Jeremih

Jeremih attained rapid prominence in 2009 through his first single to reach the Top Ten, “Birthday Sex,” a suggestive slow jam whose distinctive atmosphere highlighted the R&B singer’s gliding voice and candid lyrics. That track established the Chicago native’s path forward, a trajectory later marked by further Top Ten entries such as “Down on Me” and “Don't Tell 'Em,” plus multiple additional gold and platinum singles. His opening trio of albums—Jeremih (2009), All About You (2010), and Late Nights: The Album (2015)—likewise earned certifications, and “Planez” from the third received a Grammy nomination for Best R&B Performance. Following those releases, Jeremih joined Ty Dolla $ign for the 2018 collaborative project Mih-Ty, put out several singles under his own name, and maintained an extensive schedule of guest appearances on recordings that crossed pop, rap, and varied club styles into the 2020s.

Beginning drum lessons at age three, Jeremy Philip Felton, professionally known as Jeremih, went on to master additional instruments throughout childhood, focusing especially on percussion and keyboards. He participated in both the marching band and jazz ensemble while in high school, completed his diploma a year ahead of schedule, and started engineering studies before switching to the music business curriculum at Columbia College Chicago. During his time there, a campus talent-show performance prompted him to take singing seriously for the first time. He soon formed a creative alliance with fellow student and emerging producer Mick Schultz; the resulting material secured a contract with Def Jam. Jeremih introduced himself to listeners in February 2009 with “Birthday Sex,” a slow jam that reached the summit of Billboard’s R&B/hip-hop chart and climbed to number four on the pop chart. Powered by that multi-platinum success, the self-titled debut album, issued that June and produced entirely by Schultz, entered the Billboard 200 at number six. The project also generated the singer’s second platinum single, “Imma Star (Everywhere We Are).” One year later he delivered the follow-up All About You, again produced by Schultz and containing the multi-platinum Top Ten pop hit “Down on Me” featuring 50 Cent; the album itself peaked at number 27 on the Billboard 200.

Five years elapsed before Jeremih released his third studio album. The extended interval featured repeated postponements, during which the artist distanced himself from earlier material and attributed the delay to both personal and label-related factors. He remained active nonetheless, releasing the widely noted mixtape Late Nights with Jeremih, achieving another Top Ten pop placement with the YG collaboration “Don't Tell 'Em” (produced by Schultz and DJ Mustard), and contributing to numerous tracks led by other performers, among them DJ Khaled’s Top 40 single “Hold You Down.” The long-awaited third album, Late Nights: The Album, arrived in December 2015 and debuted at number 42 on the Billboard 200. Alongside “Don't Tell 'Em,” the set included the multi-platinum singles “Planez” (with J. Cole) and “Oui,” produced respectively by Vinylz and Frank Dukes and by Needlz and Donut. “Planez” earned Jeremih a Grammy nomination for Best R&B Performance. Late Nights with Jeremih and Late Nights: The Album formed the first two installments of a trilogy completed in August 2016 with the commercial mixtape Late Nights: Europe. That briskly recorded collection featured “London” with Stefflon Don and Krept & Konan as well as “Paris (Who Taught You)” with Ty Dolla $ign. Jeremih and fellow Chicagoan Chance the Rapper concluded 2016 by issuing the holiday mixtape Merry Christmas Lil' Mama.

Throughout 2017 and 2018 Jeremih continued releasing standalone singles; in the latter year he collected four new solo recordings on The Chocolate Box and reunited with Ty Dolla $ign for the full-length Mih-Ty, a joint Def Jam and Atlantic release that reached number 60 on the Billboard 200 and yielded the gold single “The Light.” Additional solo singles appeared in 2020, yet Jeremih’s most visible activity between that year and 2022 occurred through featured and co-headlining roles on tracks such as Afrojack and Chico Rose’s “Cloud 9,” Kito and Zhu’s “Follow,” and Benny Benassi’s “Lovelife.” Fresh singles continued to surface in 2023, including “Crew Thang” with DVBBS and SK8 and “Room” with Adekunle Gold and 2 Chainz. In 2024 he issued the intimate, understated “Wait On It” featuring Bryson Tiller and Chris Brown.