Jay Tee

Jay Tee is a West Coast rapper from the Bay Area who began his career in the early '90s as a member of the pioneering Chicano rap group N2Deep before founding the independent label 40 Ounce Records and embarking on a prolific solo career around the turn of the century. Born James Trujillo, he and fellow group member TL (born Timothy Lyon) made their commercial recording debut as N2Deep in 1990 with the Johnny Z-produced single "Work That Body," released on Rated Z Recordz. Based in Vallejo, CA, the group was subsequently signed to a recording contract with Profile Records and made its full-length album debut in 1992 with Back to the Hotel. Produced by close affiliate Johnny Z, the album's title track was a mainstream breakthrough hit, reaching number 14 on the Billboard singles chart, and remains a West Coast rap classic of the era. Unfortunately, successive efforts failed to rival the success of Back to the Hotel, though the group remained active throughout the remainder of the decade, releasing the albums 24-7-365 (1994), The Golden State (1997), The Rumble (1998), and Slightly Pimpish/Mostly Doggish (2000). In addition to N2Deep, Jay Tee was also a member of the Chicago rap supergroup Latino Velvet (also comprised of Frost, Baby Beesh, and Don Cisco), which made its eponymous full-length album debut in 1997. As a solo artist, Jay Tee made his commercial debut in 2001 with The Knocks, a compilation spanning 1992-2000, and So Cold, a full-length studio effort of all-new material. Both albums, along with those that followed, were released on the independent label 40 Ounce Records, founded by Jay Tee. Successive albums include High Caliber (2002), A Cold Piece of Work (2004), The Thou$andaire (2005), How the Game Go (2006), A.K.A. Jaime Trago (2008), and more. ~ Jason Birchmeier, Rovi