“I’m the type roll the dice, ace for a G, like fuck it, bet it back nigga/ Matter fact, add another G nigga, double it up/ It’s a thousand to you, but to me it’s a couple of bucks/ A yo, Big, am I trouble or what?/I swear they’ll never hear an artist with such colorful touch.”—Jae Millz

Jae Millz flaunts the confident aura of a young man who will not lose. For well over three years, the heralded MC has heard the buzz on the streets.  Buzz that has the 21-year-old being praised as one of hip-hop’s most promising lyricists. Buzz that prompted influential New York-based hip-hop tastemakers DJ Enuff and DJ Kay Slay to feature the skillful rhyme slinger on a series of street mixtapes, showcasing a versatile talent that is as verbally bruising as it is lyrically thought-provoking. Indeed, after uber hip hop mogul P. Diddy personally requested Jae to appear on 2003’s highly-rated MTV reality series Making Tha Band for a lyrical sparring session, the veteran music icon emphatically declared, “Jae Millz is the hottest nigga, right now! He’s the champion, right now!” Just ask any rapper who has managed to survive one of Jae Millz’ scathing battle rhymes. This Harlem kid is a problem. 

With his status as an underground legend secure, the Wanna Blow Entertainment-backed artist is set to make his major label debut with the heavily anticipated Warner Bros. release Back To Tha Future. The album’s grandiose title signifies not only a powerful voice emerging within the hip-hop landscape, but a one-man movement that underlines Jae Millz’ no-nonsense approach to writing. “I named it Back To Tha Future because I felt hip-hop was missing hip-hop,” Jae simply states. “I’m going to take it back when the game was about hip-hop…when it was about lyrics.” Jae Millz then pauses and candidly proclaims, “I want the world to understand my story. It ain’t no story in which I’ve been to jail or I’ve been shot or sold drugs. I’m talking about shit typical niggas go through in the ‘hood and I hope people can respect that. I don’t know who is going to be the next great MC. But I want to be one of those names.”

Jae Millz will have little trouble living up to his own lofty ambitions with the production talents of such gritty beatmakers as Presidential Beats and Omen helming the boards. Jae’s blaring introduction, “Rude Boy Get Up, (No, No, No),” a clever nod to Dawn Penn’s bluesy reggae classic “You Don’t Love Me (No, No, No), is already assaulting hip-hop radio mixshows and mixtapes nationwide. “So if you say you holding them, you better be unloading them/‘Cause I’ll have your reverend standing up at your podium, your mama falling over ya like…no no no,” he warns would be thug rappers over a two-fisted club track.

The cinematic horn-fueled “SWAT” delivers sneering oldschool bravado reminiscent of a young LL Cool J in his Kangol sporting prime while “Southern Stroll,” finds Jae Millz flexing an infectious flow over a pimped-out Dirty South groove. On the rock guitar-tinged “Come With Me,” the outspoken MC offers biting views on the war in Iraq (“We dealing with dudes who don’t use pistols and gats/And Bush Don’t give a fuck, he sending niggas in packs.”). Yet perhaps Back To Tha Future’s most dramatic track is “Feel At The Moment,” a deeply personal cut which finds Jae Millz detailing a labyrinth of topics, most notably his estranged relationship with his father. For Jae, such heartfelt realness is much needed in today’s hit-or-miss hip-hop climate.

“When it’s coming from the heart, those type of songs are the easiest songs to write,” he says. “I got three or four of my niggas I grew up with overseas fighting for stupid shit. I got friends that have caught a bullshit case and got hit with wild numbers. Ain’t no nigga going to pay attention to me if I just rap about my watch or a car. There are times when you have to talk about what people need to hear because they are probably dealing with some of the same shit.”

It all comes back to Harlem USA. With a storied hip-hop alumni that boasts the likes of Doug E. Fresh, Sean “P. Diddy” Combs, Cam’ron, Mase and the late Big L, Jae Millz has had no shortage of inspiration. Born in New York’s Washington Heights, Jae recalls his earliest memories of music through his family’s diverse record collection that included musical giants Barry White, Al Green and Prince. By the time he moved to Harlem at the age of 11, hip-hop had already become an addiction for Jae. 
 
“I was a young hip-hop junkie,” the babyfaced MC remembers. “At that time, Tupac and Biggie were being elevated. I’m talking about when Black Moon had Brooklyn and Mobb Deep had Queens. You had Leaders Of The New School A Tribe Called Quest doing their thing. Then Jay-Z came out with “Dead Presidents” and I’m like, ‘Yo, who is this?’

Soon inspiration turned into writing rhymes. It was in 1997 while attending New York’s High School of Art and Design that Jae Millz honed his lyrical chops in the lunchroom, battling all comers. After taking his verbal ferocity out on the streets of Harlem, the 16-year-old spitter was noticed by Tupac Shakur’s wife Keisha Morris, who introduced him to the well-connected forces behind Wanna Blow Entertainment.  “Keisha was walking down the street in Harlem and there were a bunch of kids out there spittin’.  She heard Jae and was like, ‘this little ni**a is tight.’  She told Jae she had some people she wanted him to meet. Jae was only 15, when Keisha introduced him to us.  She knew we were doing our thing and she knew Jae was hot so she connected us and we’ve been together ever since,” recalls Wanna Blow’s Nigel Talley.  Soon after that pivoting moment, Jae was soaking up game from some of rap’s biggest talents including the Lox and Mase, who he credits with making an indelible impression on the aspiring rapper. And while the lure of the streets had always been a constant reality, music would prove to be a more rewarding prospect.

“I’m going to the studio with Mase,” Jae exclaims! “He’s letting me wear his chain; I’m driving around with Mase…and for a kid that age, that’s insane. That motivated me to do it. Of course you see the drug dealers getting wild money while you sit on fire escape. Two days later, you see them get arrested. Three days later you see them back out. You keep seeing it, but you just got to make your own judgement on if that’s what you want to do in life.”

Jae began dominating the mixtape and underground battle rhyme scene, which was documented on the much talked-about Smack DVD and by late-2003, Jae Millz’ and Wanna Blow have landed a deal with Warner Bros. Records that will bring Jae Millz’ already legendary rhyme prowess to the masses. 

The buzz over the future hip-hop star continues to gain momentum. Yet, if you ask Jae Millz, it’s simply time to show and prove. Back To Tha Future offers an exciting platform for a new voice, a new power. Whether or not he attains the icon status of his idols remains to be seen. But there’s one thing for certain. Hip-hop will never be the same.