Tru Life
| Tru Life | |
|---|---|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Roberto Guzmán Rosado, Jr. |
| Born | March 19, 1976 |
| Origin | Lower East Side, Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States |
| Genres | Hip hop |
| Occupation(s) | Rapper |
| Years active | 1999-2009; 2016-present |
| Labels | Freebandz Roc-La-Familia |
| Associated acts | Future; Saigon; Jay-Z; Rick Ross; N.O.R.E. |
Roberto Guzmán Rosado, Jr. (born March 19, 1976), better known by his stage name Tru Life, is an American rapper of Puerto Rican descent. He was signed to Jay-Z's Roc-A-Fella Records briefly but was incarcerated soon after. Before signing he had spent time with various other labels, featured on numerous songs and had already generated quite a buzz due to prominent beefs, appearances on mixtapes and Smack DVD.
He was released from prison in 2016.
Since his release from prison he has actively protested his innocence, and stated that he pled guilty to a criminal charge only because of the situation being effectively stacked against him in such a way that he felt he could not win a trial, despite the fact that he didn't participate in any crime. In his eyes, it was a better choice to plead guilty and accept the sentence than to risk a trial, which would have not only put him at risk of being convicted of a more serious crime but also at risk of a much longer sentence. He has also indicated since his release that he is a changed man and has left his previous life of crime and drama long behind him and is moving on in a positive direction.
Soon after his release Tru Life featured on a song with Rick Ross which was received well. The music video for the song, released on YouTube, gathered over 1 million views within one month.
As of January 2017 Tru Life has featured on a few mixtape tracks but has not released a single. Despite stating that he is working on his own record and starting his own label, he announced that he has signed a deal with Sony Epic and Future's Freebandz label.
Tru Life's career started in 1999 after being signed to Dreamworks Records. His album, Cryin' Out Loud, was scheduled to be released in November 2001. In an interview, Tru Life says "They weren't ready to do black music", and "there were too many bumps in the road, and I couldn't move."
He eventually landed an audition with Jay-Z. After more than ten minutes, Tru Life was able to convince Jay-Z of his skills, which prompted Jay-Z to reply "Somebody, get this kid in front of a camera!". He was signed to a six-figure record deal later that evening. Tru Life gained a significant amount of notice when he made an original song "Wet Em Up" for Grand Theft Auto IV's fictional radio station "The Beat 102.7", which was used in the Playboy X trailer released weeks prior to the game.
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