Alaya High
That Girl Lay Lay | |
|---|---|
| Born | Alaya High January 28, 2007 (age 17) |
| Nationality | American |
| Other names |
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| Occupations |
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| Years active | 2018–present |
| Known for | Freestyle Friday, That Girl Lay Lay |
| Parents |
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| Awards | Crown Awards, Wonder Girl Award |
| Website | www |
Alaya High (born January 28, 2007), known professionally as That Girl Lay Lay, is an American singer, rapper and child actress best known for starring in the Nickelodeon sitcom That Girl Lay Lay (2021–2024).[2] At the age of 11, she became the youngest female African American rapper to have a record deal with Empire Distribution,[3] with her debut single "Go, Lay Lay, Go" and debut album Tha Cheat Code (2018).[4] She has also worked on a series of books with Scholastic publishing.[5]
Career[edit]
Music[edit]
Alaya High was born in Houston, Texas, on January 28, 2007. She got her start in music when her parents posted videos of her rapping covers to hip-hop songs on YouTube, and rapping covers of different Christian rap songs for the youth ministry at her local church her family attended. She subsequently began writing her own rap and hip hop songs that she posted on YouTube and Instagram.[4][6]
In 2018, she was given a recording contract with Empire Distribution under the record label, Fresh Rebel Musik, and recorded her debut album, Tha Cheat Code, and also recorded a single to accompany the album, Go, Lay Lay, Go, with Empire. After rising to fame with Tha Cheat Code and Go, Lay Lay, Go, she was invited to perform at the 93rd Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in 2019, and went on to perform at Nickelodeon's All-Star Nickmas Holiday Spectacular in 2020.[4][7] She also performed on The Ellen DeGeneres Show while promoting her new album.[8]
High became one of the youngest female rappers to be given a record deal at 11 years old, and went on to record other children's and teen-themed rap and hip hop albums with Empire such as Tha Cheat Code Reloaded (2019), All Tha Way Lit Up (2019), and Recess Is Over (2020). She also released several singles, both by herself and as collaborations with other rappers such as Mama (2019), Long Hair (2020), Show and Tell (2020), Jingle Rock Baby (a Christmas single, 2020), A World by Us (2021), and I'm That! (in collaboration with fellow Nickelodeon child actor and rapper, Young Dylan, in 2021).[7] She also performed at the 2022 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards.
Acting[edit]
High made her acting debut in 2019 when she did minor voice roles for the movie, The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part, and collaborated on the theme song for the film's soundtrack, Catchy Song,[9] with rapper T-Pain and producer Dillon Francis. In 2020, she signed a deal with Nickelodeon to develop original multi-platform programming, music initiatives, and build a consumer product business catering to children and teens, and highlighting young actors and creative artists. As a part of this deal, High was given her own television series on Nickelodeon, That Girl Lay Lay, where she currently plays as an artificially intelligent avatar on a phone app that comes to life as a human teen girl, when the owner of the phone, Sadie, wishes she had a friend who could help her stand out and be more outgoing in her high school career and social life.[6][10] The show premiered on Nickelodeon on September 23, 2021, and was renewed for a second season on January 28, 2022.[11] It premiered July 14, 2022. High has also guest starred in other Nickelodeon series such as Side Hustle, Tyler Perry's Young Dylan, and Danger Force.[7]
Filmography[edit]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part | Minor various voice roles | Also collaborated on the theme song for the film's soundtrack, Catchy Song[citation needed] |
| 2019 | 93rd Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade | Herself | Guest performer |
| 2020 | Group Chat with Jayden and Brent | Guest | |
| 2020 | The All-Star Nickmas Spectacular | Guest performer | |
| 2021 | Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards 2021 | Special guest | |
| 2021 | Danger Force | That Girl Lay Lay | Episode; "Drive Hard" |
| 2021–2024 | That Girl Lay Lay | Lay Lay | Lead role |
| 2022 | Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards 2022 | Herself | Special guest |
| 2022 | Side Hustle | Lay Lay | Episode; "When Worlds Collide" |
| 2022 | Tyler Perry's Young Dylan | Episode; "How To Catch a Scammer" | |
| 2022 | The Tiny Chef Show | Herself | Special guest; episode: "Cranberry Cookies"[citation needed] |
Discography[edit]
 | This section of a biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification. (October 2022) |
Albums[edit]
| Year | Title | Record label | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Tha Cheat Code | Fresh Rebel Musik/EMPIRE Distribution | [12] |
| 2019 | Tha Cheat Code Reloaded | ||
| 2019 | All Tha Way Lit Up | Special Christmas album | |
| 2020 | Recess Is Over | EMPIRE Distribution | |
| 2022 | Watch Me |
Singles[edit]
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Album | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Billboard Dance/Electronic Songs | ||||||||||||||
| 2018 | "Go, Lay Lay, Go Fresh Rebel Musik/EMPIRE Distribution" | — | ||||||||||||
| 2019 | "Mama" | — | ||||||||||||
| 2019 | "Get To Lovin'" | — | ||||||||||||
| 2019 | "Supersize XL (feat. Lil Blurry & Lil Terrio) Collaboration" | — | ||||||||||||
| 2020 | "Long Hair EMPIRE Distribution" | — | ||||||||||||
| 2020 | "Stop Playin" | — | ||||||||||||
| 2020 | "Sisters" | — | ||||||||||||
| 2020 | "Show and Tell" | — | ||||||||||||
| 2020 | "For Me" | — | ||||||||||||
| 2020 | "Fly Away (feat. Lil Terrio & Lil Blurry) Collaboration" | — | ||||||||||||
| 2020 | "Jingle Rock Baby Special Christmas single" | — | ||||||||||||
| 2021 | "Breezy Collaboration with Young Dolph[13]" | — | ||||||||||||
| 2021 | "I Need (feat. That Girl Lay Lay) Sony Music Entertainment Australia Collaboration with Lil' Treezy (stylized Lil Tr33zy)" | — | ||||||||||||
| 2021 | "Tik Tok" | — | ||||||||||||
| 2021 | "Beat (feat. Bun B) Collaboration with Bun B" | — | ||||||||||||
| 2021 | "Not Your Boo (feat. Twelly) Collaboration with Twelly" | — | ||||||||||||
| 2021 | "A World by Us!" | — | ||||||||||||
| 2021 | "I'm That! Collaboration with Young Dylan" | — | ||||||||||||
| 2021 | "Catchy Songa" | 19[14][failed verification] | The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part (soundtrack) | |||||||||||
| 2022 | "Remix" | — | ||||||||||||
| 2022 | "Do What I Want" | — | ||||||||||||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | ||||||||||||||
Awards[edit]
| Year | Award | Category | Nominee(s) | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | NAACP Image Awards | Outstanding Performance by a Youth | Alaya High | Nominated | [15] |
| 2022 | Crown Awards | Young CROWN Award | Alaya High | Won | [16] |
| 2022 | Women in Toys, Licensing & Entertainment | Wonder Girl Award | Alaya High | Won | [17] |
Notes[edit]
- a Coauthor of the song but did not perform on it.
References[edit]
- ^ Cristiano, Brittany (April 8, 2021). "Nickelodeon's Next Superstar is a Houstonian". Houstonia Magazine. Retrieved 2022-10-06.
- ^ Reese, Alexis (July 27, 2022). "Lay Lay Is Really THAT Girl, Here's Why!". BET. Retrieved 2022-10-06.
- ^ Muhammad, Latifah (August 4, 2018). "11-Year-Old Girl Becomes "Youngest Female Rapper" To Land Major Record Deal". VIBE.com. Retrieved 2022-10-06.
- ^ a b c Oliveros, Beatriz (September 23, 2022). "Houston tween is the star of Nickelodeon's 'That Girl Lay Lay'". KPRC. Retrieved 2022-10-06.
- ^ "Nickelodeon's 'That Girl Lay Lay' to Launch Memoir and More Books". License Global. September 29, 2021. Retrieved 2022-10-06.
- ^ a b Stewart, Shelby (September 30, 2021). "Houston Star That Girl Lay Lay Makes Television Debut on Nickelodeon". Houstonia Magazine. Retrieved 2022-10-06.
- ^ a b c Stamps, Naomi (November 5, 2021). "Alaya High Becomes the Youngest Rapper to Sign Record Deal". ENSPIRE Magazine. Retrieved 2022-10-06.
- ^ Wong, Curtis (September 26, 2018). "11-Year-Old Rapper Lay Lay Stuns Ellen DeGeneres With Dynamite Performance". HuffPost UK. Retrieved 2022-10-06.
- ^ Moran, Sarah (February 8, 2019). "Here's Every Song Heard In The LEGO Movie 2". ScreenRant. Retrieved 2022-10-06.
- ^ Khalifeh, Mona (July 7, 2021). "That Girl Lay Lay on Her New Nickelodeon Series and Her Big Plans for the Future (Exclusive)". ET Online. Retrieved 2022-10-06.
- ^ Del Rosario, Alexandra (January 28, 2022). "'That Girl Lay Lay' Renewed For Season 2 At Nickelodeon". Deadline. Retrieved 2022-10-27.
- ^ Shafer, Ellise (June 16, 2020). "TV News Roundup: Netflix Reveals First Look at 'The Umbrella Academy' Season 2". Variety. Retrieved 2022-10-06.
- ^ Cho, Regina (March 3, 2021). "Young Dolph hops on That Girl Lay Lay's "Breezy" track". REVOLT. Retrieved 2022-10-07.
- ^ "Hot Dance/Electronic Songs". Billboard. October 6, 2022. Retrieved 2022-10-06.
- ^ "2022 NAACP Image Awards: Who is Alayah 'Lay Lay' High?: 5 Reasons Why We Love This Year's 'Outstanding Performances by a Youth' Nominee". BET. Retrieved 2022-10-06.
- ^ Collins, Rich (July 5, 2022). "Cantrell, Morial, Other Notables Honored at CROWN Awards". Biz New Orleans. Retrieved 2022-10-06.
- ^ Zahn, James (March 1, 2022). "Exclusive: WiT Reveals 2022 Wonder Women Award Winners • The Toy Book". The Toy Book. Retrieved 2022-10-06.
External links[edit]
| Authority control databases: Artists |
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