J-Dia

If you don't live in New York City, you probably first encountered J-Dia when her sexy single "I Won't Tell" featuring Styles P appeared in the summer of 2006, but if you do live in the Big Apple, you might remember her as the N.Y.C. tabloids' favorite "Pot Princess." Born and raised in Rumson, NJ, Julia Diaco's family was wealthy. They could afford the vocal training Julia requested at the age of seven and they could afford to send her to NYU when she turned 17. Like her senior yearbook quote, her application essay to the prestigious school quoted 2Pac, and while she was eager to seek out a bit of hip-hop fame for herself, she soon became famous for a totally different reason. In April of 2004, she was busted in her NYU dorm room for selling marijuana and other hallucinogens to an undercover officer. Seeing this rich, pretty, and New Jersey girl as a Meadow Soprano-type character, The New York Daily News turned her into a tabloid sensation with the headline "From Luxe Life to High Life: NYU Pot Princess Perky After Bust." The judge gave her ten months at a behavioral center and eight months of vocational studies per court order. As the sentence progressed, the press lost interest, and without school or paparazzi to distract her, Diaco used the extra time to write some music and blossom into J-Dia. She hooked up with Philadelphia-based producer Simon Illa -- who had previously worked with Vivian Green and Floetry -- and signed a deal with the Jersey-based record label Forget About It Music. Playing up the mob movie references even more, her debut album was titled My Blue Heaven. The New York Post responded to her Mariah Carey- and Amerie-influenced music with the headline "Bongs to Songs." ~ David Jeffries, All Music Guide