Later that year, she was chosen as part of the XXL magazine 2015 Freshman Class. In 2015, she opened for Nicki Minaj during the North American leg of The Pinkprint Tour. Everybody" featured on a fellow American high-profile rapper Eminem's compilation Shady XV (2014).
Plus her flow is a brook, her producer respects her space, and her two sex rhymes are into it and into it more." ĭej Loaf rapped on the song " Detroit vs. The mixtape was given an "A−" by music critic Robert Christgau, who wrote in his review for Vice, "What's irresistible is the form-content disparity-a rapper who brags so un-macho, a rapper whose greed is so explicitly for her family, a rapper who's 'Grindin' ' at music. After signing the deal, she released her second official mixtape, called Sell Sole. In October 2014, she signed a major record deal to Columbia Records. Canadian hip hop recording artist Drake quoted lyrics from the song in his Instagram post. In July 2014, she released her track, called " Try Me" (produced by DDS), as a single, which earned her viral popularity. She was later signed to his indie record label, called IBGM (I Been Gettin' Money) under his management team. That mixtape attracted the attention of a fellow Detroit-native rapper SAYITAINTTONE. In 2013, she released her first official mixtape, Just Do It. Her stage name is a portmanteau of a shortened version of her first name, "Deja", and "loafer", as she took a keen interest in Air Jordans when growing up. In 2011, Dej Loaf began her career as a hip hop artist. She then attended Saginaw Valley State University and studied nursing for three semesters before deciding to focus full-time on her music career. In 2009, she graduated from Southeastern High School in Detroit, playing basketball at the junior varsity level. A self-described "good kid and a decent student" who mostly kept to herself, she began writing her own original music at the age of 9. Her father was killed when she was four years old. As a child, she often listened to music with her parents and grandmother, including 2Pac, Rakim and Miles Davis. In 2015 she issued the #AndSeeThatsTheThing EP along with the hit single "Back Up" featuring Big Sean.Deja Trimble was raised on the East side of Detroit, Michigan. After a handful of headlining gigs, she closed out 2014 by opening for fan Erykah Badu at Detroit's Fox Theatre. Second single "We Good," also produced by DDS, was released as her second major-label single.
Columbia's official release of "Try Me" reached the Top Ten of Billboard's Hot Rap Songs chart. Everybody" beside fellow Detroiters Eminem, Royce da 5'9", Big Sean, Danny Brown, and Trick Trick. (DeJ did approve of a version that featured a verse from Wiz Khalifa.) She signed to Columbia, released a second mixtape, and appeared on the Aftermath release "Detroit vs. The platinum-selling star's acknowledgment increased DeJ's profile exponentially and set off a wave of unauthorized versions from fellow rappers. In July 2014, two years after she released her first mixtape, she uploaded "Try Me," a low-key, melodic track produced by Ypsilanti native DDS, which caught the attention of Drake, who referenced it on Instagram. Through a period that included a few semesters of attending Saginaw Valley State and working as a janitor at a Chrysler factory, she continued to develop her talent but didn't gain much traction. At some point she established her stage name, with DeJ pronounced similar to "beige" and Loaf a reference to her footwear preference.
She took music more seriously in high school, after she quit playing basketball at the junior varsity level. Rapper DeJ Loaf, born Deja Trimble, grew up on the east side of Detroit, Michigan and started writing lyrics at a young age.