Juelz Santana

Born LaRon James, Juelz Santana is a Hip-hop musician who records on the Def Jam record label. http://islanddefjam.com/artist/bio.aspx?artistID=7306 He has released four studio albums; two with hip hop group The Diplomats, and two solo albums. In 2004, he received a Grammy nomination for a single from his debut album, From Me 2 U. http://mtv.com/news/topics/g/grammy/2004/nominees/nominees.jhtml He has also received an MTV Video Award nomination for a collaboration song with R&B singer, Chris Brown. On screen, he has appeared in the independent films, Killa Season and State Property 2. http://imdb.com/name/nm1724629/ In late 2010, he reunited with The Diplomats and began recording a third studio album with the group. http://mtv.com/news/articles/1649295/20101004/diplomats_rap_.jhtml

Santana is of African American and Dominican descent.http://latinrapper.com/jim_jones_interview.htmlHe has two children, and resides in Harlem, New York. http://chimovement.com/celebrating-fatherhood-with-juelz-santana/+juelz+santana+children&cd=7&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us

At 15, Juelz Santana began his rap career in a duo called Draft Pick, which was signed for short time on Priority Records. http://islanddefjam.com/artist/bio.aspx?artistID=7306 In 2000, he joined the rap group The Diplomats, becoming the youngest member among fellow rappers, Cam'ron, Jim Jones, and Freeky Zekey. http://mtv.com/news/articles/1605087/20090213/santana_juelz.jhtml Shortly after joining the group, Santana made his first mainstream record with The Diplomats on Cam'ron's album S.D.E. http://asylumrecords.com/camron/bio

Santana signed to Roc-A-Fella Records as a member of The Diplomats in 2001. The group then released several mixtapes and made guest appearances on Cam'ron's solo album. In 2002, "Hey Ma" and "Oh Boy," featuring The Diplomats, reached number 3 and number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 Tracks, respectively. http://billboard.com/#/artist/cam-ron/chart-history/272623 Santana subsequently released his own mixtape, Final Destination, in early 2003 as a precursor to his debut album. http://billboard.com/#/album/juelz-santana/final-destination/589268 The Diplomats released their debut album Diplomatic Immunity in April 2003 under the Diplomat Records label, which was distributed by Roc-A-Fella Records. http://billboard.com/#/album/cam-ron-presents-the-diplomats/diplomatic-immunity/572162 Later that same year, Santana released his debut album, From Me to U under the Diplomat Records label. http://billboard.com/#/album/juelz-santana/from-me-to-u/596168 Santana's solo album debuted at number 3 on the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. http://billboard.com/#/charts/r-b-hip-hop-albums?chartDate=2003-09-06

The following year, in 2004, The Diplomats released their second album, Diplomatic Immunity 2. http://billboard.com/#/artist/the-diplomats/discography/albums/499160 Santana's second album, What the Game's Been Missing!, released in December 2005, debuted at number 1 on the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop chart. http://billboard.com/#/charts/r-b-hip-hop-albums?chartDate=2005-12-10 The album earned a Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) Gold certification and the single "There it Go (the Whistle Song)" also earned gold certification; this would be Santana's last album on the Diplomat Records label.http://riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?table=SEARCH_RESULTS Due to creative differences, the Diplomats disband in 2007. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1638342/20100503/diplomats_rap_.jhtml Since 2006, Santana made several guests appearances and collaborations with other rappers, including a joint effort with rapper Lil Wayne. However, Cam'ron, owner of the Diplomat Record label, would not release any of this material. In August 2008, Cam'ron released Santana from his contractual obligations to Diplomat Records by selling his contract to Def Jam for $2 million. http://mtv.com/news/articles/1592941/20080815/santana_juelz.jhtml

Santana has yet to release a solo album under the Def Jam label. However, in 2009, Santana began discussing a still unreleased mixtape, The Reagan Era. http://mtv.com/news/articles/1634079/20100316/santana_juelz.jhtml The mixtape was to be followed by his third studio album, Born to Lose, Built to Win, which is also yet to be released. In May 2009 he released the debut album for the rap group, The Skull Gang, under his own record label, Skull Gang Entertainment. http://xxlmag.com/news/latest-headlines/2009/04/julez-santana%E2%80%99s-skull-gang-to-drop-debut-lp/ In May 2010, he released the single "Beamer, Benz, or Bentley", a collaborative song also featuring Lloyd Banks.

In May 2010, it was reported that the Diplomats had reconciled. http://mtv.com/news/articles/1638342/20100503/diplomats_rap_.jhtml Later that year, Santana confirmed the reconciliation, and discussed an upcoming Diplomats project with music producer Dr. Dre. http://mtv.com/news/articles/1649295/20101004/diplomats_rap_.jhtml In November 2010, Santana performed a Diplomats reunion concert at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City. http://mtv.com/news/articles/1649295/20101004/diplomats_rap_.jhtml

• 2003: Diplomatic Immunity, From Me to U
• 2004: Diplomatic Immunity 2
• 2005: What the Game's Been Missing!
• 2009: Skull Gang

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