Jamal Gray, known professionally as The Last Emperor, is an American hip-hop artist. Born on May 1, 1972, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, Gray attended Overbrook High School before obtaining a Bachelor of Science degree in political science and international relations from Lincoln University. After moving to New York, Gray performed at open-mic nights, eventually signing with Aftermath Entertainment as a protégé of Dr. Dre. Gray subsequently signed with Rawkus Records in 2003 before forming the label Red Planet Music to distribute his debut studio album Music, Magic, Myth (2003), which also saw a European release under the title Palace of the Pretender (2003). Gray's early singles include “Bums” (1997) and “Echo Leader” (1999), and the single “Black Apache” was released in September 2006. As a live performer, Gray opened for acts such as Common, The Roots, KRS-One, and the former Def Squad. Although a music video for the single “Fine Art” was released in 2010, the planned album Wizards Wardrobe never materialized.
