Nathaniel Johnson, also known as Fam-Lay (born May 28, 1974) is an American rapper.Fennessey, Sean (2007)
Fam-Lay: Virginia's New Old Hope
, ''

Vibe ''Vibe'' is an American music and entertainment magazine founded by producers David Salzman and Quincy Jones. The publication predominantly features R&B and hip hop music artists, actors and other entertainers. After shutting down productio ...

'', September 2007, p. 119, retrieved 2011-01-25

Biography

Signed to

The Neptunes The Neptunes are an American songwriting and production duo composed of Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, formed in Virginia Beach, Virginia, in 1992. Williams often provides additional vocals on records and appears in the duo's music videos, ...

Star Trak Star Trak was an American record label, founded by The Neptunes and Rob Walker in 2001. It operated as a division of Interscope Geffen A&M, a subsidiary of Universal Music Group. Its name is a reference to the 1960s TV program ''Star Trek''. H ...

imprint, he first gained notoriety through several guest appearances he made on various Neptunes-related projects, including the

Clipse Clipse, also known as The Clipse, is an American hip hop duo, chiefly active from 1994 to 2010. It consists of brothers Gene "No Malice" and Terrence "Pusha T" Thornton. Pusha T was known as Terrar during the group's early years, while No Mal ...

's debut album ''

Lord Willin' ''Lord Willin is the major label debut and second studio album by hip hop music, hip hop duo Clipse. The album was released on August 20, 2002 in the United States by Star Trak Entertainment, Star Trak and Arista Records, Arista. Recording sessi ...

'' in 2002. He also later appeared on The Neptunes' compilation '' The Neptunes Present... Clones'' in 2003, which featured his song "Rock 'N Roll". Then in 2004 he had the single and video "Rock N Roll (Remix)" featuring Lil Flip. It gained heavy rotation on MTV Jams. He also was featured in the video game Def Jam: Fight for New York (2004) in which he was a playable/fightable character added into the storyline. He planned to release his debut album, titled ''Traintogo'', in March 2004, through a joint venture between Star Trak and

Def Jam Recordings Def Jam Recordings (also simply known as Def Jam) is an American multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It is based in Manhattan, New York City, specializing predominantly in hip hop, contemporary R&B, soul and pop. The ...

. Unlike most Neptunes-helmed projects, where

Pharrell Pharrell Lanscilo Williams (; born April 5, 1973) is an American record producer, rapper, singer, and songwriter. Alongside close colleague Chad Hugo, he formed the hip hop and R&B production duo the Neptunes in the early 1990s, with whom he ...

and

Chad Hugo Charles Edward Hugo (born February 24, 1974) is an American record producer, multi-instrumentalist, singer and songwriter. With close friend Pharrell Williams, he formed the production duo the Neptunes in the early 1990s, with whom he has prod ...

handle almost all of the production duties, ''Traintogo'' was unique in that it was to feature production from outside producers, including

Lil' Jon Jonathan H. Smith (born January 17, 1971) better known by his stage name Lil Jon, is an American rapper, producer and former frontman of the rap group Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz. He was instrumental in the emergence of the hip hop subgenre cru ...

and

David Banner Lavell William Crump (born April 11, 1974), better known by his stage name David Banner, is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Born in Brookhaven, Mississippi, Banner's family moved to Jackson, Mississippi, where he was raised. Ban ...

. After suffering several delays, ''Traintogo'' failed to meet its scheduled release date. To further complicate matters, Fam-Lay's deal with Def Jam fell through, and he was dropped from the label in July 2004. ''Traintogo'' still has yet to be released. In the mid 2010’s Fam-Lay discovered the rapper BIA through

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

and later introduced her to

Discography

Mixtape

*2004: ''Star Trak Presents: Fam-Lay'' (Hosted by DJ Cipha Sounds) *2005: ''Grand Theft Ghetto (Shark City)'' (Hosted by DJ Noe Dout) *2008: ''DirtyWay'' - Never released

Singles

*2003: "Rock 'N Roll" *2006: "Da Beeper Record" *2007: "No Time 4 No's" , featuring Pharrell & The Clipse *2012: "Clap Clap"

Guest appearances

(All songs feature Fam-Lay unless otherwise noted)

Video game appearances

Fam-Lay is a playable character in the video game '' Def Jam: Fight for NY''.

References

{{Portal, United States 1974 births African-American male rappers Living people Musicians from Norfolk, Virginia Rappers from Virginia Southern hip hop musicians 21st-century American rappers 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century African-American musicians 20th-century African-American people