Def Jam’s latest sensation, Jeremih, was born with rhythm pulsing through his veins. Growing up on Chicago’s infamous Southside, the 21 year-old singer/songwriter behind the nationwide breakout hit “Birthday Sex” started making big noise when he was just a little boy. “When I was three my mom and dad gave me a drum set for Christmas,” recalls Jeremih. “It was a little Sears set and I ended up busting every head on it that year. That’s when it hit them and me that I was really into percussion. At a very young age I really fell in love with making music.”
In 2007, Jeremih began working towards a music business degree at Columbia College. He also started participating in the school’s talent shows. In order to differentiate himself from the masses of aspiring rappers, Jeremih started to sing. After developing a reputation as a talented crooner on campus, Jeremih began collaborating with another one of Columbia’s musically inclined students named Mick. “He was studying engineering and he knew how to use protools,” says Jeremih
Soon Mick and Jeremih spent all of their free time laying down new music in Mick’s homemade studio. They recorded a demo in 2008 and got the idea to bring it to Power 92, their local radio station in Chicago. Their first song to hit the airwaves was the catchy car-centric song called “My Ride” which first played on the station’s local radio hour. But the song they recorded next would become their golden ticket, “Birthday Sex.” Power 92’s music director Bam fell in love with the sultry track and added it into the station’s regular rotation.
In February of 2009 Jeremih flew to New York City, to perform in front of Island Def Jam President LA Reid. L.A. was so blown away by the budding superstar’s live performance and wide-ranging sound, he quickly made him part of the notorious label’s roster. “I feel like I can hang with these artists at Def Jam,” says Jeremih.
