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 (state), New York. Kings County is the most populous Administrative divisions of New York (state)#County, county in the State of New York, ...

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 Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words '' Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ ...

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 U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York (state), New York; on the ea ...

. He was first introduced to

Christian rap Christian hip hop (originally gospel rap, also known as Christian rap, gospel hip hop or holy hip hop) is a subgenre of contemporary Christian music and hip hop music. It emerged from urban contemporary music and Christian media in the United S ...

at the age of 11. He went to a Christian youth camp in Lebanon, New Jersey where he met

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. A year after signing with

Jive Records Jive Records was an American independent record label founded by Clive Calder in 1981 as a subsidiary to the Zomba Group. In the US, the label had offices in New York City and Chicago. Jive was best known for its successes with hip hop, R&B, ...

, 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 devi ...

s, singles, and national touring. In 2001, he made a guest appearance on "

I Sings "I Sings" is the second single by gospel duo Mary Mary. Gospel rapper BB Jay is the featured rapper in this song. This single promoted Mary Mary's debut album, '' Thankful''. Track listing # Radio edit (Without rap) # Darkchild Remix (No rap) # ...

" by American gospel duo

Mary Mary Mary Mary is a female American urban contemporary gospel duo composed of sisters Erica Atkins-Campbell (born April 29, 1972) and Trecina Atkins-Campbell (born May 1, 1974). Formed in 1998, Mary Mary was launched into mainstream recognition fo ...

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