Artist Thumbnail
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

See All
1
thumbnail
God Games
Jorge Rivera-Herrans
2
thumbnail
Royal We
Janani K. Jha
3
thumbnail
Machine Learning
Janani K. Jha
4
thumbnail
Library Card
Janani K. Jha
5
thumbnail
Nike E
Janani K. Jha

Albums

thumbnail

The Rest of the Laurels: Epilogue

2026
thumbnail

The Rest of the Laurels

2024
thumbnail

Poetic License

2022

Singles & EPs

See All
thumbnail

Prometheus on the 405

Single • 2025
thumbnail

Hellbent

Single • 2023
thumbnail

Sunday Crossword

Single • 2022
thumbnail

Rainmaker

Single • 2025
thumbnail

The Maze

Single • 2023
thumbnail

Golden Age

Single • 2022
thumbnail

Royal We

Single • 2024
thumbnail

Slow Burn

Single • 2023
thumbnail

Gladiators

Single • 2024
thumbnail

Machine Learning

Single • 2022

Videos

See All
thumbnail

Janani K. Jha - Prometheus on the 405 (Official Music Video)

Janani K. Jha • 140K views
thumbnail

Janani K. Jha - Nike (Official Audio with Lyrics)

Janani K. Jha • 24K views

Live performances

thumbnail

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

Janani K. Jha • 2.3K views
thumbnail

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

Janani K. Jha • 2.9K views
thumbnail

i wrote a song about reading too much as a kid (live)

Janani K. Jha • 18K views

Featured on

thumbnail

Homesick

Playlist • YouTube Music

Playlists by Janani K. Jha

thumbnail

all my songs in one place :)

Playlist • Janani K. Jha • 61K views
thumbnail

The Rest of the Laurels: The Epilogue

Playlist • Janani K. Jha • 48K views
thumbnail

Prometheus on the 405 🕯️🪵🫀

Playlist • Janani K. Jha • 103 views

Fans might also like

thumbnail

Morgan Clae

111K monthly audience
thumbnail

Grace Power

5.19K subscribers
thumbnail

Catie Turner

88.2K monthly audience
thumbnail

Maddie Zahm

524K monthly audience
thumbnail

Beth McCarthy

10.2K subscribers
thumbnail

BLÜ EYES

375K monthly audience
thumbnail

Chandler Leighton

239K monthly audience
thumbnail

Taylor Bickett

173K monthly audience
thumbnail

EMELINE

2.2M monthly audience
thumbnail

Gabi Sklar

453K monthly audience