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Jean Grae

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This article is about the musician. For the X-Men character, see Jean Grey.

Jean Grae
Grae performing in 2006
Grae performing in 2006
Background information
Birth nameTsidi Ibrahim
Also known asWhat? What?
Born (1976-11-26) November 26, 1976 (age 48)
Cape Town, South Africa
OriginNew York City, U.S.
Genres
Occupation
  • Multidisciplinary artist and writer
Years active1990–2020
Labels
Formerly of

Tsidi Ibrahim[2][3] (born November 26, 1976), known professionally as Jean Grae, is a multidisciplinary artist and writer. She emerged in New York City's underground hip-hop scene and developed an international following. Throughout her music career, her distinctive style and lyricism gained recognition, with artists such as Talib Kweli, Jay-Z, and Black Thought of The Roots expressing admiration for her work.

Early life

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Jean Grae was born Tsidi Ibrahim, in Cape Town, South Africa, on November 26, 1976. The child of South African jazz musicians Sathima Bea Benjamin and Abdullah Ibrahim, Grae was raised in The Hotel Chelsea, Manhattan where the family moved after her birth. Grae studied Vocal Performance at Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School, before briefly studying in Music Business at New York University.[2][4]

Career

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1996–1998: Career beginnings

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Grae joined a hip hop group called Natural Resource[3] along with rapper Ocean and disc jockey James "AGGIE" Barrett. In 1996, they released two 12-inch singles on their label, Makin' Records.[2] They appeared on singles by Pumpkinhead and Bad Seed, as well as on the O.B.S. (Original Blunted Soldiers) double 12-inch single. She produced much of the material released under pseudonym "Run Run Shaw".

1998–2004: Solo career

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Natural Resource dissolved in 1998, after which Jean changed her stage name from What? What? to Jean Grae, a reference to the X-Men character Jean Grey.[5] Grae released the LP Attack of the Attacking Things on August 6, 2002, and released This Week on September 21, 2004.[5] She has recorded with major hip-hop artists such as Atmosphere, The Roots, Phonte, Mr. Len, Pharoahe Monch, The Herbaliser, Masta Ace and Immortal Technique.

Grae recorded an album with North Carolina producer 9th Wonder, entitled Jeanius; the unfinished recording was leaked online, and work stopped.[6] However, at a release party for 9th Wonder's Dream Merchant Volume 2, Grae stated that Jeanius was still going to be released. It was released on June 24, 2008, on Zune Live Marketplace, then on disc on July 8, 2008. Grae's rapping was described by Robert Christgau as "remarkable for its rapidity, clarity and idiomatic cadence. The writing has a good-humored polysyllabic literacy."[7]

Talib Kweli and Grae in 2010

2008–present: Freelance

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[8] On a blog, Grae stated: "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."[9] Since then, Grae's music has been self-released through the artist's website and Bandcamp.

On June 25, 2011, Grae released a free mixtape entitled Cookies or Comas, which features guest appearances from Styles P, Talib Kweli and Pharoahe Monch; it also includes "Assassins" from Monch's W.A.R. album and "Uh Oh" From Talib Kweli's Gutter Rainbows.[10] This was followed by the 10-track Dust Ruffle on January 2, 2013, featuring unreleased songs from 2004 to 2010.[11] Between October and November 2013, Grae released EPs titled Gotham Down Cycle 1: Love in Infinity (Lo-Fi), Gotham Down Cycle II: Leviathan, Gotham Down Cycle 3: The Artemis Epoch. In December 2013, Grae combined them into Gotham Down Deluxe.[12]

Grae branched out from music, releasing audiobook The State of Eh in January 2014,[13] and writing, directing and starring in the online sitcom Life with Jeanie.[14] In 2013, Grae had a supporting role in indie film Big Words[15] and in 2015 appeared on the And The Crime Ring[15] episode of CBS sitcom 2 Broke Girls.[16] On October 2, 2016, Grae hosted the Golden Probes.[17] On September 9, 2018, Grae and Quelle Chris released their 15 track joint album Everything's Fine,[18] rated by Rolling Stone as the 22nd best Hip Hop Album of 2018.[19]

Grae identifies as gender transcendent and uses she/her pronouns.[20] Grae's rapping style relies on a complex interplay of shifting rhythms and slanted rhymes.[21] An analysis by Matt Daniels for The Pudding indicated that Grae uses a higher-than-average range of vocabulary in her lyrics.[22]

Discography

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Studio albums

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Compilation albums

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  • Dust Ruffle (2012)
  • Gotham Down Deluxe (2013)

EPs

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  • The Bootleg of the Bootleg EP (2003)
  • Ho x 3: A Christmas Thingy (2012)
  • Gotham Down: Cycle 1: Love In Infinity (Lo-Fi) (2013)
  • Gotham Down: Cycle II: Leviathan (2013)
  • Gotham Down: Cycle 3: The Artemis Epoch (2013)
  • jeannie (2014)
  • #5 (2014)
  • The State of Eh. A Read Along Album Book Thing. By Jean Grae (2014)
  • That's Not How You Do That: An Instructional Album for Adults (2014)
  • That's Not How You Do That Either: Yet Another Instructional Album for Adults (2015)
  • iSweatergawd (2015)
  • Saix (2015)
  • Jean Grae's CHRISTMAKWHANNUVUSWALIYEARS (2015)
  • MERRYPOCALYPSE (with Quelle Chris) (2016)
  • Sevvin (2016)

Mixtapes

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  • The Official Bootleg (2003)
  • The Grae Files (2004)
  • The Grae Mixtape (2004)
  • Hurricane Jean The Mixtape (2005)
  • Hurricane Jean: The Jeanius Strikes Again (2005)
  • Cookies or Comas (2011)

Other song appearances

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Apani B-Fly Emcee - "Estragen" from [23] (as What? What?)

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Arika Kane - "Anywhere But Up" from Thru the Veil[24]

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Atmosphere - "Insomnia 411" from [25]

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Bad Seed - "Shit Is Hot" from [26] (as What? What?)

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Blue - "Jealous Guy" from [27]

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Chaundon - "Gone" from Carnage

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Guru - "Power, Money and Influence" from Version 7.0: The Street Scriptures[28]

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Flying Pupa "Can It" (as What? What?)[29]

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Herbaliser - "New & Improved"; "Bring It"; "The Blend" from Blow Your Headphones (as What? What?)[30];; "Mission Improbable"; "Let It Go" from Very Mercenary (as What? What?)[31];; "Nah Mean Nah'm Sayin'"; "Generals"; "Close Your Eyes"; "Twice Around"; "More Tea, More Beer"; "How to Keep a Girlfriend"[32] from Take London
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High & Mighty - "Hands On Experience Pt. II" from Home Field Advantage[33]

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Iman Omari - "Heaven" from IHY[34]

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Immortal Technique - "The Illest" from Revolutionary, Vol. 1[35];; "You Never Know" from Revolutionary, vol. 2

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DJ Jazzy Jeff - "Supa Jean" from The Return of the Magnificent[36]

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Joell Ortiz - "So Wrong" from Farewell Summer EP[37]

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Maurice "Bobetta" Brown - "Back at the Ranch" from [38]

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Masta Ace - "Hold U" from Disposable Arts[39];; "Soda and Soap" from A Long Hot Summer[40]

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MC Frontalot - "Gold Locks" from Question Bedtime[41]

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Mr. Len - "Taco Day" from Pity the Fool[42]

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Mr. Lif - "Post Mortem" from I Phantom[43]

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Oddisee - "Soul Clap (Remix)" from 101[44]

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Parallel Thought - "Freaky" from Drugs, Liquor Sex & Cigarettes[45]

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Pharoahe Monch - "Assassins" from W.A.R. (We Are Renegades)[46]

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Preservation - "Setup" from Old Numbers[47]

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Prince Paul - "Controversial Headlines AKA Champion Sound (Pt 2)" from Politics of the Business[48]
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Pumpkinhead - "Anthem for the End of the World" from Orange Moon Over Brooklyn[49]

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Quelle Chris - "The Prestige" from Being You Is Great, I Wish I Could Be You More Often[50];; You, Me and Nobody Else" from Guns[51]

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Robert Glasper Experiment - "I Don't Even Care" from Black Radio 2[52]

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The Roots - "Somebody's Gotta Do it" from The Tipping Point[53]

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Sammus - "1080p" from Pieces in Space[54]

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Sharkey - "Summer in the City (Lovin' It) from Sharkey's Machine[55]

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Ski Beatz - "Prowler" from 24 Hour Karate School[56]

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DJ Spinna - "Hold" from Here to There[57]

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Talib Kweli - "Black Girl Pain" from The Beautiful Struggle[58];; "Where You Gonna Go" from Right About Now: The Sucka Free Mixtape[59];; "Say Something" from Eardrum[60]; ; "Uh Oh" from Gutter Rainbows[61]
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Tek 9 - "Bruklon"; "Keep It Hot" from Simply (as What? What?)[62]

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Wale - "Goodbye" from Back to the Feature[63]

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"Mumia 911"[64] (as What? What?);; "Protective Custody" from Hip Hop for Respect[65] (as What? What?);; "The Jam" from 2K6: The Tracks[66]
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References

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  1. ^ Wiltz, Teresa (December 31, 2004). "Ladies Last". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 25, 2021.
  2. ^ a b c Salazar-Moreno, Quibian. "Jean Grae Biography". AllMusic.
  3. ^ a b Warren, Jamin (April 26, 2005). "Jean Grae". Pitchfork Media. Archived from the original on March 6, 2016. Retrieved August 1, 2009.
  4. ^ "Jean Grae Biography". Archived from the original on October 9, 2008. Retrieved October 3, 2008.
  5. ^ a b Crockett, Stephen A., Jr. (2008), "Grae's Anatomy Archived 2009-07-29 at the Wayback Machine", The Root, August 12, 2008.
  6. ^ Johnson, Christopher (2008), ""Jean Grae: 'I Am Hip-Hop'", NPR Music.
  7. ^ Christgau, Robert (2008), "Jean Grae Shows There's No Better Femcee", NPR Music
  8. ^ "Jean Grae becomes a hip-hop mercenary", The Guardian, September 24, 2008.
  9. ^ JEAN GRAE IS FOR SALE. Retrieved on September 19, 2008.
  10. ^ "Jean Grae - Cookies or Comas (Mixtape)" Archived October 15, 2014, at the Wayback Machine, StupidDope, June 27, 2011.
  11. ^ Eric Diep, "Stream Jean Grae's New Album 'Dust Ruffle'", XXL Magazine, January 2, 2013.
  12. ^ "Gotham Down Deluxe" by Jean Grae.
  13. ^ ""The State of Eh. A Read Along Album Book Thing"". Jeangrae.bandcamp.com. Archived from the original on December 28, 2017. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
  14. ^ "Life With Jeannie". Jeangraetv.com. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
  15. ^ a b "Big Words". IMDb.com. September 1, 2014. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
  16. ^ "2 Broke Girls". IMDb.com. September 19, 2011. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
  17. ^ Gorce, Tammy La (September 23, 2016). "How Jean Grae, an Actress and Musician, Spends Her Sundays". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
  18. ^ "Jean Grae & Quelle Chris - Everything's Fine (CD)". Mello Music Group. Archived from the original on May 4, 2019. Retrieved May 4, 2019.
  19. ^ "Rolling Stone's 30 Best Hip-Hop Albums of 2018". Album of The Year. Retrieved May 4, 2019.
  20. ^ Grae, Jean (December 5, 2024). "FAQ". Stacked Passions. Retrieved February 3, 2025.
  21. ^ Connor, Martin (April 9, 2015). "Rap Music Analysis #7 – The Jeanius of Ms. Jean Grae". RAP ANALYSIS. Retrieved July 16, 2019.
  22. ^ Daniels, Matt (January 21, 2019). "Rappers, sorted by the size of their vocabulary". The Pudding. Retrieved July 16, 2019.
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  38. ^ "YouTube".
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  52. ^ "tidal".
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  55. ^ "pitchfork".
  56. ^ "spotify".
  57. ^ "tidal".
  58. ^ "genius".
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  62. ^ "spotify".
  63. ^ "genius".
  64. ^ "genius".
  65. ^ "genius".
  66. ^ "tidal".
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