Singer and songwriter Jaz Karis is a South London native who carries in the tradition of British R&B with a modern sound that integrates elements of reggae, Afrobeats, and amapiano. The BRIT School alumnus made her commercial debut with the Into the Wilderness EP (2017), and went viral the next year with the sharply self-critical ballad "Petty Lover." After a handful of additional independent EPs, Karis signed with MNRK Music Group and continued with Safe Flight (2024), an assured first album with appearances from Tone Stith, Mahalia, and Reekado Banks. Karis, born Jasmine Winifred, started playing piano and singing in church as a youngster. She took part in talent competitions and later attended The BRIT School, the performing and creative arts institution that counts the likes of Amy Winehouse, Adele, and RAYE among its alumni. Through Instagram, Karis discovered keyboardist Mikekeyz, who with producer Sillkey (Wiley, Jacob Banks, Mabel) helped put together Into the Wilderness, Karis' self-released 2017 debut EP. Karis then worked respectively with Blue Lab Beats and Aston Rudi on the single "Pretty Dreamer"/"Petty Lover," the B-side of which went viral, boosted by a COLORS performance. A live four-song EP was out later in 2018. The next year, Karis was behind the stray singles "Doubt My Love" and "Fairytales," as well as Summer Stories, her first studio EP. All Eyes on You, another EP, was out in 2020 and highlighted by the dubwise lovers rock of "Let Me Down." Singles over the course of 2021 and 2022 were in steady supply from Karis. After she released "Back 2 U" in 2023, she signed with MNRK in the U.S., and made her label debut that November with "Little Blue Moon," a ballad produced by Adam Boukis. The following year, she issued the collaborative singles "Met You at a Bar" (assisted by Tone Stith), "Nice Girls" (with Mahalia), and "Tequila" (featuring Reekado Banks). That September, Karis released Safe Flight, titled in reference to the stateside trips she took in the album's making. - Biography by Andy Kellman