Juelz Santana - Santana's Town

Over the past few years, the hip-hop game has watched Juelz Santana become one of its brightest stars, its biggest personalities, and its finest MCs. Whether solo or with his Diplomats brethren - Cam'ron, Jim Jones, JR Writer, etc - Juelz has begun to let us in on a little secret: the game's been missing something vital, and he's got it. A certain cooler-than-thou swagger, an attitude, the flash of a menacing snarl. "Human Crack In The Flesh," he calls it.

And now, with his second Def Jam effort, What The Game's Been Missing, the hip-hop nation is headed back to Santana's town, to rediscover Harlemworld's distinct style as only Juelz can bring it.

Born and raised LaRon James, young Juelz Santana began his journey like many Harlem teens: the new kid on the block. Talking nonsense, smirking to the girls, clowning the guys. "I was hanging in the streets, hustling, doing everything I wasn't supposed to be doing," explains Juelz. "But I knew I wanted to change my life and could do it with music." Laron James may have been the average Harlem teenager, but Juelz Santana was nice. Style for days, the sound of young Harlem incarnate.

At 15, Juelz put together the group Draft Pick with a neighborhood friend. The duo was picked up by Priority Records, but it wasn't long until Santana was introduced through his cousin to fellow Harlem rapper Cam'ron. "Cam didn't even know he was gonna meet me," Juelz remembers. "He was sleeping. So we wake him up and do the introductions and Cam tells me to spit for him and his reaction wasn't like it was hot.he was sleeping."

Download the Album here