Juvenile
Juvenile performing at the House of Blues in New Orleans, LA on March 21, 2008
Background information
Birth name	Terius Gray
Born	March 25, 1975 (1975-03-25) (age 33)
Origin	New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.
Genre(s)	Hip hop, Bounce, New Orleans Rap
Occupation(s)	Rapper
Years active	1994 - present
Label(s)	Cash Money; UTP; Atlantic
Associated acts	UTP, B.G., Soulja Slim, Young Buck, Mannie Fresh, Skip, Wacko, Lil' Wayne
Website	Official Website

Terius Gray (born March 25, 1975 in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States), known by his stage name Juvenile, is an American rapper. At the age of 19, he began recording raps, releasing his debut album Being Myself in 1994.^[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.^[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". In 2006, he was signed to Atlantic Records, releasing his latest album Reality Check under that label.^[1]

Music career

After beginning his rap performing career in his teenage years, Juvenile released his first album Being Myself in 1994, giving way to 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 underground rap audiences.^[1] Thus, Juvenile's next album 400 Degreez was 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.^[3] 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.^[4]

In 1999, capitalizing off Juvenile's popularity off 400 Degreez, a remixed version of Being Myself and reissue of Solja Rags were released.^[1] Two more albums under Cash Money were released, Tha G-Code in 1999 and Project English in 2001. Juvenile left Cash Money Records in 2002 to join a new label UTP Records.^[1] In the summer of that year, he was arrested for assaulting his barber over charges that the barber was bootlegging his music.^[5]

He was arrested January 2003 in New Orleans on drug charges.^[6] The next month, he was sentenced to 75 hours of community service for a fight outside a nightclub in Miami, Florida from 2001.^[7] 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^[8], being the first number-one hit for both Juvenile and Slim^[3], who died in November 2003.^[9]

In 2005, Juvenile and his UTP crew went on to create the hit song "Nolia Clap", 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.^[10] 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.^[11] Thus, he moved to Atlanta to live until the spring of 2006, when he moved back to New Orleans.^[12]

Reality Check, Juvenile's 2006 album, debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart, being his first number-one album.^[13] Production began in May 2005, most of it being done at a Holiday Inn hotel room in New Orleans.^[14] Its first single was "Animal", followed by "Rodeo", "Get Ya Hustle On", "What's Happenin'", and "Way I Be Leanin'" featuring Mike Jones, Paul Wall, Skip, and Wacko.^[3] On signing to Atlantic, Juvenile criticized his former label Cash Money for not giving him enough creative freedoms as well as FEMA 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.^[15]

Juvenile had been set to return from a hiatus in 2008, but following the death of his daughter in February 2008, has taken further time off.

Personal life

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.^[16]

On 29 February 2008, Juvenile's 4 year old daughter Jelani was shot and killed in her home, along with mother Deleston and two half sisters. 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 can not 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 devestated" by the event, and also "was extremely saddened to hear the reports. As a private matter he has no further comment". ^[17] 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. ^[18][19]

Filmography

• Baller Blockin (2000)
• Juvenile Undercovered (2002)
• Hood Angels (2003)
• Block Party (2004)

Discography

Main article: Juvenile 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
• 2008: Hard Labor

References

External links

• Juvenile at MySpace
• Maxim.com Rap Public Service Announcement featuring Juvenile