Jayleen Martinez Is the Prototype

Jayleen Martinez is much more than a video model. The Los Angeles-bred beauty’s a budding singer presently working with legendary producer No I.D. And, if she has her way, will be igniting the silver screen in the near future. But, in the meantime, she can be found in a myriad of videos in multiple genres, including J. Cole’s “Nobody’s Perfect,” Justin Bieber’s “Boyfriend,” Musiq Soulchild’s “Anything” and more recently, Kid Ink’s “Time of Your Life.”

In the visual directed by Alex Nazari, Jayleen plays every man’s dream girlfriend, a bad chick who isn’t too prissy to have fun as one of the boys. To hell with 34-26-40 measurements. For XXL’s money, Jayleen’s toned body and pretty face, are the prototype. XXL caught up with the self-proclaimed former tomboy to discuss the type of relationship she’s looking for, doing hood rat stuff with friends and her music aspirations. —Carl Chery (@cchery)

XXLMag.com: So you were recently in a Justin Bieber video?

Jayleen Martinez: Yes, I got to feel up on him and everything. [Laughs]

I don’t know if you want to make that public.

I will make that public.

What was that experience like?

It was so fun ‘cause he just turned 18 like a week before the video shoot. I think I was the oldest one there. All the other girls were like 19, or 18, but I have this young look I guess. So they picked me. I was just like, "Oh, I kinda like Justin now." He’s cute. I’ll become a cougar for him.

You have a pretty universal look. Bieber is pop. Kid Ink is hip-hop. Musiq Soulchild is R&B.

That one actually, I wasn’t supposed to be the lead on that one. And, I just came on set and I actually stole the lead girl’s part… for Musiq Soulchild. I was supposed to be a background girl and I got there and they were like, “No, you’re playing the lead. We’re switching you.”

Did you catch any heat from the former lead?

No, she was cool with it. I hope they paid her the same.

Musiq always seems to get girls in his videos that he wouldn’t be able to pull in real life.

Really? Oh, that’s mean. Well, thank you.

The average video models are usually sexual fantasies for men, but you come off as more of a wifey type.

That makes me feel good. I feel cool.

It’s hard to escape that stigma.

That’s something I always wanted to make sure I never got portrayed as because I also do music and I also do acting. So, if I did a video, no nudity. And if you have me wearing some kind of bikini, you have to pay me more. Yea, and I have that young look so they never really try to do that to me.

So, you’re the wifey type. Are you wifed up?

No. I’m looking.

Oh, so you’re not going to give me the, "I’m just focused on my career" answer?

No. I want a boo. I want a toy friend. Not a boyfriend, a toy friend. Someone you can just have fun with, play around with.

What are the rules for a toy friend?

The rules for a toy friend? You know, you guys have to have the same availability and that’s it. We should be able to hang out with each other, have fun.

So what happens if you find out the toy friend has another toy?

I wouldn’t say anything. It’d just be done, I guess. I don’t know, it depends on how I feel about him.

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How do you handle having everyone from rappers to directors trying to talk with you, turn them down, but maintain relationships?

Well, I set the boundaries right away. And, you become their friend. You don’t flirt with them or be kinda weird with them. Basically, you have to come off a certain way for them to know what it is. It’s not like, rude, but you’re also friendly. I become more of their friend than anything and if they wanna ask me out on a date or anything, they’ll ask politely. And they can’t be mean, because I’m not a bitch.

So, in Kid Ink’s “Time of Your Life” video, you’re smoking weed, getting caught and driving away. How close are you to being that person?

I was that person in high school. I would always just go play basketball. I was a boy basically and get arrested all the time. It was just fun. I was just one of the boys. And, I basically haven’t grown out of it too much. [Laughs] I still go to the gym and play with the boys. I like Xbox all that shit.

What would you get arrested for?

You know, stupid shit. Like, smoking. Ditching school, tagging. All that kind of shit. I was bad.

You mentioned playing basketball. Do you still play?

Yea. I still play. It’s good way to keep your cardio up. I’m pretty good. My handles are a little bit rusty, but I got a good jumper.

So you’re also a singer.

I’m working with No I.D. right now and that camp. I have a deal with the production company called We All Out. And he’s part of it. I just had a meeting with him the other day. He’s excited about the project. He just feels like we need a little more, a couple more songs. I don’t know, big names on like J. Cole or Big Sean. Then like I said, We’re on our way.

What is it like working with No I.D. in the studio?

He’s scary [Laughs] He’s just intimidating. He comes in and listens to the songs, I’ll be like, grinding my teeth, clutching my jaw together ‘cause I’m like, “Does he think it’s good?” You know, you always want it to be perfect for him and he’s really quiet when he comes in there. He wont’ say anything. So you’re just like, “What is he thinking?” But, he’s on it, so I guess he likes it.

He definitely has a poker face.

But, I did play him one song one time. I started singing on the record and his eyes opened up wide and he was like, “This is you? This is you?” I just felt so good at that moment.

What about the acting? Are you going on auditions?

Not at the moment. I’m just doing the whole music thing. But, whenever I do get a chance to audition for anything, I do. I’ve met with a few managers and agents and they loved me. They say I have a really awesome look, which is marketable. That’s where that’s going.

Anything else you want to say?

You can find me on Twitter. It’s (@JenniferJayleen)