Juelz Santana

Profile Overview

LaRon Louis James Sr. (born February 18, 1982), better known by his stage name Juelz Santana, is an American rapper. A member of now-defunct hip-hop group the Diplomats (also known as Dipset), he is best known for his appearances on Cam'ron's 2002 singles "Oh Boy" and "Hey Ma", both of which peaked within the top five of the Billboard Hot 100. He later guest appeared on Chris Brown's 2005 single, "Run It!", which peaked atop the chart for five weeks and received triple platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). As a lead artist, he is also known for his 2005 single "There It Go (The Whistle Song)", which peaked at number six on the chart and received platinum certification by the RIAA.
"There It Go" served as lead single for James' debut studio album, From Me to U (2003), which was met with mixed critical response along with his second album, What the Game's Been Missing! (2005). Both released by Def Jam Recordings, the albums peaked within the Billboard 200's top ten. As part of Dipset, he has released three albums, and with his spin-off group, Skull Gang, he released one album (2009). His 2009 single, "Back to the Crib" (featuring Chris Brown), was intended to lead his third album Born to Lose, Built to Win, which remains unreleased. His guest performances on Jim Jones and Ron Browz' 2008 single "Pop Champagne", and Lloyd Banks' 2010 single "Beamer, Benz or Bentley", both peaked within the top 50 of the Billboard Hot 100 as well.
In December 2018, James was sentenced to 27 months in prison for carrying an unconcealed weapon at Newark Liberty International Airport on 9 March, and was released early from prison on August 5, 2020, after serving 19 months of his 27-month sentence.