David Jassy

David Jassy formed, with Andrés Avellán, the R&B hip hop duo, Navigators.[1] They released first single, cover of Joyce Sims' song "Come into My Life" in 1998.[2] In the same year they released another single called "I Remember".

In 1999 they released their third and most successful single "Superstar"[2] that stayed 11 weeks in Swedish Singles Chart reaching number 20.[3] In the single "Superstar", Jassy and Avellan sampled bassline from Chic's classic "I Want Your Love". In the same year their only album Daily Life Illustrators was released,[3] reaching number 27 in the Swedish Albums Chart.

Jassy co-wrote "Be Good to Me" and "Not Like That" from Ashley Tisdale's Headstrong and "It's Alright, It's OK" and "Crank It Up" from Tisdale's Guilty Pleasure. He also co-wrote "Goodbye to Yesterday" and "Back Off" by No Angels, "Love Struck" by VFactory", "Runaway" and "Karma" for Darin, "Body Language" for Heidi Montag and "Pyramid" for Charice.

He was born in 1974 in Solna, Sweden[4] to a Gambian father and an Estonian mother. He has one son born in 1997 in Sweden.[5]

Incident and arrest

Jassy was arrested by Los Angeles police on November 23, 2008[6] after a confrontation with jazz musician John Osnes. Osnes was crossing the street at Selma Avenue and Schrader Boulevard. Witnesses told police that Osnes had banged on the front of Jassy's vehicle with his hands in response to Jassy's car moving into the crosswalk. Jassy got out, punched Osnes, and kicked him in the head. The coroner testified that it was either this kick or the resulting fall that broke Osnes's skull and caused his death. Jassy fled and while leaving the scene, his vehicle this time ran over Osnes. Bystanders and an off-duty Anaheim police officer tried unsuccessfully to detain Jassy. Two other off-duty police officers from Melbourne Australia were also at the scene. They tried unsuccessfully to revive Osnes. Osnes was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital, and Jassy was arrested the next day,[7] and charged with one count of murder, along with an additional count of assault with a deadly weapon. He remained in custody on $1 million bail, facing a possible life-with-parole prison term.

Trial and sentencing

The trial began on January 13, 2010. Jassy's attorney contended he was defending himself, his girlfriend, and his vehicle from "an angry drunk." The prosecution countered that Jassy was the aggressor.[8] On February 1, 2010, he was convicted of second-degree murder but not guilty of assault with a deadly weapon and leaving the scene of an accident.[9] On March 4, 2010 Jassy was sentenced to 15 years to life imprisonment.[10] He was scheduled to be eligible for parole in 2024.[11] On March 27, 2020, California Governor Gavin Newsom commuted Jassy's sentence to time served and he was released from prison on parole.[12]

The program known as Youthful Offender Program (or Y.O.P.) came about due to a change in U.S. legislation, allowing youthful offenders entering prison under the age of 22 that were supposed to go to level 4 high security prison for serving their sentences, were afforded an opportunity to be transferred to San Quentin prison which is a level 2 minimum security prison. Y.O.P. run by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) also stipulated the creation of various programs to help in rehabilitation of offenders, with very positive results.[13][14]

This prompted David Jassy already in San Quentin to volunteer in a musical program launched in 2015. Jassy's project "Y.O.P. Mixtape Program" tried to help young inmates through his own songwriting and record producing experience to allow the youth enrolled to record their own music in a studio inaugurated in the prison.[15][16] Jassy explains that he grew up listening to rap and it affected his mood according to what rapper he was listening to. He encouraged the talented youth imprisoned on various offences to channel their feelings through music and lyrics they composed, thus serving as a rehabilitation and hopefully serve as a tool to help prevent other youth to fall into the same path through listening to a more genuine output of music from those actually incarcerated rather than the gangsta rappers they are accustomed to hear who just glorify prison life. Jassy also imposed a rule that in the recordings he would help in launching, no profanity would be allowed in the lyrics. From an initial mixtape project, the program developed into a more involved music mentorship program.[16] Jassy says the mixtape released has caught the attention of music industry celebrities like Common and DJ Khaled, who are now supporters of the program.

• David Jassy on Facebook
• David Jassy discography at Discogs