Momodou Lamin Jallow (born 26 October 1996) known professionally as J Hus, is a British rapper and singer who has been credited with pioneering the genre

Afroswing Afroswing, also known as Afrobashment, or less commonly Afrobbean or Afrowave, is a genre of music that developed in the UK during the mid-2010s, derivative of dancehall and afrobeats, with influences from trap, British hip hop, R&B, and gri ...

. He is currently signed to

Black Butter Records Black Butter Records is a British record label based in London, England. Founded in 2010 by Olly Wood, Henry Village and Joe Gossa, the self-funded start-up went on to become an established tastemaker label, and one part of a camp of music-rela ...

. He gained popularity in 2015 following the release of his song "Dem Boy Paigon". J Hus' "

Did You See ''Did You See...?'' is a British television review programme which was broadcast on BBC2 from 1980 to 1993. The programme took a look back at the week's television with a discussion between the presenter and three guests. In the first run there ...

" became his most successful single at the time, peaking at number nine on the UK Singles Chart and eventually being certified

Platinum Platinum is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a density, dense, malleable, ductility, ductile, highly unreactive, precious metal, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name origina ...

. In 2017, he released his debut album, ''

Common Sense Common sense () is "knowledge, judgement, and taste which is more or less universal and which is held more or less without reflection or argument". As such, it is often considered to represent the basic level of sound practical judgement or know ...

'', which was critically acclaimed—it was named the best UK album of 2017 by ''Complex''. The album reached number six on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...

. In June 2018, he was arrested in Stratford and charged with carrying a knife in public. Hours after his release from prison in April 2019, he made a surprise appearance on stage at Canadian rapper

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals and creatures * A male duck * Drake (mythology), a term related to and often synonymous with dragon People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family ...

's concert at the

O2 Arena O2 Arena may refer to: *The O2 Arena, London * O2 Arena, Prague *The 3Arena, Dublin, formerly known as The O2 *The Uber Arena, Berlin, formerly known as O2 World *The Barclays Arena Barclays Arena (originally known as the Color Line Arena an ...

in London. In January 2020, J Hus released his second album, ''

Big Conspiracy ''Big Conspiracy'' is the second studio album by British rapper J Hus. It was released on 24 January 2020 by Black Butter Records, Black Butter Records/Sony Music UK for streaming and digital download. The album features production from frequent ...

'', which featured appearances by Jamaican singer Koffee, Nigerian singer

Burna Boy Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulu (born 2 July 1991), known professionally as Burna Boy, is a Nigerian singer, songwriter and record producer. He gained recognition in 2012 after releasing "Like to Party", the lead single from his debut studio album '' ...

and British singer

Ella Mai Ella Mai Howell (born 3 November 1994) is an English R&B singer and songwriter. Her musical career began at London's British and Irish Modern Music Institute in 2014, during which time she auditioned as part of a trio on the 11th season of ...

. The album became his first number-one on the

and received widespread critical acclaim. In June 2023, he released the single "

Who Told You "Who Told You" is a song by British rapper J Hus featuring Canadian rapper Drake. It was released on 8 June 2023 as the second single from J Hus's third studio album, ''Beautiful and Brutal Yard''. J Hus and Drake wrote the song with producer P ...

" with Drake, which became his highest-charting single, reaching number two on the UK Singles Chart. It was the lead single to his third album ''

Beautiful and Brutal Yard ''Beautiful and Brutal Yard'' (also abbreviated ''B.A.B.Y'') is the third studio album by British rapper J Hus, released on 14 July 2023 through Black Butter Records. The album includes collaborations with Drake, Naira Marley, Jorja Smith, Burna ...

'', which released in July. The album became his second number-one on the UK Albums Chart.

Early life

J Hus was born in London to Gambian parents and grew up in the city's Stratford district. He was raised by his mother, who emigrated to England when she was 25 years old. Jallow was raised

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

and is of ethnic

Fula Fula may refer to: *Fula people (or Fulani, Fulɓe) *Fula language (or Pulaar, Fulfulde, Fulani) **The Fula variety known as the Pulaar language **The Fula variety known as the Pular language **The Fula variety known as Maasina Fulfulde *Fula alpha ...

and

Wolof Wolof or Wollof may refer to: * Wolof people, an ethnic group found in Senegal, Gambia, and Mauritania * Wolof language, a language spoken in Senegal, Gambia, and Mauritania * The Wolof or Jolof Empire, a medieval West African successor of the Mal ...

heritage. As a child, he and his mother would go to African parties and his parents would play African music for him. Growing up, he wanted to become an actor "but then around Year 10 or Year 11, it was whatever really", and he was expelled from school as he had, in his words, "started getting into a bit of trouble." In September 2014, distraught following two separate prison stints, he was advised to focus on pursuing a music career by his childhood friend Moe who also agreed to be his manager. Moe and his older brother would go on to form their own management company 2K Management. J Hus got his stage name from the word "hustler", explaining that he would buy a pack of doughnuts and sell them individually at a profit when he was in secondary school.

Career

2014–2016: Career beginnings and ''The 15th Day''

J Hus began his career by recording several freestyles, including #StreetHeat, Bl@CKBOX and

GRM Daily GRM Daily (Grime & Rap Music Daily), formerly Grime Daily, is a British urban music outlet and entertainment platform. As the name suggests, the platform is an outlet for UK rap and its various genres, such as UK drill, afroswing, trap, and Br ...

and publishing them online. He followed this with "#Rated", which samples the beat from

French Montana Karim Kharbouch (Moroccan Arabic, Arabic: IPA pronunciation, æɾiːm χɑɾbuːʃ born November 9, 1984), better known by his stage name French Montana, is a Moroccan-American rapper. Born and raised in Morocco, he immigrated to New York ...

's "Don't Panic", and "Want From Me" Remix of

Kojo Funds Errol Kojo Bellot, known professionally as Kojo Funds ( ; born 30 March 1995), is an English singer, rapper and songwriter. His music blends West African and Caribbean sounds with road rap, dancehall and pop. Kojo Funds featured on Yxng Bane ...

' song, which gained a lot of coverage, helping his breakthrough. His next release was "Dem Boy Paigon", which was described by Ajay Rose of The Link Up as having "brought together an Afro-beat sound with lyrical rap ... capable of turning any dance upside down". He followed this with "No Lie" and his SB: TV "Warm Up Session". Around the end of March 2015, he and

MoStack Montell Samuel Daley (born 31 August 1994), known professionally as MoStack, is a British rapper, singer and songwriter from Hornsey in north London. After releasing a string of online songs and non-album singles between 2014 and 2016, he releas ...

released their "Westwood Crib Session". In late May 2015, he released "Lean & Bop", which was streamed more than 10 million times in total on music platforms. Around this time, he also released a "Daily Duppy" for GRM Daily, which he followed with his first mixtape, ''The 15th Day''.

2016-2019: ''Common Sense'' and ''Big Spang''

Jallow released the single "Friendly" in 2016, which received a nomination at the 2016 MOBO Awards, as well as "Playing Sports", MoStack's "Liar Liar" (Remix) and "Solo One", the last of which appeared on the '' Brotherhood'' soundtrack. In 2017, he featured on Nines' "High Roller", which featured on his album '' One Foot Out''. He also featured on

Stormzy Michael Ebenezer Kwadjo Omari Owuo Jr. (born 26 July 1993), known professionally as Stormzy, is an English-Ghanaian rapper, singer, and songwriter. In 2014, he gained attention on the UK underground music scene through his ''Wicked Skengman'' ...

's "Bad Boys" from his album ''

Gang Signs & Prayer ''Gang Signs & Prayer'' is the debut studio album by British rapper Stormzy. It was released on 24 February 2017 independently through #Merky Records while being distributed by ADA of Warner Music Group. It is Stormzy's first major commercial re ...

'', which peaked at number 22 on the UK Singles Chart, on

Dave Dave may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Dave'' (film), a 1993 film starring Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver * ''Dave'' (musical), a 2018 stage musical adaptation of the 1993 film * ''Dave'' (TV series), a 2020 American comedy series * ...

's "Samantha", which peaked at number 63, and charted at number 9 with his solo composition "Did You See". The song served as the lead single off his debut album, ''

'' (2017). Upon release, the album was positively received by fans and includes features from MoStack, MIST, Tiggs da Author and

. In May 2018, he released his EP, '' Big Spang'' (2018). Following his June 2018 arrest for carrying a bladed article in public, Jallow was sentenced to eight months in jail in December. Jallow's label stopped releasing music, with his only verse whilst incarcerated coming from the song "Disaster" which was released on

's debut album, ''

Psychodrama Psychodrama is an action method, often used as a psychotherapy, in which clients use spontaneous Adaptation (arts), dramatization, role playing, and dramatic self-presentation to investigate and gain insight into their lives. Developed by Jaco ...

''. "Disaster" debuted at number eight on the UK Singles Chart on 15 March 2019.

2019–present: ''Big Conspiracy'' and ''Beautiful and Brutal Yard''

Hours after his release from prison in April 2019, he made a surprise appearance on stage at

's concert at the

in London. In November he released the single "Must Be". He then released the singles "No Denying" and "Repeat". In December 2019, J Hus announced he will no longer tour for "the next 3/4 years, maybe more". He also stated that following his next album, he would have no more features but that he wanted to work with

and

21 Savage Shéyaa Bin Abraham-Joseph (born October 22, 1992), known professionally as 21 Savage, is an American-British rapper. Born in London and raised in Atlanta, he began his recording career in 2013 and released three independent mixtapes to regiona ...

. J Hus' second album ''

'' was released in January 2020, and became his first number-one album. In July 2022, he was featured on Burna Boy's song "Cloak & Dagger" off his album ''

Love, Damini ''Love, Damini'' is the sixth studio album by Burna Boy. It was released on 8 July 2022 through Atlantic Records. The album features guest appearances from Ladysmith Black Mambazo, J Hus, Vict0ny, Popcaan, Blxst, Kehlani, Ed Sheeran, J Balvin, ...

''. In May 2023, he released his first song as a lead artist since 2020 with "It's Crazy". He followed this up in June with the single "

" with Drake, which peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart. On 29 June, he announced his third album ''

'' and its release date of 14 July with a trailer narrated by

Idris Elba Idrissa Akuna Elba Order of the British Empire, OBE ( ; born 6 September 1972) is an English actor and musician. He has received a Golden Globe Award as well as nominations for three BAFTA Awards and six Primetime Emmy Awards, Emmy Awards. He w ...

. A day before the album's release, he released the single "Militerian" with

Naira Marley Azeez Adeshina Fashola (born 10 May 1991), known professionally as Naira Marley, is a British-Nigerian singer, songwriter and rapper. Education At the age of 11, Fashola moved to Peckham, South London, England. He graduated with a distinctio ...

. ''Beautiful and Brutal Yard'' debuted at number-one on the UK Albums Chart, becoming his second chart-topper.

Personal life

He is a supporter of

Arsenal F.C. The Arsenal Football Club, commonly known as simply Arsenal, is a professional football club based in Islington, North London, England. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. In domestic football, Arsenal h ...

Legal issues

In 2011, J Hus was arrested outside Westfield following a "mass attack" on four people, which ended in one of them being stabbed. He had already received a referral order that year after being caught with a knife in public. In 2014 and 2015, he was arrested and served stints in His Majesty's

Feltham Prison Feltham Young Offenders Institution (more commonly known as HM Prison & YOI Feltham) is a prison for adult male and juveniles between 15 and 18, occupying south-west of Feltham in the London Borough of Hounslow, in west London, England. It is ...

. He accrued six convictions for ten offences between 2011 and 2016, including for carrying a knife and for violent disorder. He has also been given an ASBO. In September 2015 the musician was admitted to hospital after being stabbed five times in London. Whilst in hospital, he was criticised for posting on Instagram a photo of him making a gang sign from his hospital bed with the message "5 stab wounds could never stop me #AntiCh #F***DaOvaSide". The attack left him with mild

PTSD Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental disorder that develops from experiencing a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse, warfare and its associated traumas, natural disaster, traffic collision, ...

, for which at the time of his 2018 imprisonment he was seeing a therapist. In June 2018, he was arrested in Stratford and charged with carrying a knife in public. He was subsequently dropped from the performance line-ups of the

TRNSMT TRNSMT (pronounced as "Transmit") is a music festival staged at Glasgow Green in Glasgow, Scotland, organised by DF Concerts. History An early line-up for the first TRNSMT festival was revealed in January 2017, two months after the announceme ...

and

Wireless Wireless communication (or just wireless, when the context allows) is the transfer of information (''telecommunication'') between two or more points without the use of an electrical conductor, optical fiber or other continuous guided transm ...

festivals. Jallow appeared at

Thames Magistrates' Court The Thames Magistrates' Court is a magistrates' court A magistrates' court is a lower court where, in several Jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions, all criminal proceedings start. Also some civil matters may be dealt with here, such as family pr ...

on 22 June and was released on bail. On 20 July, he pleaded not guilty, but changed his plea in October and in December was sentenced to eight months in jail. When asked why he had been carrying a blade, J Hus said: "You know, it's Westfield." He was eventually released on 5 April 2019 and was welcomed back by Drake, joining him on stage at the O2 Arena during Drake's UK Assassination Vacation Tour.

Discography

Studio albums

Extended plays

Mixtapes

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

Other charted and certified songs

Guest appearances

Awards and nominations

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hus, J 1995 births Living people Black Butter Records artists English people of Gambian descent Fula people Rappers from the London Borough of Newham People from Stratford, London English male rappers Gangsta rappers Black British male rappers 21st-century British rappers Brit Award winners