From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
J. Holiday (born Nahum Grymes on September 6, 1982 in Washington D.C) is an American R&B singer who is most known for his two singles "Bed" and "Suffocate."
Biography
Early Years
J. Holiday describes his sound as "old school soul with a little mix of hip-hop". Holiday is a preachers' son. Raised in the church by his mother, J. Holiday couldn't ignore the hip-hop culture. He soon was fascinated by the early '90's R&B vocal groups such as Boyz II Men, H-Town, and Jodeci...Holiday soon became enamored with hip-hop, marveling int he intricate rhymes of Jay-Z and Outkast. But it was during a high school talent show when a 14-year-old Holiday knew he had a passion for singing. However, local bands were unable to recruit the budding vocalist, whose mother had plans for her son to finish school before seriously pursuing music. Two years later, J. Holiday would discover the music of Marvin Gaye, an experience he calls a “revelation.”
“At the time, I didn’t really know that much about him,” J. Holiday says of the late soul icon. “Marvin became my major influence. He opened me up to folks like Donny Hathaway and Al Green. Those artists had a real honest soul about them. I just wanted to mix that feeling with hip-hop.”
Holiday skipped college and began recording demos in a local studio. He also found himself increasingly caught up in street activities, but music offered a more positive path. Soon, Holiday met up with current manager Corey Green and formed the group 295, named after the D.C. highway. Buzz for 295 was growing but by 2003 the R&B act disbanded. A&R veteran, Anthony “T.A” Tate, of Music Line Group (Ciara, Teairra Marie) quickly set up a meeting with Capitol Records and a deal was made on the spot.
“You just have to stay true to yourself,” Holiday says of his turbulent journey to becoming a recording artist. “A lot of artists nowadays are trying to be something that they are necessarily not. I don’t care how good a song is…if I don’t feel it personally, I’m not going to sing it because it’s not true to me. I feel very personal about my album. There’s nothing fake about it. This is my life. There are a lot of different stories out here and people just need to listen to them.”[1]
Debut-Present
A native of Alexandria, Virginia, J. Holiday debuted in 2006 but received fame following the success of "Bed"" in 2007. The single reached #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. His debut album Back of My Lac' has gone Gold in the U.S. with sales of over 500,000 copies. His follow-up single "Suffocate" has so far peaked at #18 on the Hot 100.
Awards/Nominations
Discography
-
Albums
Singles
Featured singles
Guest appearances
Mixtapes
References
External links
|
J. Holiday |
|
| Albums |
|
|
| Singles |
|
|
| Featured singles |
|
|
| Related articles |
|
|
