Jean Grae

Jean Grae is an American rapper born in Cape Town, South Africa, who began her career in the mid-1990s under the name What? What? before adopting her X-Men-inspired stage name for her solo work in the early 2000s. She is widely respected in underground hip hop circles for her intricate wordplay, sharp storytelling, and commanding, unflinching delivery.

Over the course of her career she has released a string of critically admired but commercially under-the-radar albums and EPs, building a reputation as one of the most technically skilled lyricists in the genre regardless of gender. Her work often blends dense rhyme schemes with dark humor and pointed social commentary, and she has continued to release material such as the EP «jeannie.», with a long-anticipated album titled «Cake or Death» announced as forthcoming.

Jean Grae has also worked across media beyond straightforward rap releases, including contributing the song «What You Came For» to a Marvel Black Panther comics promotion narrated by Ta-Nehisi Coates. She has frequently collaborated with fellow rapper and producer Quelle Chris, to whom she was engaged in 2017, and the two have released joint projects together, further cementing her reputation as a fixture of independent hip hop.