TXST graduate student brings personal story to life with a hip-hop opera

Over the last two years, Texas State University student Jay Nava stayed up through the wee hours of the night, writing and typing notes on his keyboard repeatedly to draft three and a half hours of original hip-hop and classical music.

This was all for a chamber ensemble, electronics, and live bands to perform through the medium of opera.

Nava, who just earned his master’s degree in music with a concentration in composition during 2024’s spring commencement, performed his original “hip-hopera” composition recital, “Realize for Real Here’s,” on April 19 in Evans Auditorium. The recital included about 20% of the full piece.

He decided to pursue a master’s degree at TXST after a professor at Southwestern University in Georgetown, where he received his undergraduate degree from in 2022, told him he should go for it.

“I wanted to stay in Central Texas because of all the connections I made in Austin, and Texas State seemed liked the best spot because of the composition teachers,” Nava said. “I came here with the mindset that I’m going to make the absolute most of every opportunity I have, which is something I didn’t do as much in my undergrad.”

His hip-hopera started as a dream to combine everything he did musically into one piece as a way to bring his different worlds together. He’s had a deep interest in hip-hop and R&B for as long as he can remember, and his passion for classical music grew as he trained as a pianist.

When he thought about the phrase “hip-hopera” during the summer of 2022, Nava hadn’t seen an opera performed on stage in person.

“I knew opera was a sort of monument of the classical era that still exists today as a genre,” he said. “To combine such a thing with hip-hop culture would be right up my alley. With the scale of this piece and the fact that people who are important to me are in the story, I had friends come through and actually play their own selves through different scenes of our lives.”