Nahum Thorton Grymes (born November 29, 1984), better known by his stage name J. Holiday, is a Grammy-nominated American singer, songwriter, rapper and actor. He came into prominence in 2007 with his breakthrough hit "Bed", peaking at number five on the US Billboard Hot 100.[1]
Holliday released his debut album, Back of My Lac', in October 2007. The album was originally supposed to be released in late 2006, but it was pushed back to put some finishing touches on the album. Despite the delay in the album's release, it was still able to peak at number five on the US music charts. The album would also hit number 32 in the United Kingdom. Back of My Lac' has sold just over 700,000 copies worldwide. The album would also deliver J. Holliday his only Grammy nomination when it was nominated for Best Contemporary R&B Album in 2009. His second album, Round 2 was released in March 2009.
After the undergoing of label changes and several release delays, Holliday would finally release his third album, Guilty Conscience in January 2014. While the five year delay between albums would not hurt the quality of the music, it would only hinder the sales. The album would only manage to peak at number 42 on the US music charts.[2][3]
Early life
Holiday was born as Nahum Grymes in Washington, D.C. to an African-American mother and an Eritrean father. His name is inspired by a biblical figure because he is the son of a preacher. Holiday was raised alone by his mother in Washington, D.C. and Alexandria, Virginia after his father died when he was just eleven. Frances Grymes made sure that her son completed his education and attended church. Holiday attended a local high school where he displayed his singing talent during a showcase night. By then, he frequently listened to Marvin Gaye, Boyz II Men, Tupac Shakur, R. Kelly, and Jodeci. Although he had the passion to go deep onto the music path, his mom sent him back to school to complete his education first. Upon his graduation, J. Holiday headed straight to studios where he began recording demo tapes.
Career
Back of My Lac (2006-2008)
He released his debut album, Back of My Lac' on October 2007. The album debuted on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart at number 5 selling 105,000 copies in its first week.[4] It debuted at #1 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. The album debuted in the Top 20 R&B/Hip Hop albums in Canada and charted within the Top 100 albums in Canada. It became a Top 10 R&B/Hip Hop album in the UK and a Top 40 UK album entry peaking at #32. In the U.S it also made it to #8 on the Tastemakers chart and #5 on the Top Digital Albums and Billboard Comprehensive Albums Chart. The promotional single from this album was "Be with Me", which stalled at #83 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Chart. Debuted on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in the issue week of July 4, 2007 at number 89 and has peaked at number 5.[5] It was number 1 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs for five weeks in a row. The single has also debuted on BET's 106 & Park countdown at number 9 on Tuesday July 31, 2007. On Wednesday, August 15, 2007, "Bed" hit number one on its 11th day on the countdown. J. Holiday also performed "Bed" on 106 & Park on August 17, 2007.
"Bed" was also performed on Showtime at the Apollo along with the single "Suffocate". This song was #70 on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 Best Songs of 2007.[6] The video for "Bed" was ranked the #11 video of 2007 on BET: Notarized. His video for the third single, "Suffocate," debuted on BET's 106 & Park on November 7, 2007. The video was shot in Paris, France. "Come Here" was released as a single but was ultimately canceled.
Round 2 (2009-2010)
Round 2 is the second studio album by Contemporary R&B singer J. Holiday. The album was released on March 10, 2009. The album is the follow-up to his gold-selling debut album Back of My Lac'. The album sold 55,000 units in its first week and debuted at number 4 on the Billboard 200. "It's Yours" is the first single from singer J. Holiday's second studio album, Round 2. The single features production from The Co-Stars (Teairra Mari's Make Her Feel Good), and Jasper Cameron (Lloyd's Player's Prayer). The song was well received, becoming the most added single at Urban Mainstream radio the week of December 13, 2008. Its Yours peaked at 25 on the US R&B chart. The 2nd single that was supposed to be released was Fall, but due to label problems it was canceled like "Come Here" on his previous album.
Guilty Conscience (2012-2014)
In 2010, J. Holiday left Capitol Records and signed to Island Def Jam at the time working on his third album. He then released his mixtape, M.I.A: The Lost Pages, in 2011, in promotion of the album. In early 2012, J. Holiday left Def Jam Recordings. On May 29, 2012, he released his single "Sign My Name", from his upcoming third studio album. J. Holiday has been receiving heavy rotation of his single “Sign My Name” and has been on multiple radio stations giving the fans what they need. His “Sign My Name” Tour has kept him busy to the point of have performance dates booked months in advance. He will soon embark as the headliner in the upcoming “Bad Boyz of R&B” Tour and the release of the movie “School of HardKnocks” that he is starring in alongside Elise Neal, Erica Hubbard and Cisco Reyes is highly anticipated. In July 2013, he revealed the title of his 3rd studio album, titled Guilty Conscience, via Facebook.[7] The album is scheduled to be released on November 11, 2013.[8] He announced the lead single for the album titled "After We Fuck", will be sent to urban radio soon.[9][10] The album was pushed back until December 10, 2013.[2][11] A music video for the single will be released on November 5, 2013.[12] Guilty Conscience was pushed back again and was released on January 28, 2014 through his label Holiday Music Group. The album achieved #42 on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.
Discography
- Studio albums
Filmography
Films
| Year |
Title |
Role |
Notes |
|---|
| 2013 |
School of Hard Knocks |
N/A |
|
Tours
Awards and nominations
American Music Awards
BET Awards
Grammy Awards
NAACP Image Awards
References
External links
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| | | | Studio albums | |
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| | Singles | |
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| | Featured singles | |
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| | Tours |
- The Double Up Tour (2007)
- The Guilty Conscience Tour (2013)
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