Jean Grae

Jean Grae was born in South Africa and grew up in a home full of music. Both parents were independent artists, creative souls and jazz musicians. At 13 years old she became the youngest person to be a part of Alvin Aileys second company. She also attended LaGuardia School of the Arts and Performing Arts(made famous by the show Fame). It was then that she began to hang with the west village collection of poets, emcees and producers that were crowning a beautiful era by themselves. A lot of today's extremely successful artists came out of that group of people(Mos Def and Talib Kweli to name two). When she finally came out of her shell, she formed a music group with a friend. This move into music making eventually landed her into a crew called Natural Resource. Natural Resource released a 12" that was well received by many hip-hop heads. While in Natural Resources she honed her rhyming skills as well as her beat making skills. After a short but successful stint, in 1999, Natural Resources disbanded leaving Jean to make her way on her own. She guested on so many records she earned herself the title of " the Cameo Queen" by the underground hip hop community. It wasn't until she was asked to participate on the solo record by Mr. Len (ex Company Flow), that her skills became undeniable to a larger listening public. She followed her Len appearance up with a full length that impressed all that heard it entitled, "Attack Of The Attacking Things." In late 2003, she followed up with another head-turning EP, "The Bootleg of the Bootleg" EP. This was the first of her work on Babygrande and working with the production company Orchestral and marked the beginning of her relationship with The Roots. A short stint on the winter OkayPlayer tour turned into a guest appearance on their latest album “The Tipping Point” and inclusion on the OkayPlayer spring 2004 tour. Jean's full length second album, "This Week," is slated for early fall with the production bar raised greatly. On the boards are such heavyweight producers as Midi Mafia (50 cent) and 9th Wonder (Jay-Z). This will be the record taking her out of the underground and into the mainstream. Arguably the most gifted and critically well received emcee of the past five years, Jean Grae is a startlingly fresh talent. Gritty and raw, yet intelligently artistic, she has become not only an indie hip-hop icon but one of today's most promising new artists. A rising media phenomenon, all eyes are on Jean with the Orchestral/Babygrande release of "This Week". What press has to say about Jean Grae... About “This Week:” “New York-bred rapper Jean Grae...flexes serious gray matter, slinging disses, confessions, boasts, and love songs, swinging her sense of humor like a scythe. ...she’s in the bullring, ready to rumble.” -Spin Magazine "Emotive storytelling and clever wordplay.” -XXL About the debut release “Attack of the Attacking Things:” "Attack of the Attacking Things…is one of the year's most electrifying debuts. Grae dishes out verbal daggers with icy-veined steadiness, accuracy and glib humor over diverse beats…" -Time Out New York "It [Attack of the Attacking things] is a powerful statement from an outstanding voice that even a hip-hop ignoramus can feel" - Village Voice† "Grae [is] blessed with one of the best flows on either side of the gender line…" -Urb Magazine "On her solo debut, Grae proves that virtue - and subtlety - can still leave heads ringing…she comes off harder than most dudes - and way more complicated." - Spin Magazine "Attack of the Attacking Things is wry and unnerving, and it proves that the narrative finesse this cameo queen has shown on other people's albums is no fluke…Grae's lyrical radiance makes Attack exceptional." - Vibe Magazine "Lyrically, Grae is a poet, observing and asking questions on her debut, daring to expand both her world and that of her listeners past the one-dimensional world of today's hip-hop. Lying somewhere in between hip-hop and R&B, Grae is in a class of her own"† -CMJ New Music Report "Grae blows an idiosyncratic instrument on her own terms…Hands down that this artist will eventually acquire all the recognition she deserves, though, given her powers - far beyond those of mortal men".† -Village Voice† "Rising like a phoenix out of the politically correct neo-bohemian New York City underground, Jean Grae proves on her debut LP, Attack of the Attacking Things that the world really is her canvas. Even 20th-century Mexican artist Frieda Kahlo would be proud of the vivid self-portraits that the artist formerly known as What?What? has created for this album"† -The Source "Attack of the Attacking Things shows Grae in sterling form. She makes good on the potential shown on early releases, while upping the ante and showing herself worthy of playing in the same creative league as hip-hop's heavy hitters - but with a few fresh, ear tickling twists and tricks". - Billboard "This disc is great. Jean Grae is an uncalculated antidote to the mainstream of T&A female rappers" - Vice "A fiercely indie MC with fire-hydrant flow who doesn't hide behind abstract "science" or old school genuflection. A- rating" - Entertainment Weekly