The son of a gospel vocalist, Baltimore, Maryland native CJ comes by his talent naturally. Growing up, the 21-year-old singer honed his enormous talent singing in church. Skipping the traditional talent show route, CJ's skills earned him an immediate signing with Washington, DC-based production company Backwoods, known for their work with R&B favorite Ginwuine, who got him a meeting with Sony head Tommy Mattola. After a short stint at Mattola's Casablanca Records, CJ landed at Capitol.