Youngbloodz

During their middle-school years at Atlanta's Miller Grove, two aspiring rappers crossed paths, abandoned their separate crews, and formed YoungBloodZ. Sean Paul, who maintains that rapping comes more naturally to him than ordinary conversation, teamed with J-Bo, the duo's DJ, and both remained closely linked to Atlanta's Attic collective, a rap-and-production crew. While sharpening their craft and performing for assorted labels—an effort that also drew notice to the wider Attic roster—a single introduction to LaFace A&R executive PA led to YoungBloodZ signing a contract. Their first full-length project, Against da Grain, appeared in 1999. Three years afterward the well-received Drankin' Patnaz placed the act on Arista, and the 2005 release Ev'rybody Know Me brought the pair back to LaFace.