June James (born October 11, 1990), also known as June, The Genius, is an American record producer from

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

. In 2016, he signed a record deal with Think It's A Game Entertainment and produced

YFN Lucci Rayshawn Lamar Bennett (born February 16, 1991), known professionally as YFN Lucci, is an American rapper and singer from Atlanta, Georgia. In 2014, he signed a record deal with Think It's A Game Entertainment and released his debut mixtape, ''Wi ...

's second mixtape ''Wish Me Well 2'', which included the hit single " Key to the Streets". That was followed by producing Lucci's first single off his EP '' Long Live Nut,'' " Everyday We Lit" featuring

PnB Rock Rakim Hasheem Allen (December 9, 1991 – September 12, 2022), better known by his stage name PnB Rock, was an American rapper and singer. He gained a large following in 2016 with his song "Selfish", which peaked at number 51 on the US ''Billbo ...

which has peaked at number 33 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and became his highest charting produced single thus far.

Early life

June James was born on October 11, 1990, in

where he grew up. James studied at

Texas Southern University Texas Southern University (Texas Southern or TSU) is a public historically black university in Houston, Texas. The university is one of the largest and most comprehensive historically black college or universities in the USA with nearly 10,00 ...

where he was a member of the Ocean of Soul alongside

The Chopstars The Chopstars, also known as Chopstar DJs or simply Chopstars, are a collective that include American disc jockey, DJs and Turntablism, turntablists that perform chopped and screwed remixes of popular music under Chop Not Slop Ent. including Drak ...

DJ Hollygrove. While a member he met other artists and DJs which led him to curate LAD DJ's – a coalition started in 2011 that grew to about 40 members. He also founded the music group, The Hit Cartel in 2014 which includes producers, engineers, songwriters, disc jockeys, and artists. Since then, June has produced for multiple artists, including T.I.,

Gucci Mane Radric Delantic Davis (born February 12, 1980), known professionally as Gucci Mane, is an American rapper and record executive. He helped pioneer the hip hop subgenre of trap music alongside fellow Atlanta-based rappers T.I. and Young Jeezy, ...

, and

Young Dolph Adolph Robert Thornton Jr. (July 27, 1985 – November 17, 2021), better known by his stage name Young Dolph, was an American rapper. In 2016, he released his debut studio album, '' King of Memphis'', which peaked at number 49 on the ''Billboar ...

. He was awarded “Producer of the Year” at Houston's Hottest Awards in 2014 and was awarded his second “Producer of the Year” award at the 2015 Go DJ Awards. In February 2016, he produced tracks on Lucci's ''Wish Me Well 2'' mixtape, which peaked at number 183 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 chart. The mixtape's hit single " Key to the Streets" featuring Migos and Trouble, peaked at number 70 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. The official remix version of the song featured

2 Chainz Tauheed K. Epps (born September 12, 1977), known professionally as 2 Chainz (or Tity Boi), is an American rapper. Born and raised in College Park, Georgia, he initially gained recognition as one-half of the Southern hip hop duo Playaz Circle, a ...

Lil Wayne Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. (born September 27, 1982), known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record executive. His career began in 1995, at the age of 12, when he was signed by rapper Birdman, joining ...

and

Quavo Quavious Keyate Marshall (born April 2, 1991), known professionally as Quavo (), is an American rapper, singer, and actor. He is best known as the co-founder and former frontman of hip hop group Migos. Quavo is the uncle of late fellow Migos m ...

. "Key to the Streets" was included on '' XXL'' magazine's 50 Best Hip-Hop Songs of 2016 list and ''

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 producti ...

'' magazine's The 60 Best Songs Of 2016 list.

Career

In December 2016, June signed an exclusive songwriter and co-publishing agreement with Think It's A Game Entertainment and continued his success with the company after James’ “Key To The Streets” went to No. 1 on Urban Radio on November 14. James also produced the song's remix featuring guest artists 2 Chainz, Lil Wayne and Quavo, as well as the Genius Mix from “The Key To The Streets Keychain Remix Pack”. He worked with

on his debut hit " Everyday We Lit" featuring

. James also produced the track " Yosemite" on Travis Scott's album '' Astroworld'' that debuted at number one on '' Billboard'' 200 Chart With Second-Largest Debut of 2018. The track features vocals from Gunna and Nav. James also worked on the track "Underdog" with American rappers

Lil Baby Dominique Armani Jones (born December 3, 1994), known professionally as Lil Baby, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He rose to mainstream fame in 2017 following the release of his mixtape ''Perfect Timing''. *Alt URL* * His deb ...

and Gunna on their mixtape "

Drip Harder ''Drip Harder'' is a collaborative mixtape by American rappers Lil Baby and Gunna. It was released on October 5, 2018, by YSL Records, Quality Control Music, Motown and Capitol Records. The mixtape features guest appearances from Lil Durk, ...

". In 2019, James worked with rapper

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals * A male duck People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family name * Drake (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * ...

on his track titled "When To Say When" featuring samples of JAY Z "Song Cry" that appeared on the OVO leader's YouTube channel as an official video.

Production

EPs * '' Long Live Nut'' (2017) * '' Freda's Son'' (2018) Mixtapes * ''Wish Me Well'' (2014) * ''Wish Me Well 2'' (2016) Singles * ''Key To The Streets''

(2016) * ''Everyday We Lit''

(2017) * ''Chosen One''

YoungBoy Never Broke Again Kentrell DeSean Gaulden (born October 20, 1999), known professionally as YoungBoy Never Broke Again (also known as NBA YoungBoy or simply YoungBoy), is an American rapper. Between 2015 and 2017, he released eight independent mixtapes and steadi ...

(2017) * ''Shawty Wassup'' Yung Nation (2017) * ''Never Worried''

(2017) * ''Aqquital'' MoneyBagg Yo &

(2017) * ''OK Bitch''

(2018) * ''Nicki Minaj''

(2018) * ''Chosen One''

Kodak Black Bill Kahan Kapri (born Dieuson Octave; June 11, 1997), better known by his stage name Kodak Black, is an American rapper. He gained initial recognition with his single "No Flockin", released in 2014. His debut album, ''Painting Pictures'' (20 ...

(2018) * ''Yosemite'' Travis Scott (2018) * ''Everyday We Sick''

(2018) * ''Put a Date on It''

Yo Gotti Mario Sentell Giden Mims (born May 19, 1981), known professionally as Yo Gotti, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record executive. In 1996, Gotti released his debut album ''Youngsta's On a Come Up'' under the alias Lil Yo. He went on to re ...

(2019) * ''Out Tha Mud''

Roddy Ricch Rodrick Wayne Moore Jr. (born October 22, 1998), known professionally as Roddy Ricch, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He rose to fame in 2018 with his single, " Die Young", which peaked at number 98 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. ...

(2019) * ''Virgil Discount''

T.R.U. &

Skooly Kazarion Fowler (born July 30, 1994), known professionally as Skooly, is a founding member of Atlanta-based rap group Rich Kidz. Branching off from Rich Kidz to pursue a solo career in 2015, Skooly has since released several solo projects. Skool ...

(2020) * ''When To Say When''

(2020)

References

External links

June James at Discogs
{{DEFAULTSORT:James, June 1990 births Living people Musicians from Houston Record producers from Texas African-American record producers 21st-century African-American people