Jean Grae
| Jean Grae | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Tsidi Ibrahim |
| Also known as | What? What? |
| Born |
November 26, 1976 Cape Town, South Africa |
| Origin | Brooklyn, New York City, New York, United States |
| Genres | Hip hop |
| Occupation(s) | Rapper, record producer |
| Instruments | Vocals |
| Years active | 1996–present |
| Labels |
Third Earth Music (2002–2003) |
| Associated acts | 9th Wonder, Abdullah Ibrahim, Atmosphere, Blue Sky Black Death, Block McCloud, Masta Ace, Maurice "Mobetta" Brown, Pumpkinhead, Sathima Bea Benjamin, Immortal Technique |
| Website | Official Site |
Third Earth Music (2002–2003)
Babygrande Records (2003–2005)
Jean Grae (born Tsidi Ibrahim, November 26, 1976), formerly known as What? What?, is an American hip hop recording artist from Brooklyn, New York City. She rose to prominence in the underground hip hop scene in New York City and has since built an international fanbase.
Jean Grae was born Tsidi Ibrahim, 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, where her parents relocated after her birth. She studied Vocal Performance at Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School, before majoring in Music Business at New York University. She dropped out after three weeks of class.
In 1995, she was discovered by George Rithm Martinez, when he recruited her for a five-song demo under the name of his group, Ground Zero. Their demo was critically acclaimed and earned the duo "Unsigned Hype" honors in The Source in March 1996. She later joined a hip hop group called Natural Resource, along with fellow rapper Ocean and disc jockey 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, as well as 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. During this period she established strong ties with the Brooklyn Academy crew, with which she would appear throughout her career.
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