Jeremih is a famous American singer and songwriter. The path of the musician was long and difficult, but in the end he managed to earn the attention of the public, but this did not happen right away. Today, the singer's albums are bought in many countries of the world.
Childhood of Jeremy P. Felton
The real name of the rapper is Jeremy P. Felton (his pseudonym is a shortened version of the name). The boy was born on July 17, 1987 in Chicago. The musicality inherent in the rapper and not typical for representatives of this genre is easily explained by the atmosphere in which the child grew up and was brought up.
His family was wealthy. The child was brought up in a warm environment, and he listened to the music of Michael Jackson, Ray Charles, Steve Wonder.
By the way, the influence of these musicians can be easily heard in the work of Jeremy in the future. At the age of 3, thanks to the efforts of his parents, the boy had already begun to master many musical instruments, including drums, saxophone, etc.
Jeremih's musical tastes
In the process of growing up, these hobbies did not go anywhere, but only began to intensify. Therefore, in his school years, the boy played in a jazz band. At the same time, music did not interfere with his studies, thanks to numerous awards and excellent grades, he graduated from school a year earlier than his peers.
He first tried to get a higher education in the specialty "Engineer", but a year later he realized that his fate should be inextricably linked with music. He changed universities and began to study as a sound engineer without leaving his hometown.
To the question "When exactly did you decide to become a singer?" Jeremy replies that it happened just in the process of studying at the university. He performed at one of the concerts of the university with a song by Ray Charles.
People so warmly accepted his speech and expressed so many positive emotions that from that moment the young man clearly defined his musical stylewho wants to be.
The beginning of Jeremih's career
In 2009, the singer had the opportunity to show himself at the audition with the producers of the Jam label, which at one time helped in the development of many iconic rap artists, such as: LL Cool J, Public Enemy, Jay Z, etc.
The audition was successful and the label signed the rapper to a contract. The first single was called Birthday Sex and was warmly received by the public. It has charted on numerous reputable music charts, including The Billboard Hot 100.
The success of the single showed that you can safely release the album, so a few months later the debut release of Jeremih was released. Thanks to the talent of the musician and the support of more famous colleagues (rappers Lil Wayne, Soulja Boy, etc. took part), the disc managed to reach the leading positions in the Billboard 200 rating. Against the backdrop of a general drop in sales of music albums, Jeremy's release sold 60 thousand copies in one week.
Jeremy was not without negativity
Despite the commercial success, the work of the musicians met with a wave of negativity. So, for example, the director of the Chicago school where the rapper studied invited him to conduct a series of lectures and master classes. Here the musician met a wave of resistance from two sides at once.
Firstly, students simply did not come to lectures for unknown reasons. It is likely that this was due to the non-recognition of the singer's music. Secondly, the students' parents were against such master classes, believing that the ideological component of the artist's songs was unacceptable (in his music, Jeremy often touched upon the topics of sexual relations).
Many listeners also had mixed feelings about the new star. Not everyone understood the positioning of the musician. He called himself a rapper and did joint compositions with many of them, but at the same time he sounded like a typical representative of pop music at that time. Therefore, hip-hop fans did not accept him. At the same time, there were too many elements of rap in his songs for pop music.
Therefore, in order to earn the trust of at least one of the two “camps”, support from reputable rappers was more than ever necessary for him. And he got it.
Further work of the singer
In 2010, the musician collaborated with such a cult rapper as 50 Cent. By that time, the second one also had some difficulties in his musical career (the last album “I Self Destruct” in 2009 disappointed the “fans” and showed a very low level of sales), so the collaboration only benefited both.
His result was the single Down On Me - a combination of pop music and recitative from 50 Cent. The single turned out to be very successful, and for a long time topped many music charts around the world. This song showed the world the real Jeremy - with all his love for vocals and soft recitative at the same time.
At the same time, a single was recorded with rapper Ludacris (I Like), which was also very successful. Thus, a good promotional base was prepared for the release of the second disc All About You.
The album was released in 2010 and was certified gold in the United States. The release was much more successful than the debut.
Nevertheless, the break between the release of the second and third discs of Late Nights: The Album lasted almost five years, which negatively affected the singer's popularity. The album was noticed by listeners, however, it was inferior to the first releases in terms of sales and popularity. The disc also contains joint tracks with such famous rap artists as Lil Wayne and Big Sean, etc.
Jeremy today
The musician's latest release to date is a joint album with Ty Dolla Sign. These are 11 new compositions, which are recorded in the style familiar to both musicians. The last solo album was released in 2015. For unknown reasons, the musician is in no hurry to release a new one.
