Jeremih Felton was born in Chicago, Illinois. Born into a musical family, he began playing instruments at the age of three and taught himself how to play several, including drums, piano and the saxophone. Jeremih attended Morgan Park High School, where he was part of the marching band as well as a Latin jazz band, where he learned to play percussion instruments like congas and timbales. He graduated at the age of 16 and enrolled into the University of Illinois to pursue a career in engineering. Having graduated from high school at an early age, he said in an interview that he found himself "getting in a lot of trouble" while attending the university and plans on returning to earn his degree. After performing a tribute for Stevie Wonder at one of the campus's talent shows, he received positive feedback and realized his vocal ability, saying that the "music was just taking over". In 2007, he enrolled in Columbia College Chicago to pursue a degree in music business. While attending Columbia College Chicago, Jeremih collaborated with record producer Mick Schultz. Together, they recorded a song entitled "My Ride". Jeremih received guidance by his cousin Day26 group member, Willie Taylor. In February 2009, Jeremih met with Island Def Jam chairman L. A. Reid and executive vice president of A&R Karen Kwak. After performing for the two, Jeremih was signed to Def Jam Recordings that same day. Jeremih released his debut single, "Birthday Sex", in early 2009 and peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100. His eponymous debut album, Jeremih, was released in June 2009 under Def Jam; it debuted at number six on the Billboard 200 and sold 59,000 copies in its first week. In promotion of the album, Jeremih took part in America's Most Wanted Tour, alongside Lil Wayne, Young Jeezy and Soulja Boy Tell 'Em. The second single, "Imma Star (Everywhere We Are)", has peaked at number 51 on the Billboard Hot 100. Jeremih cites Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder and R. Kelly,as his biggest influences. He described their music as "timeless", calling them "true musician-artists". With the released of his debut album, Andy Kellman of Allmusic compared Jeremih's vocals to Slim of 112 and Raphael Saadiq, noting that his "charmingly sly voice...is hard to not like". In contrast, Ken Capobianco of The Boston Globe felt that Jeremih's voice was "thin", showing "little range". Jody Rosen expressed that Jeremih "has a way with tunes and hooks". He received comparisons to The-Dream, as well as Kelly and Wonder.