Wikipedia

CJ Fly

Chaine St. Aubin Downer Jr. (born July 6, 1993), better known by his stage name CJ Fly, is an American rapper and producer from Brooklyn, New York City.[2] He is a founding member and the oldest member of the hip-hop collective group Pro Era. Throughout 2012 and 2013, he was featured on many of the collective's projects and towards the end of 2013, he released his critically acclaimed mixtape Thee Way Eye See It.

CJ Fly
CJ Fly (left) with Joey Badass at the Under the Influence Tour in Toronto, Canada in August 2013
CJ Fly (left) with Joey Badass at the Under the Influence Tour in Toronto, Canada in August 2013
Background information
Birth nameChaine St. Aubin Downer Jr.[1]
Also known as
  • The Storyteller
  • The Painter
  • Rap Game Tarantino
  • Master Roshe
Born (1993-07-06) July 6, 1993 (age 31)
Brooklyn, New York City, U.S.
GenresHip hop · East Coast hip hop · alternative rap · Mafioso rap · jazz rap
Occupations
  • Rapper
  • songwriter
  • producer
Years active2011–present
Labels
Member of

Early life

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Downer Jr. was born on July 6, 1993, in Brooklyn, New York. He is the only child of a Bajan mother and Jamaican father. He began writing poetry by the fourth grade and by the seventh grade he began rapping. He attended Edward R. Murrow High School for communication arts where he met Joey Bada$$, Powers Pleasant and Capital STEEZ. The four of them would spend their school days cyphering in the auditorium.[3] In 2011, the four of them formed Pro Era.[4][5]

Music career

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In 2012, Pro Era released their debut mixtape The Secc$ Tape. CJ Fly later made a breakthrough feature on Joey Bada$$'s debut mixtape 1999, on tracks "Hardknock" and "Don't Front". On December 21, 2012, he and Pro Era released their second mixtape PEEP: The APROcalypse. With production from Pro Era members Chuck Strangers, Kirk Knight, Statik Selektah and others from Brandun DeShay, Thelonious Martin and more.[6][7][8]

In 2013, CJ went on the Beast Coastal Tour with fellow Pro Era members, The Flatbush Zombies and The Underachievers. He, along with the rest of Pro Era, joined Wiz Khalifa's Under The Influence Tour in 2013 with A$AP Rocky, Trinidad James, Chevy Woods, Smoke DZA, and more. He later made an appearance on Joey's second mixtape Summer Knights along with the rest of Pro Era on the song "Sorry Bonita" produced by Oddisee. On October 5, 2013, he released his debut mixtape Thee Way Eye See It. With features from various Pro Era members, Buckshot, Ab-Soul, Phife Dawg and production from Chuck Strangers, Statik Selektah, Brandun DeShay, and more, the mixtape has received critical acclaim and made him a candidate for XXL's 2014 and 2015 Freshman List. [9][10][11][12]

On December 9, 2016, a date which happened to coincide with his mother's 49th birthday, CJ Fly released his debut studio album entitled Flytrap. He released the album exclusively with TIDAL on December 8, and made the album available on all streaming services on December 9.[13]

Since the release of FLYTRAP, CJ has released videos for single "Now You Know", a track that was premiered with Billboard[14] in September 2016. He's also released the visual for "DOPE" which premiered on Pornhub on 4/20. His single, "Now You Know" was featured in Love & Hip Hop Season 6 - Episode 7 (2017) [15]

On March 6, 2020, CJ Fly released his sophomore studio album entitled RUDEBWOY. Entirely produced by Statik Selektah, the album featured guest appearances from majority of the Pro Era collective, as well as Haile Supreme, Oshun, Conway the Machine and former Pro Era member T'nah.[16]

On January 18, 2021, CJ Fly released The Way I H(ear) It, Vol. 1; the first volume of his instrumental album series, inspired by the time he spent learning how to produce his own beats during the start of the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020.[17]

On August 24, 2021, a release date chosen in tribute of Kobe Bryant,[18] CJ Fly released NOT WHAT YOU'RE EXPECTING. CJ's third studio album, the project featured no appearances from Pro Era, however brought in Devin Tracy, Amon Tyson, and Marlon Craft. The album also featured production from several producers, including CJ himself.

Influences

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CJ is influenced by The Notorious B.I.G., Nas, Jay-Z, A Tribe Called Quest, and MF DOOM.[19]

Discography

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Studio albums

  • Flytrap (2016)
  • RUDEBWOY (2020)[20]
  • NOT WHAT YOU'RE EXPECTING (2021)
  • Healing from Our Wounds (2023)
  • PIRANHA (with Stoic) (2023)
  • baited (with Stoic) (2024)
  • The PhaRaOh’S return 2: NUBIA (with NasteeLuvzYou) (2024)

Mixtapes

Instrumental albums

  • The Way I H(ear) It, Vol. 1 (2021)

Pro Era discography

  • The Secc$ TaP.E. (2012)
  • P.E.E.P: The aPROcalypse (2012)
  • The Secc$ TaP.E. 2 (2014)
  • The Shift (2014)

References

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  1. ^ Ham, Robert (7 July 2014). "Flying high: Rapper CJ Fly is ready for take-off". Brooklyn Daily. Retrieved 6 October 2015.
  2. ^ ACE. "ACE Repertory". Ascap.com. Retrieved 2020-03-10.
  3. ^ "CJ Fly | SXSW 2015 Event Schedule". Schedule.sxsw.com. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
  4. ^ Mahadevan, Tara (July 5, 2016). "Joey Bada$$ and Pro Era Turn Tragedy Into Celebration With Their Annual Steez Day Festival". LA Weekly. Retrieved August 30, 2016.
  5. ^ Rosenberg, Eli (November 26, 2013). "Capital STEEZ: King Capital". The Fader. Archived from the original on August 30, 2016. Retrieved August 30, 2016.
  6. ^ "Joey Bada$ - 1999 Hosted by Pro Era Mixtape - Stream & Download". Datpiff.com. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
  7. ^ "AmeriKKKan Korruption Reloaded". Pro Era. 2012-12-18. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
  8. ^ "Peep The Aprocalypse". Pro Era. 2012-12-20. Archived from the original on 2013-04-28. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
  9. ^ "Joey Bada$$ - Sorry Bonita (Ft. PRO ERA) [Prod. By Oddisee] with Lyrics!". YouTube. 2013-08-09. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
  10. ^ "Wiz Khalifa Reveals 'Under The Influence Tour 2013′ Lineup, Dates - XXL". Xxlmag.com. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
  11. ^ "CJ Fly - Thee Way Eye See It Mixtape - Stream & Download". Datpiff.com. 2013-09-27. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
  12. ^ "XXL Freshman 2014 - CJ Fly Pitch". YouTube. 2014-10-11. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
  13. ^ "CJ Fly Spreads His Wings With Revolutionary Album FLYTRAP". Neon Music. 2016-12-15. Retrieved 2016-12-28.
  14. ^ "CJ Fly New Single "Now You Know" Premiere". Billboard. 2016-09-23.
  15. ^ "Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta Season 6 Episode 7 Songs". VH1. 2017-04-17. Archived from the original on August 15, 2020.
  16. ^ Mahadevan, Tara C. "CJ Fly Drops His New Album 'Rudebwoy'". Complex. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  17. ^ "CJ Fly #THEWAYIHEARIT 1/18 on Instagram: "I PRESENT TO YOU, THE ARTWORK FOR #THEWAYIHEARIT VOL. 1. THIS IS THE FIRST INSTALLMENT OF MY BEAT TAPE SERIES. I WILL BE DROPPING MORE…"". Instagram. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  18. ^ Downer, Chaine St. Aubin (24 August 2021). "Promotion of NOT WHAT YOU'RE EXPECTING". www.instagram.com. Retrieved 2021-08-26.
  19. ^ "CJ Fly Talks Childhood Influences, Switching Up His Style, New Album FLYTRAP". BandsInTown. 2017-02-24.
  20. ^ "CJ Fly 🇯🇲🇧🇧 on Instagram: "Very honored to announce my debut album #RUDEBWOY produced by the legend @StatikSelekt featuring @_Tnah_, @JoeyBadass, @whoisconway, ..."". Instagram.com. Retrieved 2020-03-10.
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