Jean Grae

All Music Guide:

Although she was born in South Africa, Jean Grae (real name Tsidi Ibrahim) will always be a New Yorker by heart. The daughter of two jazz musicians, Jean learned an appreciation for all genres of music at an early age. She attended the High School of Performing Arts as a vocal major and was later accepted to New York University as a Music Business major. Disenchanted by the classroom settings, Jean decided early on that she was more of a hands-on learner. During high school she learned to read and arrange music as well as learn classical and choral arrangements, giving her a good foundation on becoming a hip-hop writer and producer.

Jean Grae (then known as What? What?) was recruited by a rapper named Ocean, who formed a group called Natural Resource in the mid-90s. In 1997, Natural Resource founded their own record label, Makin' Records, and released the 12" single, "Negro League Baseball", which became an underground hip-hop classic. They followed with several other 12"s including "I Love This World", "They Lied" and "Bum Deal". In addition to writing and producing with Natural Resource, Jean Grae also produced singles for Makin' Records artists Pumpkin Head, Don Scavone and The Bad Seed.

Natural Resource broke up in 1998 due to creative differences, but the exposure with the group worked towards Jean's benefit. Changing her name from What? What? to Jean Grae, she was asked to appear on a number of songs with artists such as Herbaliser, High & Mighty, the Mumia 911 Project, the Hip-Hop For Respect project, Mr. Len, Da Beatminerz and Masta Ace.

In the summer of 2002, Jean Grae released her debut album, Attack of the Attacking Things. The album featured the assistance of Da Beatminerz, Mr. Len, and Masta Ace. The album received much critical and fan acclaim as one of the best female hip-hop albums since Lauryn Hill's 1998 album, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. This Week followed in 2004.

Wikipedia:

Jean Grae (born Tsidi Ibrahim, November 26, 1976), formerly known as What? What?, is an American hip-hop artist. She rose to prominence in the underground hip-hop scene in New York City and has since built an international fanbase.Cite error: There are <ref> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist}} template (see the help page).

Early life[edit]

Grae was born in Cape Town, South Africa on November 26, 1976, the daughter of South African jazz musicians Sathima Bea Benjamin and Abdullah Ibrahim. She was raised in New York City after her parents relocated there after her birth. She studied Vocal Performance at the LaGuardia School before majoring in Music Business at New York University. She later dropped out after three weeks of class.Cite error: There are <ref> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist}} template (see the help page).

Contents

Career[edit]

Early career (1996–1998)[edit]

After working with groups including Ground Zero, she joined a hip hop music group called Natural Resource in the mid-1990s, along with rapper Ocean and DJ James "AGGIE" Barrett. In 1996 they released a pair of 12-inch singles called "Negro League Baseball" b/w "Bum Deal" b/w "They Lied", and "Bum Deal (remix)" b/w "They Lied (remix)" b/w "I Love This World" on their own label Makin' Records. She also appeared on singles by fellow Makin' Records artists Pumpkinhead and Bad Seed, and on the O.B.S. (Original Blunted Soldiers) double 12-inch single alongside crew members Pumpkinhead, Bad Seed, and Meat-pie, and produced much of the material released on the label under the pseudonym Run Run Shaw. period she established strong ties with the Brooklyn Academy crew, with which she would appear throughout her career.

Solo career (1998–2004)[edit]

Natural Resource dissolved in 1998, after which Ibrahim changed her stage name from What? What? to Jean Grae, a reference to the X-Men character Jean Grey. Under her new moniker, she released her first LP—Attack of the Attacking Things—in 2002, and followed it in 2004 with This Week. Throughout her career she has also recorded tracks with numerous major hip hop artists, Atmosphere, The Roots, Talib Kweli, The Herbaliser, Da Beatminerz, Phonte, Mr. Len, Masta Ace, Vordul Mega, C-Rayz Walz, Mos Def, Styles P, Pharoahe Monch and Immortal Technique among them.

Grae has recorded an unreleased album with celebrated North Carolina producer 9th Wonder, of Little Brother fame, entitled Jeanius. This unfinished record was leaked on the internet, and subsequently work was stopped on this album. However, at the release party for 9th Wonder's Dream Merchant Volume 2 album she stated that Jeanius was still going to be released. This album was eventually released first through Zune Live Marketplace two weeks before its disc release on July 8, 2008. Her rapping on the album was described by Robert Christgau as "remarkable for its rapidity, clarity and idiomatic cadence. The writing has a good-humored polysyllabic literacy." Elsewhere, it's been reported that her proposed fourth album, provisionally titled Phoenix has gone into production. It has been reported by several camp insiders that 9th Wonder will handle the lion's share of the production duties with unknown UK producer Passion hifi, English producer DJ SonicBass and NY resident Clinikal providing a beat each.

Blacksmith Music (2005–present)[edit]

Previously signed to Babygrande Records, she signed a deal in 2005 with Talib Kweli's Blacksmith Records. On April 28, 2008, Jean Grae posted a blog entry on her MySpace page saying goodbye to her fans. She later cited disenchantment with the music industry and desire to start a family as the reasons behind the "retirement" and said that she was working on new material and still wanted to continue in music: "You know what? I need that Grammy. I think I might be able to stop after that". In July 2008, Talib Kweli posted a blog entry explaining Grae's album, mentioning that she was not retiring. The blog ends encouraging fans to purchase the album, referring to Grae as "one of the last true MCs left." Grae returned to doing live performances later that year.

On September 18, 2008, Jean Grae posted a Craigslist ad offering her creative services for $800/16 bars. On her MySpace blog entry, she states, "I don't wanna complain anymore, I just wanna change some things about the way artists are treated and the way you guys are allowed to be involved, since it IS the digital age." On June 23, 2011, after an almost four-year hiatus, Grae released a free mixtape entitled Cookies or Comas, which features guest appearances from Styles P, Talib Kweli and Pharoahe Monch, it also includes the highly praised tracks "Assassins" from Monch's W.A.R. album and "Uh Oh" From Talib Kweli's Gutter Rainbows.

On October 22, 2012, Jean Grae performed with MeLa Machinko and DJ Mr. Len in New York City at WNYC's Jerome L. Greene Performance Space, also recorded as an episode of Judge John Hodgman. During the episode the upcoming records "Gotham Down" and "Cake or Death" were named.

On January 2, 2013, she released a 10-track project called Dust Ruffle. Dust Ruffle features unreleased songs from between 2004 and 2010. Of the album she says: "It's such an interesting retrospective project because I get to actually hear myself evolve from 2004-2010. Snapshots of life."Cite error: There are <ref> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist}} template (see the help page).