Jay J. Ra emerges with “One Day at a Time,” a rousing call to resilience, healing, and the burdens of life’s misfortunes. Written by Toronto’s Dadrien Amen-Ra and Chicago’s Jamell Pierre and produced by Nigeria’s Chiosa Fred, the song has a global feel that enhances its deeply personal message. A song of raw emotion yet buoyed by a high-spirited vibration, “One Day at a Time” is a message of perseverance through life’s storms.
The song’s production is full and lush but also restrained, leaving space for Jay J. Ra’s fiery delivery to take front stage. The arrangement reflects this back and forth of struggle, rising in intensity but remaining hopeful throughout. He delves into every line and stroke, elements pushing further in the best of ways, challenges to growth, and trying to keep you grounded while you are faced with unknowns in the future. The tone of authenticity in the performance renders the song less of a performance and more of a candid dialogue between soul and spirit.
"One Day at a Time" is about finding the light when there is none, moving one step forward, knowing it is uncertain. It is a meditation on personal struggles, but its message applies to us all. The constant push to go forward, even with sorrow, imbues the track with a meditative and almost therapeutic quality, a sort of call to take the process of healing at your speed.
"One Day at a Time" is a life lesson that even during life’s hardest-hitting moments, there’s always a way through one step at a time.