Deja Monét Trimble (born April 8, 1991), known professionally as Dej Loaf (stylized as DeJ Loaf), is an American rapper and singer from Detroit, Michigan. She is best known for her 2014 single "Try Me" and its 2015 follow-up, "Back Up" (featuring Big Sean). The latter received platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and served as lead single for her debut extended play ...And See That's the Thing (2015), which was released by Columbia Records.[3] Both songs, along with her guest appearance on Kid Ink's 2015 single "Be Real", peaked within the top 50 of the Billboard Hot 100. Her debut studio album, Sell Sole II (2020), was met with positive critical reception despite failing to chart.

Dej Loaf
Dej Loaf in 2015
Dej Loaf in 2015
Background information
Birth nameDeja Monét Trimble[1]
Born (1991-04-08) April 8, 1991 (age 33)
Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Genres
Occupations
  • Rapper
  • singer
  • songwriter
Years active2011–present
Labels
Websitedejloafmusic.com

Early life

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Trimble was raised on the east side of Detroit, Michigan.[4] As a child, she often listened to music with her parents and grandmother, including 2Pac, Rakim and Miles Davis.[4] Her father was killed when she was four years old.[4] A self-described "good kid and a decent student" who mostly kept to herself, she began writing her own original music at the age of 9.[4] In 2009, she graduated from Southeastern High School in Detroit,[5] playing basketball at the junior varsity level. She then attended Saginaw Valley State University and studied nursing for three semesters before deciding to focus full-time on her recording career.[4]

Career

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In 2011, Dej Loaf began her career as a hip hop artist. Her stage name is a portmanteau of a shortened version of her first name, "Deja", and "loafer", as she took a keen interest in Air Jordans when growing up.[6] In 2013, she released her first official mixtape, Just Do It.. That mixtape attracted the attention of a fellow Detroit-native rapper SAYITAINTTONE. She was later signed to his indie record label, called IBGM (I Been Gettin' Money) under his management team.[6] In July 2014, she released her track, called "Try Me" (produced by DDS), as a single,[6] which earned her viral popularity. Canadian rapper Drake quoted lyrics from the song in his Instagram post.[7] In October 2014, she signed a major record deal to Columbia Records. After signing the deal, she released her second official mixtape, called Sell Sole.[5] The mixtape was given an "A−" by music critic Robert Christgau, who wrote in his review for Vice, "What's irresistible is the form-content disparity—a rapper who brags so un-macho, a rapper whose greed is so explicitly for her family, a rapper who's "Grindin'" at music. Plus her flow is a brook, her producer respects her space, and her two sex rhymes are into it and into it more."[8]

Dej Loaf rapped on the song "Detroit vs. Everybody" featured on Eminem's compilation Shady XV (2014). In 2015, she opened for Nicki Minaj during the North American leg of The Pinkprint Tour.[9] Later that year, she was chosen as part of the XXL magazine 2015 Freshman Class.[10]

In February 2016, Dej Loaf released a mixtape called All Jokes Aside.[11] In July 2017, she released a joint mixtape with Jacquees titled Fuck a Friend Zone.[12]

After several years of delays, Dej Loaf split from Columbia Records in 2019. She then independently released her debut album, Sell Sole II on October 23, 2020.[13] It features appearances from Big Sean, Gunna, Rick Ross, Lil Uzi Vert, and 6lack.[14] The album is the sequel to Dej Loaf's 2014 mixtape Sell Sole.[15] The album holds a 72/100 rating on Metacritic, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[16]

In February 2021, Dej Loaf was featured on Sevyn Streeter's single "Guilty" along with Chris Brown and ASAP Ferg.[17]

Discography

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Studio albums

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Title Album details Peak chart positions
US
[18]
US R&B/
HH

[19]
US Rap
[20]
Sell Sole II

Extended plays

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List of extended plays, with selected information
Title Album details Peak chart positions
US
[18]
US R&B/
HH

[19]
US Rap
[20]
...And See That's the Thing 47 8 6
'Go DeJ Go' Vol.1
  • Released: December 28, 2018[22]
  • Label: Yellow World / The Dispensary
  • Format: Digital download
It's a Set Up!
No Saint
  • Released: May 29, 2020[24]
  • Label: Yellow World / BMG Rights Management
  • Format: Digital download, streaming
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Mixtapes

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  • Just Do It (2012)
  • Sell Sole (2014)
  • All Jokes Aside (2016)
  • Fuck a Friend Zone (with Jacquees) (2017)

Singles

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As lead artist

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List of singles as lead artist, with selected chart positions, showing year released and album name
Title Year Peak chart positions Certifications Album
US
[25]
US
R&B/
HH

[26]
US
Rap

[27]
"Try Me" 2014 45 12 8 Non-album singles
"We Good"[29]
"Detroit vs. Everybody"
(with Eminem, Royce da 5'9", Danny Brown, Big Sean and Trick-Trick)
[A] 28 23 Shady XV
"We Be on It"[31] 2015 Sell Sole
"Me U & Hennessy (Remix)"
(featuring Lil Wayne)[32]
[B] 38 Non-album single
"Back Up"
(featuring Big Sean)
47 16 10 ...And See That's the Thing
"Hey There"
(featuring Future)
[C] 47
"In Living Color (Oh Na Na)" 2016 Non-album singles
"No Fear"[33] 2017 100 43
"Liberated"[34]
(with Leon Bridges)
2018
"Star"
(featuring Dave East and Nicole Bus)
2020 True to the Game 2
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.
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List of singles as featured artist, with selected chart positions, showing year released and album name
Title Year Peak chart positions Certifications Album
US
[25]
US R&B/
HH

[26]
US
Rap

[27]
"Money on the Flow"
(Aubreyus featuring Dej Loaf)
2014 Non-album singles
"Hardcore"
($pain featuring Dej Loaf)
"I Ain't Got Time"
(Young Klep featuring Dej Loaf)
"Girls Love to Party"
(Gueringer The13th featuring Dej Loaf)
"Red Leather"
(Jimmy Goodz featuring Dej Loaf)
"Vest Up"
(Locx featuring Dej Loaf)
2015 No Plan BS
"Be Real"
(Kid Ink featuring Dej Loaf)
43 12 7 Full Speed
"What You Do To Me (Remix)"
(Lil Durk featuring Dej Loaf)
Non-album singles
"Ryda"
(The Game featuring Dej Loaf)
[D]
"All Hands on Deck Remix"
(Tinashe featuring Dej Loaf)
Aquarius
"Tied Up"[36][37]
(Casey Veggies featuring Dej Loaf)
[E] Live & Grow
"All Said and Done"
(Chevy Woods featuring Dej Loaf)
The 48 Hunnid Project
"I Just Wanna..."
(Elijah Blake featuring Dej Loaf)
Shadows & Diamonds
"Til the Morning"
(DJ Carisma featuring Chris Brown and Dej Loaf)
Non-album singles
"Ride for Me"
(Teddy Tee featuring Dej Loaf)
"Its Just Money"
(51 Reese featuring Dej Loaf)
"On a Hater, Pt. 2"
(Squirm G featuring Rambo K Kutta and Dej Loaf)
"Lifestyle, Pt. II"
(Oba Rowland featuring Dex Osama and Dej Loaf)
Black Santa
"My Beyoncé"
(Lil Durk featuring Dej Loaf)
[F] 32 300 Days, 300 Nights and Lil Durk 2X
"Serena"
(Dreezy featuring Dej Loaf)
From Now On
"We Do This Shit"
(Mod Sun featuring Dej Loaf)
2016 Movie
"At the Club"
(Jacquees featuring Dej Loaf)[42]
2017 86 40 Non-album single
"Ride It"
(Tink featuring Dej Loaf)
2019 Voicemails
"Fear of GOD"
(Conway the Machine featuring Dej Loaf)
2020 From King to God
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Guest appearances

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List of non-single guest appearances, with other performing artists, showing year released and album name
Title Year Other artist(s) Album
"Baddest in the Building" 2014 E-40, Luigi the Singer Sharp On All 4 Corners: Corner 2
"Allergic 2 Broke" Webbo Independent Ballin
"Blah Blah Blah (Remix)" Rich Homie Quan, Fabolous, Ty Dolla Sign
"Possible" Mike Will Made It, Yung Joey Ransom
"Givin N' Takin The Neighbourhood, Danny Seth #000000 & #FFFFFF
"Found One" 2015 Oba Rowland Found One
"Post to Be (Remix)" Omarion, Ty Dolla Sign, Trey Songz, Rick Ross
"League of My Own" Samantha J
"Real" Trae Tha Truth Tha Truth
"Step Up" The Game, Sha Sha The Documentary 2
"I Don't Belong to You (remix)" Keke Palmer, Ty Dolla Sign
"Fail to See Me (Remix)" K Jewlzz, Drey Skonie Senior Year – The Evolution
"Go so Hard" Jerry Parker The Illustration
"Possible" Yung Joey Necessary Evil (The Preface)
"Set It Off" 2016 Jacquees Mood
"On a Hater" Rambo K Kutta, Squirm G Drugz and Jewelz
"Good Good" Lil Durk, Kid Ink
"Nobody On Jupiter"[43] Jesse Boykins III Bartholomew
"Rider Life" Lil Durk They Forgot
"Maybach Music V" 2017 Rick Ross Rather You Than Me
"Ol Skool" Sevyn Streeter, Jeremih Girl Disrupted
"Red Light" 2018 Jacquees 4275
"What We Have" Nef the Pharaoh The Big Chang Theory
"Famous" Mozzy, Yo Gotti, Iamsu! Gangland Landlord
"White Lines" 2019 Rick Ross Port of Miami 2
"Guapanese" Lil Pete Hardaway
"Shoot My Shot" Yung Bleu Investments 6
"Gov't Cheese" 2020 Jadakiss, Nino Man, Millyz Ignatius
"Can't Get Enough" Jackboy, Stevie J Love Me While I'm Here
"Liar Liar" 2024 Houdini HOU I'M MEANT TO BE

Notes

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  1. ^ "Detroit Vs. Everybody" did not enter the US Billboard Hot 100, but peaked at number eight on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart.[30]
  2. ^ "Me U & Hennessy (Remix)" did not enter the Billboard Hot 100, but peaked at number six on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart.[30]
  3. ^ "Hey There" did not enter the Billboard Hot 100, but peaked at number 17 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart.[30]
  4. ^ "Ryda" did not enter the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, but peaked at number two on the Bubbling Under Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles chart.[35]
  5. ^ "Tied Up" did not enter the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, but peaked at number one on the Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles chart.[38]
  6. ^ "My Beyoncé" did not enter the US Billboard Hot 100, but peaked at number two on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart.[40]

References

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  1. ^ "ACE Repertory".
  2. ^ "DeJ Loaf Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio & More". AllMusic.
  3. ^ "DeJ Loaf Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio & More". AllMusic.
  4. ^ a b c d e Gray's, Adam (November 11, 2014). "Rapper Dej Loaf speaks softly, but makes a lot of noise". The Detroit News. Retrieved November 14, 2014.
  5. ^ a b Horowitz, Steven J. (November 10, 2014). "'Try Me' Rapper Dej Loaf: 'What I'm Doing Hasn't Been Done'". Billboard. Retrieved November 14, 2014.
  6. ^ a b c "Exclusive Interview: Dej Loaf, The Artist Behind Your Favorite Rapper's Favorite New Song". The Source. September 9, 2014. Retrieved November 14, 2014.
  7. ^ Garvey, Meaghan (September 10, 2014). "Interview: Dej Loaf Talks 'Try Me' Success, Inspiration Behind Her Name, and Detroit's Music Scene". Complex. Retrieved November 14, 2014.
  8. ^ Christgau, Robert (May 13, 2016). "The Poet and the Hustler: Expert Witness with Robert Christgau". Vice. Retrieved May 14, 2016.
  9. ^ Walker, John (March 16, 2015). "Somebody Hold Me: Nicki Minaj Just Revealed The Opening Acts For The U.S. Leg Of The Pinkprint Tour". MTV. Viacom. Archived from the original on March 19, 2015. Retrieved March 17, 2015.
  10. ^ "2015 XXL Freshman Class Revealed". BallerStatus.com. June 3, 2015. Archived from the original on June 26, 2015. Retrieved June 3, 2015.
  11. ^ Camp, Zoe (April 6, 2016). "Dej Loaf Releases New Mixtape All Jokes Aside: Listen". Pitchfork.
  12. ^ Wang, Steffanee (February 11, 2017). "Download DeJ Loaf And Jacquees' Fuck A Friendzone Mixtape Now". The Fader.
  13. ^ Williams, Aaron (October 26, 2020). "Dej Loaf's 'Sell Sole II' Is The Album She Always Wanted To Make". Uproxx.
  14. ^ Zidel, Alex (October 20, 2020). "DeJ Loaf Reveals Debut Album Tracklist: Lil Uzi Vert, Rick Ross, Big Sean, & More". Hot New Hip Hop.
  15. ^ Espinoza, Joshua (October 22, 2020). "DeJ Loaf Shares 'Sell Sole II' Album f/ Lil Uzi Vert, Gunna, and More". Complex.
  16. ^ "Sell Sole II by Dej Loaf Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved February 26, 2021.
  17. ^ Powell, Jon (February 12, 2021). "Sevyn Streeter, Chris Brown, and A$AP Ferg are "Guilty" on new single". Revolt.
  18. ^ a b "DeJ Loaf – Chart History: Billboard 200 for ...And See That's the Thing". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved February 14, 2016.
  19. ^ a b "DeJ Loaf – Chart History: Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved February 14, 2016.
  20. ^ a b "DeJ Loaf – Chart History: Top Rap Albums for ...And See That's the Thing". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved February 14, 2016.
  21. ^ "iTunes – Music – #AndSeeThatsTheThing – EP – Album by DeJ Loaf". Itunes.apple.com. July 31, 2015. Retrieved August 8, 2015.
  22. ^ "iTunes – Music – 'Go DeJ Go' Vol.1 – EP – Album by DeJ Loaf". Itunes.apple.com. December 28, 2018. Retrieved March 4, 2019.
  23. ^ Shephard, Ryan (May 22, 2020). "Dej Loaf Drops The 'It's A Set Up!' EP". Def Pen. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
  24. ^ "DeJ Loaf Drops Another New EP Titled "No Saint"". Hotnewhiphop.com. May 29, 2020. Retrieved October 25, 2020.
  25. ^ a b "DeJ Loaf – Chart History: The Hot 100". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved April 29, 2019.
  26. ^ a b "DeJ Loaf – Chart History: Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved April 29, 2019.
  27. ^ a b "DeJ Loaf – Chart History: Hot Rap". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved April 29, 2019.
  28. ^ a b c d e f "American certifications – DeJ Loaf". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved May 13, 2016.
  29. ^ "We Good – Single by Dej Loaf". iTunes Store. Apple. October 20, 2014. Retrieved November 14, 2014.
  30. ^ a b c "Chart Search – DeJ Loaf". Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles for DeJ Loaf. Retrieved August 29, 2017.
  31. ^ "Urban/UAC Future Releases". All Access Music Group. Archived from the original on February 22, 2015. Retrieved February 25, 2015.
  32. ^ Joyce, Colin (April 20, 2015). "Lil Wayne Talks Dirty on His Remix of DeJ Loaf's 'Me U & Hennessy'". SPIN. Retrieved July 28, 2015.
  33. ^ "No Fear – Single by DeJ Loaf on Apple Music". iTunes. June 16, 2017. Retrieved July 18, 2017.
  34. ^ "Liberated – Single by DeJ Loaf, Leon Bridges on Apple Music". iTunes Store. June 8, 2018. Retrieved June 15, 2018.
  35. ^ "Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles – May 30, 2015". Billboard. May 30, 2015. Retrieved October 22, 2015.
  36. ^ "Casey Veggies – Tied Up Feat. DeJ Loaf | Stream & Listen [New Song]". Hotnewhiphop.com. April 27, 2015. Retrieved July 28, 2015.
  37. ^ "iTunes – Music – Tied Up (feat. DeJ Loaf) – Single by Casey Veggies". Itunes.apple.com. April 27, 2015. Archived from the original on September 29, 2015. Retrieved July 28, 2015.
  38. ^ "Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles – August 29, 2015". Billboard. August 29, 2015. Retrieved October 22, 2015.
  39. ^ "Gold & Platinum: Casey Veggies". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved January 12, 2017.
  40. ^ "Dej Loaf Chart History: Bubbling Under Hot 100". Billboard. January 16, 2016. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
  41. ^ "Gold & Platinum". RIAA. Retrieved September 3, 2023.
  42. ^ "At the Club (feat. DeJ Loaf) – Single by Jacquees". iTunes Store (US). September 29, 2017. Retrieved April 29, 2019.
  43. ^ "Jesse Boykins III Breaks Down 'Bartholomew' Track by Track". Nylon.com. August 3, 2016.
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