022
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Royal We

Single • 2024
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Slow Burn

Single • 2023
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Gladiators

Single • 2024
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Machine Learning

Single • 2022

Videos

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Janani K. Jha - Echo (Official Lyric Video)

Janani K. Jha • 15K views
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Janani K. Jha - The Judgment (ft. TE/MO) (Official Audio with Lyrics)

Janani K. Jha • 17K views

Live performances

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Janani K. Jha - Hellbent (Live at The Echo)

Janani K. Jha • 2.2K views
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Janani K. Jha — “Amber” (Live Looping Version)

Janani K. Jha • 2.8K views
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i wrote a song about reading too much as a kid (live)

Janani K. Jha • 18K views

Featured on

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Homesick

Playlist • YouTube Music

Playlists by Janani K. Jha

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all my songs in one place :)

Playlist • Janani K. Jha • 58K views
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The Rest of the Laurels: The Epilogue

Playlist • Janani K. Jha • 46K views
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Prometheus on the 405 🕯️🪵🫀

Playlist • Janani K. Jha • 84 views

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