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J. Holiday (born Nahum Grymes) is an American R&B singer who garnered recognition with his single, "Bed (song)".

Background

J. Holiday is a preachers’ son. Raised in the church by a hardworking mother, the pull of secular music was still too much for him to ignore. Fascinated by the early ‘90s R&B vocal groups such as Boyz II Men, H-Town and Jodeci, J. Holiday soon became enamored with hip-hop, marveling in the intricate rhymes of Jay-Z and OutKast. But it was during a high school talent show when a 14-year-old Holiday knew he had a passion for singing. However, local bands were unable to recruit the budding vocalist, whose mother had plans for her son to finish school before seriously pursuing music. Two years later, J. Holiday would discover the music of Marvin Gaye, an experience he calls a “revelation.”

“At the time, I didn’t really know that much about him,” he says of the late soul icon. “Marvin became my major influence. He opened me up to folks like Donny Hathaway and Al Green. Those artists had a real honest soul about them. I just wanted to mix that feeling with hip-hop.”

The gifted vocalist had found his calling. Holiday skipped college and began recording demos in a local studio. He also found himself increasingly caught up in street activities, but music offered a more positive path. Soon, Holiday met up with current manager Corey Green and formed the group 295, named after the D.C. highway. Buzz for 295 was growing but by 2003 the R&B act disbanded. Fortunately for J. Holiday, his vocal prowess and dynamic stage presence was too much of a commodity to pass up. A&R veteran, Anthony “T.A” Tate, of Music Line Group (Ciara, Teairra Mari) quickly set up a meeting with Capitol Records and a deal was made on the spot.

“You just have to stay true to yourself,” Holiday says of his turbulent journey to becoming a recording artist. “A lot of artists nowadays are trying to be something that they are necessarily not. I don’t care how good a song is…if I don’t feel it personally, I’m not going to sing it because it’s not true to me. I feel very personal about my album. There’s nothing fake about it. This is my life. There are a lot of different stories out here and people just need to listen to them.”

Trivia

This article contains a list of miscellaneous information. Please relocate any relevant information into other sections or articles. (December 2007)

• Wasn't until at a high school talent show when he realized he had a passion for singing.

• "Fatal" was originally recorded by former Universal/Motown recording artists Imajin.

• Was part of the now deformed group 295.

• His video for the third single, "Suffocate," premiered on BET's 106 & Park on November 7, 2007 The video featured the same model, Jennifer Gordon, from the "Bed" video and was shot in Paris, France.

Discography

Albums

Cover	Information
	Back of My Lac' Released: October 2, 2007 Chart positions: #5 U.S. Billboard 200; #1 U.S. Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Albums RIAA certification: Gold U.S. sales: 427,600

Singles

Featured Singles

Mixtapes

• Chocolate City Mixtape: They Don't Sing No More (2007)

References

1. IMAJIN (We Go Way Back) October 11th, 2007, accessed November 27, 2007
2. Video: J. Holiday - Suffocate Pop-Junkie.com (November 7 2007). Accessed November 7 2007.
3. Cite error: The named reference sales was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

External links

• J. Holiday's Official Site
• J. Holiday's Myspace Page

• Articles with trivia sections from December 2007
• African-American singers
• American male singers
• American rhythm and blues singers
• Living people
• Capitol Records artists