A sex-positive, fashion-forward tomboy with a disarmingly buttery voice, DeJ Loaf is an anomaly in the hip hop world. She hasn't released an album yet, but her singular visual and musical style and talent for writing catchy hooks has earned her collaborations with Lil Wayne and Future and 4.5 million Instagram followers.
Click through the gallery to get acquainted, or reacquainted, with DeJ Loaf, from her initial plunge into the rap game in 2012 to her 2014 breakout hit "Try Me" and beyond.
"College"
"College" appeared on DeJ's self-released 2012 debut mixtape Just Do It, released shortly after she dropped out of Saginaw State. "Hey roommates, they don't like me / This room is small, where she putting all them Nikes?"
She wasn't feeling it, but it sounds like she had a pretty quintessential college experience; when asked if she's going out to tonight, she responds, "I don't know, probably about to order pizza though."
"Try Me"
"Try Me" is the song that changed everything. Drake co-signed, as did artists from Wiz Khalifa to Ty Dolla $ign to Lil Durk by way of remixes. It is one of the chillest flex songs in recent memory, and that may explain its success. It is still young Loaf's highest-charting single to date.
Eminem, Royce da 5'9", Big Sean, Danny Brown, Dej Loaf, & Trick Trick - "Detroit vs Everybody"
The de-industrialization of Detroit replaced factories with techno and ragtag assortment of dirt-tough rappers. DeJ Loaf is the chest-thumping type, making her the perfect candidate for the hook on this Motor City ubertrack.
Dreezy - "Serena" feat. DeJ Loaf
"Serena" is home to one of DeJ's best verses to date. While Dreezy finds a nice, comfy pocket in the groove where she has no need to leave, DeJ takes the opposite approach. She darts across the beat, stopping and starting in unexpected places, thus performing a sort of energetic dance around the pocket Dreezy has just formed and proving that there is more than one way to skin a cat.
"Hey There" feat. Future
DeJ Loaf's soft voice can make her appear innocent, but the truth is, her lyrics are frequently very explicit, and her gentle vocals actually have an intensifying effect. On "Hey There," she purrs, "Let's slow it down a bit, I'll hit you with that foreplay/ Hop on top, I start to ride you, that's that horseplay."
"Me U & Hennessy"
Two days after releasing the steamy sexy jam "Me U & Hennessy," DeJ Loaf returned with a remix featuring Lil Wayne.
Wayne takes an extended verse, imploring his girl, "don't wear your thong tonight" and taking his sweet time lyrically working his way over her body, pausing to appreciate every centimeter of skin.
Casey Veggies - "Tied Up" feat. DeJ Loaf
Ludacris famously described his ideal woman thusly: “We want a lady in the street, but a freak in the bed.” On "Tied Up," maybe her single most memorable hook, she reveals herself to be that woman, singing of her exploits in both the street and the bed with the same emotional timbre.
"We Been On It"
DeJ Loaf pronounces "we be on it" like "we be yawnin,'" an equally accurate description of the way she shoos haters and lames with a lazy, lionlike ease.
Lil Durk - "My Beyonce" feat. DeJ Loaf
DeJ Loaf started dating Lil Durk last October. "Next big hip hop couple," Durk wrote. Less than month later, they professed their love for one another in "My Beyonce," the sort of song that could only be released at the very beginning of a relationship or years in. "Durk and Dej, I'm thinking about changing my last name," DeJ sings.
"Back Up" feat. Big Sean
The tireless onslaught of fame can be a lot to handle. Many crash and burn. Look at what happened to Shia LeBeouf -- went off the deep end.
Days before the release of "Back Up," DeJ reportedly scuffled with the salty managers whom she had just fired. So it's no surprise that she was telling the ladies and the fellas alike to "back up off me." When you're swarming with Gimmies, you need some time to yourself.