Neecy J

“The phrase ‘run it up’ reflects how I feel right now,” says Neecy J. “I wanna do everything I can to be the best. I've always been a person that believed that if you do something, it should be your best, so when I say ‘run it up; with anything in life, whether it's music, whether it's whatever your career goal is, run it up, do the best you can and make good money.”

Born Chanice Jonnaé Lee and raised in Port Tobacco, Maryland, with one older sister, Neecy J learned her strong work ethic and unshakeable faith from self-made parents: Her mother is an interior designer and retired correctional officer, while her father – a onetime basketball star in the DMV area– managed professional boxers before moving on to auto sales management. Growing up, Neecy’s life revolved around sports, and her high school basketball point guard skills earned her a scholarship to Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania, where she majored in communication journalism with a concentration in electronic media. Her court game was so tight that offers to play pro ball in Europe rolled in. Except there was one problem: She was feeling the music more. 

Soon she was writing lyrics, performing in a group at school talent shows, and rapping at the black history-themed youth showcases staged by the production company where she interned. With her college sheepskin in hand, the multitalented young lady came to a fork in her road. “I felt like if I did that [play ball professionally] then I was just putting my talent on the back burner. And that was something I didn't really want to do.”

Neecy J dropped her guard and mustered up her confidence under the direction of super-producer, Christopher Starr, Founder of CSP Music Group, who leads a team of diverse industry professionals that have assisted the sales of over 350 million records sold. Spending her time in Starr’s Atlanta-based state-of-the-art recording studio, Neecy J began laying down the tracks to her music.

While the industry has traditionally been dominated by men like inspiration Lil Wayne, the tide is changing thanks to Neecy’s other inspiration, trailblazer Missy Elliott, and current rap queens Nikki Minaj and Cardi B. “I do think it’s harder for women to break into rap, and that's one of the reasons why for so long a lot of people didn't know that I do music,” explains the fashionista. “Coming up, I’ve seen so many people just go, ‘Oh she's a girl, she's a female artist. No one wants to listen to her,’ so I've kinda had that mindset. But now, maybe I'll just surprise everybody.”  

Well, surprise! This self-proclaimed “sexy chocolate lady” is ready to show the world the depth and breadth of her talent, with head-nodding joints as well as mellow grooves covering the gamut of topics from relationships to partying to chilling out. “I have my own voice, my own unique style, and I have a broad vocabulary, so. I think that sets me out differently from the pack,” she says, adding that another track is titled “Glow It Up.”  

Neecy J is more than ready to rise to the top. “My life experiences have helped me understand that life will throw you all types of trials and tribulations, but it’s up to you to persevere with mental toughness. Life is what you make it, and only I can stop myself from being great.”