Biography

DeJ Loaf has had a meteoric rise to the top. With an ascension rarely seen in the Hip Hop industry, specifically for female MCs, it is safe to say that destiny is absolutely at work.

Born, Deja Trimble from Detroit, MI, Dej Loaf discovered her passion for music at age 9, when she began to make up rhymes that chronicled the things she was experiencing in her world.

Music became her outlet and remains so today. “I was still kind of shy on the outside, but I could always get down in my diary what I was feeling or dreaming,” Exposed to various genres of music by her Father, Dej allowed the influences of music powerhouses like: E-40, Jay-Z, Tupac, DMX, Lil Kim, Missy Elliott, and countless others to help shape the eclectic sounds we have come to expect from her.

Having grown up with a love for music, it is no surprise that she would pursue a life that would allow her to make the music she loves. However, not without a practical side, she tried nursing classes after high school graduation, but returned home from Saginaw Valley State after only a couple of semesters to convince her mom it was time to focus all her energies on songwriting.

With the support of her family, Dej began to circulate her music in the local rap scene, All the while, holding down a janitor’s job at a Chrysler plant. “I would do a little here and there at different studios, as well as driving people crazy at my job because they knew my heart was.”

She released her first mixtape in 2012, “Just Do It”, which she describes as “Kind of a diary around my time in college; kind of hectic and all about my personal business.” Sparked from the frustration of the new artist process, “Try Me,” released during the summer of 2014, would be the record that put Dej Loaf on the map.

“It was a song born out of frustration,” she says, “I’d been walking around getting stared at, and I wanted to remember the melody. I’d been kind of down and feeling backed up, and this just came out of me as a response.”

From there, the whirlwind would begin. First, landing a coveted record deal with Columbia Records, Dej took off on a journey she herself is still getting used to. “When the Sony deal came through, it was during such a hectic time. Every label was calling and I was overwhelmed. I just wanted to be sure I made the right decision for my career. My family, my friends and the people around me were so excited. All I wanted was to stay happy and make the right moves.”

Once at her new label home, Dej began the process of developing herself as an artist. Releasing consecutive mixtapes: “Sell Sole” (2014), “And See That’s The Thing” (2015) and the 2016 “All Jokes Aside” she began to establish a sound that is undeniably her own. XXL included her as a part of their 2015 Freshman Class, she was nominated for 3 BET Awards (including Best New Artist) and coveted outlets like: Rolling Stone, USA Today, EW and the like, all acknowledged Dej Loaf as a newcomer, deserving the respect and attention of the music industry at large.

Now on the eve of her first studio album, tentatively titled, “Liberated”, Dej continues to evolve both in style and music. Experimenting with new sounds, fashion sense and a wisdom about the industry that comes from paying attention to the surroundings, Dej Loaf is destined to be a success. Defying all of the odds set before her, it is clear that this is a journey written in the stars.