After blowing minds and whetting appetites with her first release for emerging indie heavyweight Babygrande Records, ﾓThe Bootleg of the Bootleg EPﾔ, in October 2003, heads have been clamoring for the follow-up. September 21st sees the release of Graeﾒs second full length album, her first long player on Babygrande, ﾓThis Week.ﾔ 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 release of This Week . ﾓThis Weekﾔ realizes the potential fans and the industry have seen in her since the get go, providing a platform for her caustic lyricism paired with classic beats.
A prodigious talent, Grae grew up in a musical household to parents who were themselves independent jazz musicians. At age 13 Grae became the youngest person to be a part of Alvin Aileyﾒs second company. She also attended LaGuardia School of the Arts and Performing Arts (made famous by the show Fame). This background nurtured her creative instincts and allowed her to begin refining her rhyming and beatmaking skills. Shortly after, her crew Natural Resource was born. The group was shortlived but successful. After the crew disbanded in 1999 Grae began beating her own unique path. 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 well-received full length, Attack Of The Attacking Things. This release confirmed to many that Grae was one of the undergroundﾒs finest talents. Fall 2003 saw the release of The Bootleg of The Bootleg EP which delivered a tantalizing glimpse of Graeﾒs developing artistic vision and consummate skills on the mic. It also led to the beginning of her relationship with The Roots.A short stint on the winter OkayPlayer tour turned into The Roots asking her to tour with them and be on their new record as well as inclusion on the Okayplayer spring 2004 tour. Jean is featured on The Roots recent release, The Tipping Point and will be featured on Talib Kweli’s forthcoming album, Beautiful Struggle, both Geffen/Interscope Records recording artists. Jean’s street-hop mixtapes and recent guest appearances/collaborations with artists such as Masta Ace, Okayplayer, The Badass Soundtrack and Babygrande’s own Sharkey are have been making noise all year. (Sharkey’s track Summer in the City with Jean is rapidly climbing its way to the top of the national College radio charts).
Leading off with the first single, a double A side consisting of “Goin’ Crazy” b/w “U Don’t Want It,” produced by Midi Mafia (50 Cent), ﾓThis Weekﾔ is surrounded by the anticipation of hip-hop fans everywhere waiting for Grae to burst out of the underground and into mainstream consciousness. With heavyweight producers involved such as Midi Mafia (50 cent) and 9th Wonder (Jay-Z), this could be the record to do that.
For more information:
www.jean-grae.com
www.babygrande.com
