Jarvis Edward Cooper, often abbreviated J.E. Cooper, is an American rapper professionally known as BB Jay from

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

famously noted for his vocal similarity to late hip-hop legend

The Notorious B.I.G. Christopher George Latore Wallace (May 21, 1972 – March 9, 1997), better known by his stage names the Notorious B.I.G., Biggie Smalls, or simply Biggie, was an American rapper. Rooted in East Coast hip hop and particularly gangsta ...

He is noted for his music to reflect the Christian views and values of his faith and belief in the

divinity Divinity or the divine are things that are either related to, devoted to, or proceeding from a deity.divine< ...

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...

Early life

Born Jarvis Edward Cooper in Brooklyn, New York, BB Jay was raised in

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

. He was first introduced to Christian rap at the age of 11. He went to a Christian youth camp in

Lebanon, New Jersey Lebanon is a borough in Hunterdon County,in the U.S. stateof New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States census, the borough's population was 1,358,gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...

rapper Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

Charles E. Mitchell Sr. (aka Rap'n Rev).

Career

In 1997, BB Jay released his first single independently, called "The Pentecostal Poppa". The single was successful on radio and received rotation on

BET Black Entertainment Television (acronym BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting African-American audiences. It is owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global via BET Networks and has offices in New York City, Los ...

. A year after signing with Jive Records, he released his international debut album ''Universal Concussion'' in 2000. The album was heavily promoted with

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...

s, singles, and national touring. In 2001, he made a guest appearance on " I Sings" by American gospel duo Mary Mary for their debut studio album, '' Thankful'' (2000)''.'' After a five-year hiatus, BB Jay recorded a collaboration album with rappers Pettidee & Demetrus titled ''3 The God Way'', released in 2005. ''Unlimited'' was released on June 26, 2007. The 17-track album will have a companion DVD also titled ''Unlimited''. BB Jay is often cited as one of the very few musicians who is openly a Christian in the mainstream hip hop industry.

Awards and achievements

In the year 2002, BB Jay has received a Holy Hip-Hop Award and a

Stellar Award A Stellar Award is an award presented by SAGMA to recognize achievements in the gospel music industry.Sagma
The Stell ...

for New Artist Of The Year. In 2007, he won a Carolina Holy Hip Hop Achievement Award for National Hip Hop Apostle of the Year.

References

External links

BB Jay
on Myspace * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jay, BB Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American performers of Christian hip hop music