The sky is the limit for young Hayling Island music producer
A talented young music producer from Hayling Island is celebrating the most successful year of his career to date – with half of 2026 still to go.
Twenty-three-year-old Joseph McCue has picked up a coveted Grammy Award for his work on an album released by the American singer and songwriter Leon Thomas. The Grammys – presented by the Recording Academy of the United States – recognise outstanding achievements in music.
He also produced two of the tracks on Iceman, the ninth studio album recently released by the world-famous Canadian rapper Drake.
Joseph, known as Jester Beats in the music industry, divides his time between the US and the UK, working mainly in Los Angeles and London. He has been producing music since his days as a student at Portsmouth Grammar School and says his current success is a dream come true after almost a decade of hard work.
He said: ‘‘My career started when I was 14 or 15. I started out DJing – my parents bought me a set of decks as a teenager. I began to produce music on my mum’s computer for fun and saved up for my own laptop and started producing more – basic instrumentals which I posted to YouTube.’’
Joe explained that the Covid19 pandemic encouraged him to focus more intently on pursuing his dreams, adding: ‘‘When lockdown happened, I decided to take the bull by the horns and give it a good go. I was in my last year at college and found myself working with people who were pretty big in the UK rap and drill space.’’
With the music scene changing in Britain post-Covid, Joseph turned his attention to America and hasn’t looked back. An initial month-long visit to LA didn’t seem to be showing much promise until the final few days of the trip.
He said: ‘‘I connected with some people in the music industry who I now consider my best friends. Three months later, I went back and I have been going to LA for four or five months of the year ever since.’’
Fast forward to the present day, and Joseph can only reflect on the ‘crazy’ journey he has been on. The songs he produced for Drake are called Little Birdie and Whisper My Name. Dirt On My Shoes is the R&B track he worked on with Leon Thomas.
‘‘Working on Drake’s new album was surreal,’’ said Joseph. ‘‘If you had asked me five years ago, who would I like to produce a song for, I would definitely have said Drake. It was a full-circle experience for me and very validating. I am proud to say I have worked with arguably one of the biggest artists in the world! It’s just crazy.
‘‘I had done some big stuff before but this was on another level. Winning a Grammy with Leon Thomas was an incredible moment as well. That happened at the start of this year, and again, five years ago, I wouldn’t have thought it possible.’’
When Joseph is not living his busy professional life on both sides of the Atlantic, he enjoys some well-deserved down time when he returns to Hayling Island. But he doesn’t ever rest for long.
He said: ‘‘I can create freely at home because I’m not in a pressurised environment. A lot of my best music gets made there – I do like coming back. And as for the future, who knows? I see music production as my long-term career. The sky is the limit.’’