25-year-old Jesse Jones AKA Filayyyy is living proof that talent, some hustle, and thinking outside the box can lead to life-changing opportunities.
Back in 2015, Filayyyy was just an aspiring baller living in Irvington, New Jersey with hoops dreams of playing in the NBA one day and a modest 4,000 Instagram followers.
Fast forward to 2018, and 1.1 million IG followers later, and Filayyyy’s colorful Instagram, filled with unique voiceovers to sports highlights, has garnered him a legion of fans. LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Carmelo Anthony have all been swept up by The Filayyyy Movement.
We spoke with the rising star and we took it back to the beginning of his social media journey. Jones also discusses why basketball is life, his G-League tryout, his old singing soul, his positive spirit and acute business mind, the influence of his two parents, his dedication to being a role model for kids and what Filayyyy has in store for the future.
LISTEN TO OUR EXCLUSIVE WITH FILAYYYY BELOW:
Jones is a multi-threat, using dancing, singing, comedy, basketball and a mastery of social media to carve his niche in the world. Filayyyy’s public prominence has exploded to the point where he is doing business with the biggest brand names in sports such as NIKE.
Look no further than the NBA’s new spots for “Celebrate” and “Dunks or Threes” as part of the This Is Why We Play campaign. In its 4th year, the This Is Why We Play campaign puts fans on center stage, allowing them to share their POV. But this year the league made a concerted effort to include social media influencers to continue building their reach.
“Dunks or Threes” features Grammy-nominated hip-hop artist and Houston native Travis Scott, social media influencer Famous Los and NBA legend Julius “Dr. J” Erving answering whether dunks or threes are a bigger game changer.
“Celebrate” features a split screen showing the many ways NBA players celebrate juxtaposed with fans, including social media influencer Filayyyy, mirroring the same reactions.
Filayyyy started doing voiceovers on NBA highlights.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bo5eWpVhaMy/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet
Then he expanded to other sports.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BoIm1kZBd20/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet
He’s always repping for the hundreds of kids who now send him footage in hopes of having their play-by-play done by sports’ voiceover king.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BovKPXfhfpt/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet
One of his most appealing aspects is that he’s a heck of a baller and he is constantly reminding his followers of that.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bo49OzohX2v/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet
