Deja Trimble (born April 8, 1991), better known by her stage name Dej Loaf (stylized as DeJ Loaf), is an American rapper, singer and songwriter from Detroit, Michigan. She began her music career in 2011, and released her debut single Just Do It in 2012. In October 2014, she released her second mixtape, Sell Sole． 　　DeJ Loaf rose to greater success in 2014 with her single "Try Me", which peaked at number 45 on the US Billboard Hot 100. The song was certified Gold on April 3, 2015 in the US. Later that year, she was chosen as part of the XXL magazine 2015 Freshman Class. 　　Early life 　　Deja Trimble was born on April 8, 1991 and was raised on the East side of Detroit, Michigan. As a child, she often listened to music with her parents and grandmother, including "2Pac, Rakim and Miles Davis." Her father was killed when she was four years old. 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. In 2009, she graduated from Southeastern High School in Detroit, playing basketball at the junior varsity level. She then attended Saginaw Valley State University and studied nursing for three semesters before deciding to focus full-time on her music career. 　　Music career 　　In 2011, Dej Loaf began her career as a hip hop artist. 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 2013, she released her first official mixtape, Just Do It.. That mixtape attracted the attention of a fellow Detroit-native rapper SAYITAINTTONE. She was later signed to his indie record label, called IBGM (I Been Gettin' Money) under his management team. In July 2014, she released her track, called "Try Me" (produced by DDS) as a single, which earned her viral popularity, after Canadian hip hop recording artist Drake quoted lyrics from the song in his Instagram post. In October 2014, she signed a major record deal to Columbia Records. After signing a deal, she released her second official mixtape, called Sell Sole. That 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. Plus her flow is a brook, her producer respects her space, and her two sex rhymes are into it and into it more." 　　DeJ Loaf contributed rap to the song, called "Detroit vs. Everybody" featured on a fellow American high-profile rapper Eminem's compilation Shady XV (2014). In 2015, she opened for Nicki Minaj during the North American leg of The Pinkprint Tour.