{"id":35957,"date":"2025-11-11T13:03:43","date_gmt":"2025-11-11T13:03:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/35957\/"},"modified":"2025-11-11T13:03:43","modified_gmt":"2025-11-11T13:03:43","slug":"the-voice-of-nyc-ferris-wheel-jay-takes-a-look-back-at-his-journey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/35957\/","title":{"rendered":"The Voice of NYC: Ferris Wheel Jay takes a look back at his journey"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\"Ferris\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Ferris Wheel Jay.<\/p>\n

Photos: Aaron \u201cIgnatius\u201d Ortiz<\/p>\n

From content to corporate, Ferris Wheel Jay\u2014also known as Justin Matias\u2014is a visionary who keeps authenticity close to his heart. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now experiences a full-circle moment as he steps into the role of brand strategist behind Jay-Z\u2019s Roc Nation\u2014a creative director position he reveals was made for him.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Reflecting on his journey, Jay recalls, \u201cI went viral for the first time about eight years ago, before social media and the content thing was a thing\u2026if I had told you five years ago that I would be here, the answer would definitely be no.\u201d<\/p>\n

Growing up in Brooklyn, Jay cites Jay-Z (who is also from Brooklyn) as one of his early inspirations. Now, waking up each day in this position, he feels a deep sense of gratitude.\u201cIt\u2019s Brooklyn till the death of me,\u201d Jay says. \u201cYou know this is our backdrop, it\u2019s our canvas. A lot of people don\u2019t take advantage of being a creator and having the greatest backdrop in the world.\u201d While Jay appreciates being called one of the voices of New York City, he refuses to let the label define who he is.<\/p>\n

Two months removed from starting his tenure at Roc Nation, he still finds a way to keep his voice. \u201c95% to 90% of me is in everything I do content-wise. The other 5% to 10% is just the politics.\u201d He believes that maintaining his voice throughout every project has contributed to his success, including brand deals with MLB, Arizona, and Snapchat. His supporters say he\u2019s \u201ccollecting the NYC infinity stones.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Ferris<\/a>Ferris Wheel Jay.Photo: Aaron \u201cIgnatius\u201d Ortiz<\/p>\n

Despite the regional aspect of the city and the brand deals, his voice is still heard outside the city. This he credits to his personality: \u201cI try to stay myself even when I\u2019m not in content or corporate settings\u2026 you aren\u2019t always going to meet the guy saying yerrr all the time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jay\u2019s creative journey is grounded in a Pablo Picasso quote he lives by: \u201cEvery child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.\u201d Raised by his grandmother, Jay found it difficult to do the things most children did, but this experience sparked his curiosity and desire to explore\u2014a drive that shaped him into one of the voices of New York City.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Refusing to let his childhood self be drowned out by the melodrama of adult life, he expresses this through features like his \u201cart-partment,\u201d a creative hub in his apartment filled with a plushie wall of Super Mario, Pikachu, Squirtle, and other iconic IPs, alongside a dedicated LEGO section. Even his office at Roc Nation is filled with LEGO and Pok\u00e9mon balls, reinforcing his artistic identity both at home and at work.<\/p>\n

\"Ferri<\/a>Ferri Wheel Jay.Photo: Aaron \u201cIgnatius\u201d Ortiz<\/p>\n

Mental health is also a major key for Jay, who often faces challenges such as imposter syndrome and questions whether he belongs in corporate spaces, given his non-traditional background. Recalling a point five months ago, he describes it as the darkest period of his life, but told himself at that time, \u201cThis can\u2019t define me or change my path.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Despite these hurdles, Jay continues to excel. Fresh off a second Emmy nomination\u2014a one-time winner for short-form content\u2014he stays humble while setting his sights higher. He dreams of making films for film festivals and is determined to reach for a Grammy next.<\/p>\n

Whether he\u2019s known as Ferris Wheel Jay or Justin Matias, his passion remains unmistakable. Jay refuses to let circumstances define him; instead, he pushes forward and makes his mark. You might spot him in a cab, collaborating with Paper Planes, or at Roc Nation, but wherever he is, he\u2019s always Ferris Wheel Jay\u2014a visionary creative with a big heart. \u201cI\u2019m looking to work with people, to make dope things happen. I don\u2019t care how big the following is; I care about how they are as a person.\u201d<\/p>\n

To follow his journey, he can be found on all platforms @ferriswheeljay.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ferris Wheel Jay. Photos: Aaron \u201cIgnatius\u201d Ortiz From content to corporate, Ferris Wheel Jay\u2014also known as Justin Matias\u2014is…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":35958,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[21157,21158,9,24,56,63,65,64,12651],"class_list":{"0":"post-35957","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york-city","8":"tag-ferris-wheel-jay","9":"tag-justin-matias","10":"tag-new-york","11":"tag-new-york-city","12":"tag-ny","13":"tag-nyc","14":"tag-nyc-headlines","15":"tag-nyc-news","16":"tag-profile"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35957","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35957"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35957\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35958"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35957"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35957"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35957"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}