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All Music Guide:
A favorite on the New York mixtape circuit, Brooklyn rapper Maino, born Jermaine Coleman, grew up in the borough's Bedford-Stuyvesant section in a household with two drug-addicted parents. Lacking parental guidance, Coleman kept to the streets and involved himself in petty crime, which landed him in prison in the early '90s. There he learned to rap so that he could deal with boredom and isolation. In 2003, after about ten years, he was released from prison and wasted no time setting up his new imprint, Hustle Hard. Maino enjoyed his first airplay on N.Y.C. radio via Hot 97's DJ Kay Slay and began making several mixtape appearances during the following years. From his own mixtapes, street singles like "Rumors" and "Take It Like a Man" got his name buzzing among major labels, including Universal, who signed him in 2005. However, the deal eventually fell through, since his intended debut album, Death Before Dishonor, was permanently shelved. Nonetheless, Atlantic picked up Maino and his Hustle Hard imprint in 2007, and the Brooklyn native quickly issued street single "My Life Is Like a Movie" that year. Another track, "Hi Hater," surfaced the following year, prefacing his major-label debut, If Tomorrow Comes... (2009).
Wikipedia:
Maino (born Jermaine Coleman on August 30, 1976) is an American rapper from Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, New York City, New York.
Early life
Maino was born on August 30, 1976 in New York City. He founded the independent label Hustle Hard and started to record music. In 2005, he was signed to Universal Records and started recording his debut album. After splitting with Universal Records, Atlantic Records signed him and took in his Hustle Hard imprint in 2007. He released his first single "Hi Hater" in 2008.
Musical career
After several mixtape releases and key guest features, Maino was offered a recording contract by Universal Records. Maino split with the label in 2007, feeling that the label wasn't promoting him enough. He later signed himself and his Hustle Hard imprint to Atlantic Records. His first single from his debut album If Tomorrow Comes is "Hi Hater." Maino released the official remix to the song, featuring T.I., Swizz Beatz, Plies, Jadakiss, and Fabolous. The next single was "All the Above," featuring T-Pain, then "Million Bucks," produced by and featuring Swizz Beatz.
On January 26, 2010, Maino released Unstoppable - EP onto iTunes which featured four new recordings. In 2010, Maino made his television debut on the premiere episode of MTV's "World of Jenks."
On September 29, he released the video "Glad To Be Alive" (directed & edited by Jamal Samuel, of SF2D FILMS) of his upcoming album "The Day after Tomorrow", which will be released on February 28th, 2012
