

The single peaked at number 35 on the Billboard Hot 100. On December 23, 2004, Santana released " Mic Check", the lead single from his sophomore album. The group released their second album, Diplomatic Immunity 2, on November 23, 2004, with new members Hell Rell, 40 Cal., and J. What the Game's Been Missing! (2004–2006) James (yellow shirt) in 2006įollowing disputes at the label between Cam'ron and Roc-A-Fella Records head Jay-Z, the Diplomats severed ties with Roc-A-Fella and Def Jam and signed to independent label Koch Records. The album was preceded by the mixtape, Final Destination, released on June 17, 2003, and the single " Dipset (Santana's Town)", which peaked at number 70 on the Billboard Top 100, received a nomination for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group at the 46th Grammy Awards. On August 19, 2003, Santana released his debut album, From Me to U, which peaked at number 8 in the Billboard 200. In a retrospective, Complex named the album one of the classic albums of the decade. Santana caused a minor controversy before the album's release when he described himself as a "young Mohammed Atta" on a leaked version of the track "I Love You", just months after the September 11 attacks. After four mixtapes, the group released their first album on Diplomatic Immunity on March 25, 2003, which debuted at number 8 on the Billboard 200, selling 92,000 copies in its first week and eventually being certified Gold by the RIAA. In 2001, Cam'ron signed to Roc-a-Fella Records and released his third studio album, Come Home with Me, on May 14, 2002, which featured further collaborations with Santana, including " Welcome to New York City", " Hey Ma" and " Oh Boy", which earned Santana his first Grammy Award nomination for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group at the 2003 Grammy Awards.Ĭam'ron's signing also led to Santana signing a deal with Roc-a-Fella, under the imprint Diplomat Records.

Santana's first collaboration with the group was the Trackmasters remix of "What Means the World to You", followed by the tracks "Double Up" and "All the Chickens", on Cam'ron's second studio album, S.D.E., released on September 19, 2000, through Epic Records. In 1998, James was introduced to Cam'ron through his cousin, and shortly thereafter, took on the name Juelz Santana and became a member of his hip hop collective, The Diplomats, alongside Jim Jones and Freekey Zekey.


They released one single on the label, "Play Ruff", with Memphis Bleek and Tracey Lee. The two got signed to Priority Records when James was 15 years old. The group first gained recognition after several performances around New York City, including Amateur Night at the Apollo Theater, where they won two weeks in a row. Career Beginnings (1994–2001) Īt 12, James formed the rap duo, Draftpick, with Malik, a neighbourhood friend. He cites a live-in Dominican godmother as a strong influence on his early upbringing. He was raised in the Sugar Hill, Harlem section of Manhattan and began rapping at the age of 5. LaRon James was born in New York City to African-American and Dominican parents. He was released early from prison on August 5, 2020, after serving 19 of his 27-month sentence. In December 2018, Santana was sentenced to 27 months in prison for carrying an unconcealed weapon in his bag at an airport. His albums, From Me to U (2003) and What the Game's Been Missing! (2005) peaked at number 8 and number 9 on the Billboard 200 respectively, the latter containing the platinum single, " There It Go (The Whistle Song)". He is best known for his appearances on Cam'ron's 2002 singles, " Oh Boy" and " Hey Ma", which peaked at numbers 4 and 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 respectively, as well as Chris Brown's 2005 triple-platinum single, " Run It!", which topped the Billboard Hot 100 for five weeks. LaRon Louis James (born February 18, 1982), better known by his stage name Juelz Santana, is an American rapper and member of East Coast hip hop group The Diplomats, also known as Dipset.
