Jeremiah Timothy Givens (born May 24, 1987), also known by the stage name JGivens, is an American former

Christian hip hop Christian hip hop (originally gospel rap, also known as Christian rap, gospel hip hop or holy hip hop) is a subgenre of contemporary Christian music and hip hop music. It emerged from urban contemporary music and Christian media in the United ...

musician. He has released four studio albums: ''Run'' in 2011, ''El v. Envy'' in 2013, '' Fly Exam'' in 2015, and ''Domino'' in 2019.

Early life

Jeremiah Timothy Givens Work ID No. 888894558 was born on May 24, 1987, in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

, to Brenda Banks. His mother moved to

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish language, Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the List of United States cities by population, 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the U.S. state, state of Neva ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...

when Givens was five years old, to remove the family from the presence of gang life. Givens obtained his

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

from the

University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8. ...

mechanical engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and mathematics principles with materials science, to design, analyze, manufacture, ...

at the

Viterbi School of Engineering The USC Viterbi School of Engineering (formerly the USC School of Engineering) is the engineering school of the University of Southern California. It was renamed following a $52 million donation by Andrew J. Viterbi, co-founder of Qualcomm. ...

Music career

JGivens' music career started in 2008, and his debut studio album, ''Run'', was released on July 22, 2011, independently. His subsequent studio album, ''El v. Envy'', was released on August 6, 2013, independently. His third and most recent studio album, '' Fly Exam'', was released on September 25, 2015, with Humble Beast Records. In 2016, JGivens was featured on

Lecrae Lecrae Devaughn Moore (born October 9, 1979), mononymously known as Lecrae, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record and film producer, record executive, actor, and entrepreneur. He is the president, co-owner and co-founder of the in ...

's mixtape, ''

Church Clothes 3 ''Church Clothes 3'' is the third mixtape by Christian hip hop recording artist Lecrae. It was released on January 15, 2016, through his label Reach Records. The mixtape is the third in his ''Church Clothes'' series, and his first major release s ...

'', performing the song "Misconceptions 3" alongside Lecrae,

John Givez John Lawrence Givens (born August 29, 1992), known professionally as John Givez and sometimes Juan Dando, is an American musician, who plays hip hop music, hip hop, contemporary R&B, R&B, Soul music, soul, funk and neo soul music. He is cousins ...

and

Jackie Hill Perry Jackie Hill Perry (née Jackie Hill, born June 21, 1989) is an American poet, writer, and hip hop artist who initially garnered popularity for her performances of spoken word pieces such as "My Life as a Stud", "A Poem About Weed", and "Jig ...

. In 2019, Givens transitioned away from Christian hip-hop and revealed he was addicted to drugs, openly gay, and

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of '' Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immu ...

-positive.

Discography

Studio albums * ''Run'' (July 22, 2011, independent) * ''El v. Envy'' (August 6, 2013, independent) * '' Fly Exam'' (September 25, 2015, Humble Beast) * ''Domino'' (October 18, 2019, independent)

References

External links

Official website

New Release Today profile

Wade-O Radio interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:JGivens 1987 births Living people LGBT African Americans LGBT Christians LGBT rappers Musicians from Los Angeles Musicians from Las Vegas American performers of Christian hip hop music Rappers from Los Angeles Rappers from Nevada USC Viterbi School of Engineering alumni West Coast hip hop musicians 21st-century American rappers American gay musicians 20th-century LGBT people 21st-century LGBT people 21st-century African-American musicians