Tsidi Ibrahim[2][3] (born November 26, 1976), known professionally as Jean Grae, is a multidisciplinary artist and writer. She emerged in New York City's underground hip-hop scene and developed an international following. Throughout her music career, her distinctive style and lyricism gained recognition, with artists such as Talib Kweli, Jay-Z, and Black Thought of The Roots expressing admiration for her work.
Grae joined a hip hop group called Natural Resource[3] along with rapper Ocean and disc jockey James "AGGIE" Barrett. In 1996, they released two 12-inch singles on their label, Makin' Records.[2] They appeared on singles by Pumpkinhead and Bad Seed, as well as on the O.B.S. (Original Blunted Soldiers) double 12-inch single. She produced much of the material released under pseudonym "Run Run Shaw".
Grae recorded an album with North Carolina producer 9th Wonder, entitled Jeanius; the unfinished recording was leaked online, and work stopped.[6] However, at a release party for 9th Wonder's Dream Merchant Volume 2, Grae stated that Jeanius was still going to be released. It was released on June 24, 2008, on Zune Live Marketplace, then on disc on July 8, 2008. Grae's rapping was described by Robert Christgau as "remarkable for its rapidity, clarity and idiomatic cadence. The writing has a good-humored polysyllabic literacy."[7]
[8] On a blog, Grae stated: "I don't wanna complain anymore, I just wanna change some things about the way artists are treated and the way you guys are allowed to be involved, since it IS the digital age."[9] Since then, Grae's music has been self-released through the artist's website and Bandcamp.
On June 25, 2011, Grae released a free mixtape entitled Cookies or Comas, which features guest appearances from Styles P, Talib Kweli and Pharoahe Monch; it also includes "Assassins" from Monch's W.A.R. album and "Uh Oh" From Talib Kweli's Gutter Rainbows.[10] This was followed by the 10-track Dust Ruffle on January 2, 2013, featuring unreleased songs from 2004 to 2010.[11] Between October and November 2013, Grae released EPs titled Gotham Down Cycle 1: Love in Infinity (Lo-Fi), Gotham Down Cycle II: Leviathan, Gotham Down Cycle 3: The Artemis Epoch. In December 2013, Grae combined them into Gotham Down Deluxe.[12]
Grae branched out from music, releasing audiobook The State of Eh in January 2014,[13] and writing, directing and starring in the online sitcom Life with Jeanie.[14] In 2013, Grae had a supporting role in indie film Big Words[15] and in 2015 appeared on the And The Crime Ring[15] episode of CBSsitcom2 Broke Girls.[16] On October 2, 2016, Grae hosted the Golden Probes.[17] On September 9, 2018, Grae and Quelle Chris released their 15 track joint album Everything's Fine,[18] rated by Rolling Stone as the 22nd best Hip Hop Album of 2018.[19]
Grae identifies as gender transcendent and uses she/her pronouns.[20] Grae's rapping style relies on a complex interplay of shifting rhythms and slanted rhymes.[21] An analysis by Matt Daniels for The Pudding indicated that Grae uses a higher-than-average range of vocabulary in her lyrics.[22]
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