Juvenile

Terius Gray, better known by his stage name Juvenile, (born March 25, 1975) is an American rapper. At the age of 19, he began recording raps, releasing his debut album Being Myself in 1995.^[1] The album gave name to the southern rap style known as "bounce".^[2] The album was followed by Solja Rags in 1997; its underground popularity led to the major-label release of 400 Degreez in 1998. He was also a member of the group Hot Boys.^[1] After releasing Tha G-Code in 1999 and Project English in 2001, Juvenile left Cash Money Records.

In 2003, he returned to Cash Money to record Juve the Great, spawning the number-one hit "Slow Motion". Juvenile then released Raw
(2005). Then in 2006, he was signed to Atlantic Records, and he released Reality Check under that label.^[1] He is set to release his latest album, which is the second album of his to be released on Atlantic Records, Cocky & Confident in 2009.^[3]

Music career

Juvenile is an American recording artist,(rapper) from New Orleans, Louisiana. After beginning his rap performing career in his teenage years, Juvenile released his first album Being Myself in 1995 at age 19, inventing the southern "bounce" rap style, similar in nature to the sound that Master P and No Limit Records were performing at the time.^[2] In 1997, Solja Rags, Juvenile's debut with Cash Money Records, became popular among rap audiences.^[1] Thus, Juvenile's next album 400 Degreez was re-released in 1998 with joint distribution by Universal Records, spawning his first single "Ha" and later "Back That Azz Up", both of which topped the Billboard Hot 100 and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs charts.^[4] However, there came a dispute over who owned the rights to the title of the song, as another New Orleans performer DJ Jubilee claimed that Juvenile's song sounded very similar to a song of his. In January 2005, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in New Orleans denied the case.^[5]

In 1999, capitalizing off Juvenile's popularity off 400 Degreez, a remixed version of Being Myself and reissue of Solja Rags were released.^[1] Three more albums under Cash Money were released 400 Degreez in 1998, Tha G-Code in 1999 and Project English in 2001. Juvenile left Cash Money Records in 2002 to form his label, UTP Records.^[1]

Juvenile returned to Cash Money in 2003 to release Juve the Great. It contained the number-one hit "Slow Motion" featuring Soulja Slim, which topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart on the week of August 7, 2004,^[6] being the first number-one hit for both Juvenile and Slim,^[4] who died in November 2003.^[7]

In 2005, Juvenile and his UTP crew went on to create the hit song "Nolia Clap" produced by Donald "XL" Robertson, and Juvenile was able to use this as leverage in getting a new deal for himself and UTP at Atlantic Records.^[1] In June of that year, he performed his song "Booty Language" from the soundtrack to the film Hustle and Flow at a party in West Hollywood, California.^[8] However, Juvenile's Slidell, Louisiana home was damaged but not destroyed in Hurricane Katrina near the end of the summer.^[1] In the aftermath of the hurricane, he worked with fellow New Orleans rapper Master P and other hip hop artists to raise funds and supplies for the victims of the hurricane.^[9] Thus, he moved to Atlanta to live until the spring of 2006, when he moved back to New Orleans.^[10]

Reality Check, Juvenile's 2006 album, debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart, being his first number-one album.^[11] Production began in May 2005, most of it being done at a Holiday Inn hotel room in New Orleans.^[12] Its first single was "Animal", followed by "Rodeo", "Get Ya Hustle On" produced by Donald "XL" Robertson, "What's Happenin'", and "Way I Be Leanin'" featuring Mike Jones, Paul Wall, Skip, and Wacko.^[4] A portion of the album was recorded with engineer, Stewart Cararas at his studio Paradigm Park Studios in New Orleans. Within one month, the studio suffered the wrath off Hurricane Katrina. Stewart now lives and operates in Los Angeles. On signing to Atlantic, Juvenile criticized his former label Cash Money for not giving him enough creative freedoms as well as Federal Emergency Management Agency over his perceptions over their handling of Hurricane Katrina. Shaheem Reid noted "Get Ya Hustle On" as a criticism of the George W. Bush administration.^[13]

In a 2009 interview with Allhiphop.com writer Han O'Connor, Juvenile stated that his album Cocky & Confident would take a totally different direction from his last project, which was made when he was still "mourning Katrina." He also revealed that he decided to work only with fresh, young producers on the album and discussed his respect for younger artists like Soulja Boy.^[14]

Personal life

Juvenile had a daughter, Jelani, with Joy Deleston. On 29 February 2008, Juvenile's 4-year-old daughter Jelani was shot and killed in her home, along with mother Deleston and older half sister. It was reported that Deleston's oldest child, 17-year-old son Anthony Tyrone Terrell Jr., returned to the home after police arrived and implicated himself in the murder of his mother and siblings. Terrell was charged with three counts of murder and three counts of aggravated assault. Due to his age, he cannot be held to the death penalty in Georgia, and has since been held in the DeKalb County jail. Though Juvenile received some criticism for not attending the funeral for his daughter and her mother, several statements were released that the rapper was "shocked and devastated" by the event, and also "was extremely saddened to hear the reports. As a private matter he has no further comment".^[15] The rapper stated that he made the decision to not appear at the funeral to prevent subsequent media attention, and was concerned that it would divert attention away from the ceremony.^[16][17]

Legal issues

In the summer of 2002, he was arrested for assaulting his barber over charges that the barber was bootlegging his music.^[18]

He was arrested January 2003 in New Orleans on drug charges.^[19] The next month, he was sentenced to 75 hours of community service for a fight outside a nightclub in Miami, Florida from 2001.^[20]

Juvenile was involved in a legal dispute regarding failure to pay child support for his daughter Jelani with Joy Deleston, a deputy sheriff in Gwinnett County, Georgia. A paternity lawsuit was issued by Deleston in 2004, resulting in a DNA test and both parties agreeing that Juvenile was the father of the child. Attorney Randy Kessler represented Juvenile in the case, and stated that the case was resolved peacefully by consent order in 2006.^[21]

Filmography

• Baller Blockin' (2000)
• Juvenile: Uncovered (2001)
• UTP Live In St. Louis (2002)
• Hood Angels (2003)
• Juvenile: Street Heat (2005)
• New Orleans Exposed (2005)

Discography

• 1995: Being Myself
• 1997: Solja Rags
• 1998: 400 Degreez
• 1999: Tha G-Code
• 2000: Playaz of Da Game
• 2001: Project English
• 2003: Juve the Great
• 2006: Reality Check
• 2009: Cocky & Confident^[22]

References

External links

• Juvenile at MySpace
• Juvenile at the Internet Movie Database
• Maxim.com Rap Public Service Announcement featuring Juvenile
• Juvenile: Life After The Storm by Han O'Connor (Allhiphop.com)