Jacquees - Rhythm, Family and Life

Jacquees was born on April 15, 1994, in Decatur, a city in the state of Georgia. He was raised there along with his brothers and sisters.

At the age of nine, he discovered his passion for singing and dancing, after being influenced by the music of the Jacksons and the Temptations. However, he didn't listen to their music at first; instead, he was affected by the biographical television mini-series 'The Jacksons: An American Dream' and 'The Temptations'. The musical drama film, 'The Five Heartbeats', also influenced him as a child.

He mastered his craft all by himself, with enough practice, and never had a vocal coach. Apart from singing, he also started writing songs, sometimes with his friends, when he was only 12.

He grew up listening to R&B and hip-hop stars like Usher, Ginuwine, R. Kelly, Jodeci, Boyz II Men and Hot Boys. He also listened to a lot of classic music from Luther Vandross and Marvin Gaye as his mother loved those songs.

Jacquees, who would often sing while watching the movies, received encouragement from his family and relatives. When he was in the fifth grade, he took part in a talent show for the first time at Canby Lane Elementary School in Atlanta, Georgia. He secured 1st place by performing Jackson 5's 'I Want You Back'.

He enrolled in Mary McCleod Bethune Middle School and continued to compete in talent shows every year. He won two talent shows there and one at the Dekalb County Middle School.

Jacquees started his professional career in 2007, when he was introduced to Orlando Grind, who later became his manager. Soon after, he caught the attention of Dexx Lee and J. Sims.

He initially performed at local talent shows. Eventually, Orlando introduced him to Russell 'Block' Spencer, founder and CEO of 'Block Entertainment'. He started by working behind the scenes in the rap projects in which Block was working on at the time.

He got the opportunity to express his true talents only after Block shifted his focus to R&B and witnessed how talented he was. In 2009, he became more involved with Block Entertainment's recording studio and collaborated with American rapper T.I. to release the single 'Krazy', which provided him further exposure.

His first EP, titled 'I Am Jacquees' was initially released in 2009, but it was his next release that brought him recognition. His first mixtape, 'Round of Applause', for which he had a dedicated team behind him, was released on August 11, 2011.

One year later, on August 29, 2012, he released his second mixtape called 'Fan Affiliated'. It took him almost another year to release his next mixtape, 'Quemix', which came out on May 1, 2013.

On March 25, 2014, Jacquees independently released '19', his second extended play. The EP consisted of 11 tracks and featured guest appearances from a number of stars from the music industry.

A few months later, on October 1st, 2014, he announced on twitter that he has signed a record deal with 'Cash Money Records/Rich Gang'. However, he released his next mixtape, 'Quemix 2', independently on January 6, 2015.

His first release from 'Cash Money Records' was the mixtape 'Mood', which was made available as a digital download on January 25, 2016. He went on to release two more mixtapes from the same record label; 'Lost At Sea' on May 27, 2016, and 'Since You Playin'' on January 25, 2017.

He revealed in mid-2016 that he would soon release his debut album '4275' from 'Cash Money Records'; however, the release has been delayed to early 2017. Chris Brown is scheduled to feature on the LP.

The release of his second EP, titled '19', established him as the next star in the music industry. In the EP, he has worked with top artists like Chris Brown, Rich Homie Quan, Lloyd and Trinidad James. He has also worked with rapper Birdman on the mixtape 'Lost at Sea'.

His EP '19' debuted at No. 15 on the 'Billboard' charts for 'Top R&B Albums'. It also reached No. 3 on the iTunes’ 'R&B and Soul' music charts.

Jacquees was reportedly in a relationship with a girl named Stanesha. They were probably involved for a long time as his little sister, Miracle, mentioned once that it was not a sudden development and she knew her for some years. However, the couple broke up later, apparently not on amicable terms.

Jacquees once mentioned that singing is very easy to him, "like walking" and that he sings without putting any effort to it. He even went on to say that if he ever faces a problem with singing that would be surprising.

When he was 15, he once took a class with vocal coach Jan Smith. However, even though he admired Smith, he didn't continue the classes due to its $200 an hour charge.

He has admitted to have leaked two of his own songs, 'B.E.D.' and 'Bounce'. According to him, he did it to support his next venture with Birdman, 'Lost At Sea'.