Jhayco

Jesús Manuel Nieves Cortés (born April 9, 1993), known professionally as Jhayco (; formerly Jhay Cortez), is a Puerto Rican rapper and singer. After releasing multiple EPs, his debut studio album, Famouz, was released in 2019.

Early life Cortés was born in Río Piedras, Puerto Rico. Later, he moved to Camden, New Jersey, where he learned English.

Cortés began songwriting at the age of 15, gaining the interest of producer Eddie Dee. Cortés wrote music with Lele el Arma Secreta and Eliel, who introduced Cortés to the duo Zion & Lennox. Cortés composed three songs that featured on Zion & Lennox's 2011 album Los Verdaderos: "Como curar," "Detective de tu amor," and "Soltera" (under the pseudonym Jay el Superdotado).

Cortés wrote five singles for Tito El Bambino, including "Llama al Sol," featured on his 2011 album Invencible, which won a Latin Grammy for Best Tropical Album. Cortés later launched his career as a soloist.

On August 22, 2017, Cortés was the first artist signed under House of Haze, a partnership established between Universal Music Latino and producer Fino como el Haze. He released his first single, "Donde no se vea," under this label, collaborating with Jory Boy and Pusho.

On March 16, 2018, Cortés performed at SXSW's Sounds from Puerto Rico showcase. At the end of 2018, he released his single "Costear" with Almighty, which led to the release of two remixes.

On February 22, 2019, Cortés released the single "No Me Conoce," which reached the top of several Latin American music charts. It was certified triple platinum by PROMUSICAE of Spain; the song also featured a remix with J Balvin and Bad Bunny and was certified 20× platinum by the RIAA. In that same year, he also released the song "Deseame suerte" with the collaboration of Karol G. On May 24, 2019, he released his first studio album, Famouz, under the Universal Music Latino label. It was ranked 164 on the US Billboard 200 chart

In 2020, Cortés published a special edition of his first studio album with unreleased songs under the name Famouz Reloaded and released a new single, "Dime a Ve," which would be part of his second album, Timelezz. He was also the winner of five ASCAP awards as a composer and two Tú Música Urbano Awards in the categories of Composer of the Year and New Generation Album by Famouz. He received nominations for the Billboard Awards for Latin music, Premios Juventud, Lo Nuestro Awards, and the Latin Grammys. On October 30, he released the song "Dakiti" in collaboration with Bad Bunny, which reached number one on the Billboard Global 200 charts; At the end of that year, he collaborated on the Blue Grand Prix remix of "La Curiosidad" by Jay Wheeler and Myke Towers. He also appeared on Yandel's album Quien Contra Mí 2 in the collaboration of the song "Ponme al día."

At the beginning of 2021, Cortés participated in a production of Los Legendarios with the song "Fiel" with Wisin, which reached number 9 globally on the Spotify music platform. On March 14, he appeared with Bad Bunny performing "Dakiti" at the Grammy Awards ceremony. He also received another iHeartRadio Music Awards nomination in the Latin Pop/Reggaeton Song of the Year category for "Dakiti." He then appeared on the remix of 911 by Panamanian singer Sech.

On September 3, he released his album "Timelezz", featuring collaborations with Anuel AA, Skrillex, Myke Towers, Kendo Kaponi, Arcángel and Buscabulla. The album hit #2 on the Billboard Top Latin Albums chart. Later that year, he was a part of Anuel AA's Súbelo, with Myke Towers.

In 2022, he released "En La De Ella" with Feid and Sech.

In 2023, he released "Holanda". He was also a part of Tainy's album Data, on the song "FANTASMA | AVC".

In 2024, he released his album, "Le Clique: Vida Rockstar (X)". The 29-track album features collaborations with Quevedo, Yandel, DJ Khaled, Omar Courtz, Yovngchimi, and many others. He also formed part of the remix of Si No Es Contigo by Cris MJ, along with Kali Uchis.

Personal life Cortez was in a relationship with pornographic film actress and webcam model Mia Khalifa.

Controversies In 2020, Cortez had a public spat with fellow rapper Bryant Myers on Twitter. The two rappers published diss tracks.

On August 12, 2025, Cortez was arrested in Miami after deputies allegedly found cocaine and cannabis in his car during a traffic stop. He was later bonded out of jail.

Discography Studio albums + List of studio albums with selected chart positions Title Album details Peak chart positions CertificationsUS USLatin SPA Famouz Released: May 24, 2019 Label: Universal Music Latino 164 5 54 RIAA: 3× Platinum Famouz Reloaded Released: January 24, 2020 Label: Universal Music Latino — — 54 Timelezz Released: September 3, 2021 Label: Universal Music Latino 70 2 4 RIAA: Platinum Le Clique: Vida Rockstar (X) Released: September 6, 2024 Label: Universal Music Latino 77 6 1 RIAA: 2× Platinum USLatin ARG MEX SPA WW "Deseos" 2018 — — — — — — RIAA: Gold PROMUSICAE: 4× Platinum

RIAA: 8× Platinum Los Legendarios 001"Christian Dior" — 28 — — 27 — PROMUSICAE: Gold Timelezz"911" (remix) ) — — — — 11 — PROMUSICAE: Platinum "Súbele el Volumen" — — — 2 62 —"En Mi Cuarto" — 22 — — 31 — RIAA: 2× Platinum Timelezz"Delincuente" — — — — 94 — "Ley Seca" "Ley Seca" did not enter the Billboard Hot 100, but peaked at number 23 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart. Timelezz"Emojis de Corazones" — 22 — — 68 — RIAA: Platinum Multimillo Vol. 1"Súbelo" "Súbelo" did not enter the Billboard Hot 100, but peaked at number 15 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart. Las Leyendas Nunca Mueren"Sensual Bebé" 2022 — 22 — — 28 — PROMUSICAE: Gold LCVRX"Ande con Quien Ande" — 49 — — 56 — RIAA: Platinum PROMUSICAE: Gold "En la de Ella" — — — — 20 — PROMUSICAE: Platinum LCVRX"Cuerpecito" 2023 — — — — 38 — PROMUSICAE: Gold "Mami Chula" — — — — 5 — PROMUSICAE: 2× Platinum "Fantasma/AVC" — — — — 69 — PROMUSICAE: Gold Data"En To Lao" — — — — 51 — PROMUSICAE: Platinum "Rockstar 2.0" — — 16 — 26 — PROMUSICAE: Gold Antes de Ameri"Holanda" — — 21 — 3 54 RIAA: 4× Platinum LCVRX"Ex-Special" "Ex-Special" did not enter the Billboard Hot 100, but peaked at number 14 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart. — — — — 36 —"58" — — — — 38 —Le Clique: Vida Rockstar (X)"Scorpio" 2025 — — — — 92 — "Rosita"2026 — — — — — 192 "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

As featured artist