Although she was born in South Africa, Jean Grae will always be a New Yorker by heart. The daughter of two jazz musicians, Jean learned an appreciation for all genres of music at an early age. She attended the High School of Performing Arts as a vocal major and was later accepted to New York University as a Music Business major. In 1997, along with a rapper named Ocean, Jean Grae formed the group Natural Resource and their own label, Makin’ Records. They released the 12” single “Negro League Baseball,” which became an underground hip-hop classic. They followed with several other singles including “I Love this World,” “They Lied,” and “Bum Deal.” In addition to writing and producing with Natural Resource, she produced singles for Makin’ Records artists Pumpkin Head, Don Savone, and The Bad Seed. In the summer of 2002, Jean Grae released her solo debut, Attack of the Attacking Things. The album featured collaborations with Da Beatminerz, Mr. Len, and Masta Ace. The album received much critical and fan acclaim as one of the best female hip-hop albums since Lauryn Hill’s 1998 album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. She followed her debut with The Bootleg of the Bootleg EP in 2003 and This Week in 2004. In 2005, she signed with Talib Kweli’s Blacksmith Records and has been featured on tracks by artists such as Atmosphere, The Roots, Immortal Technique, C-Rayz Walz, and Talib Kweli. She has recorded an unreleased album with celebrated North Carolina producer 9th Wonder, entitled Jeanius. The unfinished album was leaked on the Internet and subsequent work on it stopped.