What Really Happened to J Holiday?

J Holiday exploded onto the music scene in 2007 with his chart-topping debut album. Describing his style of music as “street soul,” the Washington D.C. native received NAACP, BET, and Grammy award nominations. With some of the most talented producers and writers in his corner, we assumed the Eritrean-American singer would stay at the top of the charts forever. Sadly, that wasn’t the case.

Here’s what really happened to his career.

Music was the focal point

Nahom Grymes was born on Nov. 29, 1984, to an African-American mother and an Eritrean father. While growing up, he was always surrounded by music. When his mom wasn’t preaching, she was singing in the gospel choir. He told Urban Bridgez since music was always the main focal point in his life, he always had the desire to sing. 

When he was around nine or 10-years-old, his older cousins would encourage him to sing to all the girls passing by on the street. J soon realized his cousins were just using him to get the girls’ attention, but it helped him develop his singing voice.

At the age of 11, he was starting to perfect his skills, when tragedy struck. J told Urban Bridgez his dad was sick and didn’t tell anyone — not even his mom — that he was dying. When he passed away, J and his family were devastated. 

In an interview with BET, he blamed his dad for his mom’s struggles as a single parent. He started to hang out in the streets, but the fear of disappointing his mom kept him on the straight and narrow.

J bounced around to several schools in the D.C. area and attended three different high schools. He sang in chorus all throughout high school because he wanted to be just like his sister, and plus, he wanted attention from girls.

It was during his teenage years when he discovered a few songs that he really loved. He finally realized the songs were all by the same artist: Marvin Gaye. Marvin Gate then led J down a path to other great musicians, including Donny Hathaway and Al Green. He knew he had officially found his calling.

Dropping his group

He formed a trio called 295, and they began performing throughout D.C. and Maryland. After graduating from high school, he and his group mates moved to Atlanta, hoping to ride the wave of popular music coming from that region. They got signed with Jazze Pha’s label, but since Ciara had just popped off, they had to wait their turn. J said he was getting frustrated with waiting and being a part of a group wasn’t working out for him. He believed he was carrying all of the weight. He told Urban Bridgez, “As the lead singer, I was doing 75, 80 percent of the work. That gets old.”

They had a meeting with music executive L.A. Reid but were unable to secure a deal. J was getting frustrated with his group members, especially since he believed he was carrying all of the weight. He told Urban Bridgez, “As the lead singer, I was doing 75, 80 percent of the work. That gets old.”

Their demo had circulated around the industry so many times, J knew it was time for them to record new music. And he figured since he was doing all the work himself, he might as well go solo. 

After recording a four-song, solo demo, it landed on the desk at Capitol Records. They immediately signed him to a record deal in 2005, and J went to work on his debut album. 

The taste of success

He finished the entire album in 2006, but it felt like something was missing. J got word that The-Dream had written a song that would be perfect for him. J was told that Chris Brown was also interested in the track, so J knew he had to lay down his vocals and get the song recorded right away if he wanted to claim it as his.

Even though Chris Brown was considered for the track, The-Dream told Miss Info website he decided to give the song to J. Holiday. This caused some tension between Chris and The-Dream since Chris thought the song belonged to him. But The-Dream told MTV that not only did J record the song first, he also put a huge check in The-Dream’s hand to cover the payment. First come, first serve.

J also recorded the song “Suffocate,” and finally, his album Back of my Lac ready to go. It debuted at number 5 on the Billboard 200, selling over 100,000 copies in the first week. When the sensual song “Bed” was released, it climbed to the number 5 spot on the Billboard Hot 100, followed by “Suffocate,” which peaked at the number 18 spot. 

An interesting tour

The world was infatuated with the industry’s newest star. Back of My Lac was nominated for best R&B album at the 51st annual Grammy Awards, and J was even asked to go on R. Kelly’s “Double Up” tour alongside Keyshia Cole and Ne-Yo.

It wasn’t long before drama was brewing. Ne-Yo abruptly dropped out of the tour and said he would no longer be opening up for R. Kelly. Robert’s record label, Jive Records, called it a contractual disagreement. However, Ne-Yo told BET that in the first reviews of the show, people were talking more about his performance than Robert’s. Ne-Yo added, “I don’t think he liked that too much.”

A spokesperson for R. Kelly clapped back in a statement, which read, “[R. Kelly] is certainly confident enough in his own abilities to be happy to share the stage with enormously talented people.”

Despite the drama, J still headed out on tour and called it all a learning experience. In an interview with BET, he described R. Kelly as a “character,” and said R. Kelly tried to bark orders at everyone, but J’s team didn’t let the veteran artist get away with it.

A major change

Following the end of the tour, it was time for J to head back into the studio. And his record label had some big changes in store for his follow-up album.

He told TrueExclusives website that Capitol Records thought he went a little too hard on his first album. They were ready to clean him up and show his softer side for his sophomore record. J said he decided to listen to record label executives, but he didn’t hold back either. J began speaking his mind more than ever. And because he wasn’t holding back, his record label thought he was acting like a diva. They started to pull his funding and stopped promoting the album. J told BET he even had to pay for his own photoshoot in the Dominican Republic. 

When his 2009 album entitled Round 2 was finally released, it sold only 55,000 copies in the first week. Even though J listened to the execs’ advice, he said they blamed him for the album flopping.

When it came time to release his third album, Capitol Records decided to play hardball. But J wasn’t afraid to go toe-to-toe with them. He told TrueExclusives that becoming a singer was never about the money. And because he wasn’t money-hungry, he was able to make the right decision for his career. He gave Capitol Records an ultimatum: either release his album and give him his record contract advance back, or release him from his contract. Capitol decided to let him go, and J walked away and never looked back.

Taking a break

He signed with Def Jam in 2010, but after two years, he left the label. J told YouKnowIGotSoul website, “Some situations just aren’t good situations. I just had to get out of there.”

Aside from a 2011 mixtape, J decided to take a break a very long break. He released a single in 2012 called “Sign My Name,” but things just weren’t right for him on a professional level. He told Kempire Radio that music got really confusing for him, and it took him some time for his heart to get back into the groove of things. 

Going independent 

In order to have better control over his music, he decided to go the independent route by creating his own label, Holiday Music Group. In 2014, he finally released his third album entitled Guilty Conscience. The album spent only two weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 42. It was yet another disappointing flop for the singer.

J disappeared once again, but he made headlines in 2017 in the most peculiar way. Kanye West presented his Yeezy Season 5 fashion show in New York City. And while his models walked down the runway, The-Dream’s demo version of J’s song “Bed” played as the runway show’s official soundtrack.

Why did Kanye choose to use The-Dream’s rough version instead of J’s version that topped the charts? No one knew, not even J. He told Complex he was confused by the snub, but he was taking it all in stride. He added, “I know how much the Kardashian family has supported me and my music and I am also appreciative of them as well.” 

Back in the news

In 2018, he was back in the news after the Grammys released their list of nominees. J was a bit turned off by the music that was being recognized, especially from artists like Beyonce and Cardi B.

In an Instagram rant, J said he didn’t want his daughters listening to their music, especially since he believed they were using their pain and hurt they felt from black men in order to win awards. The Beyhive wasn’t having it, and online users joked that J had gotten himself blackballed for talking about the Queen Bee. 

And later in the year, J was in the middle of some more mess. R&B singer Jacquees set the internet ablaze when he claimed he was “this generation’s King of R&B.” Everyone threw in their two cents as to who they thought deserved the crowd, and J decided to speak on the matter as well.

While filming an Instagram video, J began rattling off his list, a lady walked up to him and asked if he was the valet attendant. Lawd…As you can expect, the internet clowned him for days!

What’s next for J Holiday?

In October 2018, he released the single “25 to Life” and promised his album entitled Time was in the works. As of this article, the album has yet to be released.

Even though his time at the top was brief, J has learned a lot of lessons. He told Kempire Radio he learned that he needed to pay attention to the business side of things instead of just being an artist. Until his fourth studio album is finally released, we’ll continue to listen to some of J’s old jams and reminisce about the time he was dominating the charts.

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