Juelz Santana

Juelz Santana
Juelz Santana in 2006
Background information
Birth name	LaRon Louis James
Born	(1982-02-18) February 18, 1982 (age 42) New York City, U.S.
Genres	Hip hop East Coast hip hop
Occupations	Rapper songwriter actor
Discography	Juelz Santana discography
Years active	1994–present
Labels	Skull Gang Def Jam Diplomat E1 Roc-A-Fella
Member of	Dipset Skull Gang
Spouse	Kimbella Vanderhee ​ ​ (m. 2019; sep. 2022)​
Children	4

LaRon Louis James Sr (born February 18, 1982),^[1][2] better known by his stage name Juelz Santana, is an American rapper and member of East Coast hip hop group, the Diplomats (also known as Dipset). He is best known for his appearances on group cohort Cam'ron's 2002 singles "Oh Boy" and "Hey Ma", which peaked at numbers four and three on the Billboard Hot 100, respectively. His guest appearance on Chris Brown's 2005 single, "Run It!" peaked atop the chart for five weeks and received triple platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).^[3] 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 the lead single for his debut studio album, From Me to U (2003), which was released by Jay-Z's Roc-A-Fella Records along with its follow-up, What the Game's Been Missing! (2005). Both albums peaked within the top ten—at numbers eight and nine, respectively—of the Billboard 200 despite mixed critical reception. With Dipset, he has released three albums, and with his spin-off group Skull Gang, he released one studio 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.^[4] 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 an airport. He was released early from prison on August 5, 2020 after serving 19 months of his 27-month sentence.