Je'Kob

Rapper, singer, & record producer, Je’kob Washington was born in San Antonio, Texas, on June 16th, 1981. His father was a 20 year Army Vet and auto-mechanic who was working hard most of the time making sure the family had everything they needed. Even though he was sort of a hustler by trait he never seemed to miss one basketball game or school function. His mother took care of the kids & household making sure they were raised by their parents instead of the many emerging & available media outlets. Je’kob attended several high schools with his brother playing basketball until finally settling and Graduating from Grace Christian High in 1999. During the last year of high school his part time family music group “Souljahz” got a chance to go overseas to Aachen Germany and record their first full length album with a young producer who they met thru a family friend. As soon as they returned to the states their father took the finished album to Ascap. After a couple meetings they found themselves sitting in the offices of Jimmy Lovine, the CEO of Interscope Records. They received offers from several powerhouse labels including Interscope, Warner Bros. & Atlantic Records. In 2000 after lengthly negotiations they ended up inking a deal with Word/Warner Bros. During their stint at WB the troupe performed alongside the lauded, and diverse, likes of No Doubt, Nelly, Counting Crows, Ja Rule, Ashanti, Garbage, Boyz II Men and Erykah Badu, to name a few, on a cross country tour in support of its major label debut “The Fault Is History.” Extensive features followed on CNN Headline News, E!, Billboard, The WB, plus a slot on Sessions@AOL beside Christina Aguilera, 50 Cent, Shania Twain, Faith Hill and Red Hot Chili Peppers. But even with the tremendous amount of buzz and overwhelming fanfare, record label red tape soon wrapped itself around the burgeoning band, putting an extreme delay on what would’ve been its sophomore CD. In 2005 Every key player at their label was replaced, from it’s CEO, right down to the front desk clerks, they were all history. Very long story short - The groups sophomore record ended up being permanently shelved. Reason - They just would not play nicely. The new regime wanted the trio to change the sound, style & overall direction of the music & vision. They eventually requested a release from their label after almost 3 years of industry hiatus. In 2006 the group re-emerged independently as Washington Projects. They have since released 2 albums, “Commanders Of The Resistance” in 2007, & “Light Up The Dark” in 2010, of which both garnered critical acclaim and rave reviews across the board. Between 2006 & 2010 they toured nationally & internationally traveling twice to war zones in Iraq to entertain the troops, as well as headlining a tour to Italy alongside The Nappy Roots. In June of 2010 Je’kob announced he will be releasing his first solo album due out early or mid year 2011. Earlier in the year he posted on his official Twitter account that with over 50 songs in the works for the project he plans to either release a double album, or 2 albums simultaneously. This would be a first for any Solo artist’s freshman debut in the history of the music industry. If that’s not crazy enough, on Jan 1, 2011 he will be releasing a free full length album as sort of an appetizer, just so the world can hear what he’s been up to.