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

stage name A stage name or professional name is a pseudonym used by performers, authors, and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. The equivalent concept among writers is called a ''nom de plume'' (pen name). Some performers ...

Tru Life, is an American rapper. He was signed to

Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American Rapping, rapper, businessman, and record executive. Rooted in East Coast hip-hop, he was named Billboard and Vibe's 50 Greatest Rappers of All Time, the ...

Roc-A-Fella Records Roc-A-Fella Records was an American record label and music management company founded in 1994 by record executives and entrepreneurs Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter, Damon Dash, and Kareem "Biggs" Burke. Carter issued his debut album, '' Reasonable Doubt ...

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 conviction. 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. An influential figure in modern Hip-hop, hip hop music, Rick Ross has become known for his "Wiktionary:booming, booming" vocal perfor ...

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 currently ex ...

Freebandz Freebandz (or Freebandz Entertainment, business name of Wilburn Holding Co.) is an American record label founded by Atlanta-based rapper Future (rapper), Future in 2011. The label's releases are distributed through Epic Records. Freebandz has sign ...

record label, under the aegis of

Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group encompasses various businesses, including Sony Corporation (electronics), Sony Semiconductor Solutions (i ...

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), cong ...

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 founded in 1996 by David Geffen, Mo Ostin, his son Michael Ostin and Lenny Waronker as a subsidiary of DreamWorks Pictures. The label opera ...

. 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, ''Grand Theft Auto'' series, following 2004's ''Grand Theft Auto: San And ...

's fictional radio station "The Beat 102.7", which was used in the Playboy X 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, hip hop duo formed in Queens, New York (state), New York in 1990. Consisting of rappers/songwriters/record producers Prodigy (rapper), Prodigy and Havoc (musician), Havoc, they are considered to be among the pr ...

that was documented in the film ''

Beef Beef is the culinary name for meat from cattle (''Bos taurus''). Beef can be prepared in various ways; Cut of beef, cuts are often used for steak, which can be cooked to varying degrees of doneness, while trimmings are often Ground beef, grou ...

''.Rapper Tru Life Lands Deal With Roc La Familia
, Worldwideconnected.com He also has a 'beef' with Dipset, in which Tru Life depicted Dipset's Jim Jones wearing a

Borat ''Borat'' (also known as ''Borat! Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan'') is a 2006 mockumentary directed by Larry Charles, which stars Sacha Baron Cohen as Borat Sagdiyev, a fictional Kazakhs, Kazakh jou ...

-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 ce ...

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 &

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. He began his career in the mid-1980s as one half of the group Kool G Rap & DJ Polo and as a member of the Juice Cr ...

*"I Can't Believe" featuring

Swizz Beatz Kasseem Daoud Dean (born September 13, 1978), known professionally as Swizz Beatz, is an American rapper and record producer. Born and raised in the Bronx borough of New York City, Dean embarked on his musical career as a DJ in 1994. At the age ...

*"Tears" featuring Bobby Valentino *"Wet Em Up" (original song made for ''

'', produced by

DJ Green Lantern James Christopher D'Agostino (born July 7, 1975), professionally known as DJ Green Lantern, is an American hip hop DJ and producer from Rochester, New York. In 2002, D'Agostino was signed by American rapper Eminem, to become the official DJ for ...

) *"Watch Me Fall" featuring

Snoop Dogg Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. ( ; born October 20, 1971), better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg), is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Rooted in West Coast hip-hop, he is widely regarded as one of t ...

*"I Don't Need Love" Featuring

Keri Hilson Keri Lynn Hilson (born December 5, 1982) is an American singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Decatur, Georgia, she began her musical career as a songwriter and backing vocalist for other artists under the wing of record producer Anthony De ...

*"Bag For It" Featuring

& Velous *"Last Night"

DJ Clue Ernesto Shaw (born January 8, 1975), better known as DJ Clue (often stylized 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 Pana ...

featuring Tru Life &

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

References

External links

Tru Life
on

Myspace Myspace (formerly stylized as MySpace, currently myspace; and sometimes my␣, with an elongated Whitespace character#Substitute images, open box symbol) is a social networking service based in the United States. Launched on August 1, 2003, it w ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tru Life 1976 births Living people American people convicted of assault American musicians 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 Freebandz artists