Roberto Guzmán Rosado, Jr. (born March 19, 1976), better known by his

stage name A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...

Tru Life, is an American rapper. He was signed to Jay-Z's

Roc-A-Fella Records Roc-A-Fella Records was an American hip hop record label and music management company founded by record executives and entrepreneurs Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter, Damon "Dame" Dash, and Kareem "Biggs" Burke in 1994. History 1994–2000: Formation ...

briefly but was incarcerated soon after. Before signing he had spent time with various other labels, featured on numerous songs and had already generated quite a buzz due to prominent beefs, appearances on mixtapes and Smack DVD. He was released from prison in 2016. He has since actively protested his innocence, and stated that he pleaded guilty to a criminal charge only because of the situation being effectively stacked against him in such a way that he felt he could not win a trial, despite the fact that he didn't participate in any crime. In his eyes, it was a better choice to plead guilty and accept the sentence than to risk a trial, which would have not only put him at risk of being convicted of a more serious crime but also at risk of a much longer sentence. He has also indicated since his release that he is a changed man and has left his previous life of crime and drama long behind him and is moving on in a positive direction. Soon after his release Tru Life featured on a song with

Rick Ross William Leonard Roberts II (born January 28, 1976), known professionally as Rick Ross, is an American rapper. Prior to releasing his debut single, "Hustlin'", in 2006, Ross was the subject of a bidding war, receiving offers from Diddy's Bad ...

which was received well. The music video for the song, released on YouTube, gathered over 1 million views within one month. As of January 2017 Tru Life has featured on a few mixtape tracks but has not released a single. In 2017, he announced that he has signed a deal with American rapper

Future The future is the time after the past and present. Its arrival is considered inevitable due to the existence of time and the laws of physics. Due to the apparent nature of reality and the unavoidability of the future, everything that currentl ...

Freebandz Freebandz is an American record label founded by American rapper Future. The label's releases are distributed through Epic Records. History 2011–2012: We Global Freebandz was founded by Future. Future signed a major label deal with Epic Record ...

record label, under the aegis of

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...

's Epic Records.

Career

Tru Life's career started in 1999 after being signed to

Dreamworks Records DreamWorks Records (often referred in copyright notices as SKG Music, LLC) was an American record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, ...

. His album, ''Cryin' Out Loud'', was scheduled to be released in November 2001. In an interview, Tru Life says "They weren't ready to do black music", and "there were too many bumps in the road, and I couldn't move." He eventually landed an audition with Jay-Z. After more than ten minutes, Tru Life was able to convince Jay-Z of his skills, which prompted Jay-Z to reply "Somebody, get this kid in front of a camera!". He was signed to a six-figure record deal later that evening.Ogunnaike, Lola (2005)
Jay-Z, From Superstar to Suit
", ''New York Times'', August 28, 2005 Tru Life gained a significant amount of notice when he made an original song "Wet Em Up" for

Grand Theft Auto IV ''Grand Theft Auto IV'' is a 2008 action-adventure game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the sixth main entry in the ''Grand Theft Auto'' series, following 2004's '' Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas'', and the ...

's fictional radio station "The Beat 102.7", which was used in the

Playboy X ''Grand Theft Auto IV'' is a 2008 action-adventure game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the sixth main entry in the ''Grand Theft Auto'' series, following 2004's '' Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas'', and the ...

trailer released weeks prior to the game. In 2009 Tru Life stated that after a break of around 1 and 1/2 years he was getting back into music and mentioned that he was earlier signed to Def Jam but personally asked Jay-Z to get him off Def Jam, which he did, before signing him to Roc La-Familia, a subsidiary of his main label Roc-A-Fella. Tru Life had a feud with

Mobb Deep Mobb Deep was an American hip hop duo from New York City. The duo consisted of rappers Prodigy and Havoc. They are considered to be among the principal progenitors of hardcore East Coast hip hopEdwards, Paul, 2009, '' How to Rap: The Art & Sci ...

that was documented in the film ''

Beef Beef is the culinary name for meat from cattle (''Bos taurus''). In prehistoric times, humankind hunted aurochs and later domesticated them. Since that time, numerous breeds of cattle have been bred specifically for the quality or quant ...

''.Rapper Tru Life Lands Deal With Roc La Familia
, Worldwideconnected.com He also has a 'beef' with

Dipset The Diplomats (also known as Dipset) is an American hip hop collective formed in 1997 by childhood friends Cam'ron and Jim Jones in Harlem, New York. The group was originally composed of Cam'ron, Jim Jones and Freekey Zekey, all of whom grew ...

, in which Tru Life depicted Dipset's Jim Jones wearing a

Borat ''Borat! Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan'' (Kazakh / Russian: ''Борат'') (also stylized as ''BORДT'', or simply ''Borat'') is a 2006 mockumentary black comedy film directed by Larry Charl ...

-style mankini; Jones' affiliates retaliating by hacking Tru Life's MySpace page and putting up a similar picture of Tru Life.Sunday, Billy (2007)
Tru Life Lost
", ''XXL'' Magazine
, New York Magazine, 2007 Since coming out of prison in 2016 Tru Life has stated he is done with any beefs or feuds he had in the past. He is of the opinion that he has been through so much in his life that the old rivalries he was once engaged in now seem meaningless.

June 2009 assaults

On June 15, 2009, Jason Gray also known as Jay Black, 30, and Christopher Guerrero, 20, were attacked in a lobby on East 26th Street in Manhattan. Roberto Rosado, Jr. and his brother Marcus were involved in the incident, though their level of involvement remains disputed. Guerrero was stabbed in the abdomen. Guerrero died of his wounds and Gray was critically injured. The assaults were said to have stemmed from a dispute at Club Pacha on W. 46th Street. The brothers were subsequently arrested and charged with murder in 2011. Rosado, Jr. was additionally charged with weapons possession. Tru Life pleaded guilty to "gang assault" and was sentenced to eight years in prison. His brother pleaded guilty to

manslaughter Manslaughter is a common law legal term for homicide considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is sometimes said to have first been made by the ancient Athenian lawmaker Draco in the 7th ...

and was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Tru Life began his prison sentence in 2011 and was released in April 2016, having served five years of his sentence.

Discography

Albums

*2001: ''Cryin' Out Loud'' *2018: ''Walking on Water''

Mixtapes

*2005: ''The New New York: The Movement'' *2007: ''Tru York''

Singles

*"When You're a Thug" featuring

Prodigy Prodigy, Prodigies or The Prodigy may refer to: * Child prodigy, a child who produces meaningful output to the level of an adult expert performer ** Chess prodigy, a child who can beat experienced adult players at chess Arts, entertainment, and ...

Kool G Rap Nathaniel Thomas Wilson (born July 20, 1968), better known by his stage name Kool G Rap (or simply G Rap), is an American rapper from Queens, New York City. He began his career in the mid-1980s as one half of the group Kool G Rap & DJ Polo and as ...

*"I Can't Believe" featuring

Swizz Beatz Kasseem Daoud Dean (born September 13, 1978), known professionally as Swizz Beatz, is an American record producer, rapper, disc jockey (DJ) and songwriter. Born and raised in New York City, Dean embarked on his musical career as a DJ. At the ag ...

*"Tears" featuring

Bobby V Bobby Marcel Wilson (born February 27, 1980), better known by his stage name Bobby V (also known as Bobby Valentino), is an American R&B singer. He was first a member of the R&B group Mista in 1994, before signing to rapper Ludacris through h ...

alentino *"Wet Em Up" (original song made for ''

'', produced by DJ Green Lantern) *"Watch Me Fall" featuring

Snoop Dogg Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. (born October 20, 1971), known professionally as Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg and briefly Snoop Lion), is an American rapper. His fame dates back to 1992 when he featured on Dr. Dre's debut solo single, ...

*"I Don't Need Love" Featuring

Keri Hilson Keri Lynn Hilson (born December 5, 1982) is an American R&B singer, songwriter and actress. She was born and raised in Decatur, Georgia and spent most of her youth working with producer Anthony Dent as a songwriter and background vocalist for ...

*"Bag For It" Featuring

& Velous *"Last Night"

DJ Clue Ernesto Shaw (born January 8, 1975), better known as DJ Clue, is an American disc jockey (DJ), record producer, radio personality and record executive. Early life DJ Clue was born in Queens, New York City to Panamanian and Jamaican immigran ...

featuring Tru Life &

*"Spin Ya Block" featuring Teddy Da Don *"Baddie" featuring

References

External links

Tru Life
on Myspace * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tru Life 1976 births Living people American people convicted of assault American people of Puerto Rican descent American prisoners and detainees Hispanic and Latino American rappers People from the Lower East Side Prisoners and detainees of New York (state) Rappers from Manhattan Roc-A-Fella Records artists 21st-century American rappers