Young Maylay
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Young Maylay | |
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| Born | Christopher Bellard Script error: No such module "person date". Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
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| Years active | 2000–present |
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| Known for | Portrayal of Carl Johnson in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas |
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| Relatives | Shawn Fonteno (cousin) |
| Page Module:Infobox/styles.css has no content.Musical career | |
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| InstrumentTemplate:Pluralize from text | Vocals |
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| Member of | OBG Rider Clicc |
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Christopher Bellard[1][2] (born June 17, 1979), known professionally as Young Maylay, is an American rapper, record producer, and voice actor based in Los Angeles, California. He is best known for his portrayal of Carl "CJ" Johnson, the main character of the action-adventure game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (2004).
Early life
Christopher Bellard was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. Growing up in poverty, in a crime-ridden neighborhood, amid gang violence and gangsta rap inspired his rapping career. He grew up with close affiliates of the Crips gang. Bellard is the younger cousin of actor and rapper Shawn Fonteno, who would later voice Franklin Clinton in the video game Grand Theft Auto V (2013).[3]
Music career
Early years: 2000–2005
His rapping career eventually took off in 2000, at the age of 21. With help from King T, Maylay made his first appearance in Killa Tay's Thug Thisle, with the song "#1 Hottest Coast (Killa Cali)" in 2000. Later he appeared in Rodney-O & Joe Cooley's Summer Heat in 2002. Since then, he has been featured on many releases across the West Coast. Maylay wrote the majority of King T's studio album Ruthless Chronicles.[4] He founded his independent label in 2005 with the money from Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and released his debut mixtape in the same year.
Pre-Lench Mob: 2006–2008
In 2006, Maylay was featured in Deeyah Khan's single "What Will It Be" with a music video. In the same year, he appeared in DJ Crazy Toones' CT Experience, it was the first collaboration of the trio DJ Crazy Toones, WC and Young Maylay. In 2007 the trio began working in Maylay's studio album The Real Coast Guard. The album was released in 2008 and later that year, WC signed Young Maylay to Bigg Swang/Lench Mob.
Lench Mob days: 2008–present
Lench Mob Records were set in 2006 to put out Ice Cube's and WC's records, but later other artists were signed, like Young Maylay, who is considered a veteran by Ice Cube.[5] DJ Crazy Toones created two blogs for Maylay, the first is called Who's Young Maylay? Mix Blog[6] and the second is called Young Maylay, WC & Bad Lucc Mix Blog.[7]
Young Maylay is working on three studio albums, by himself, WC and Crazy Toones. Young Maylay is featured on two tracks by Ice Cube called "Y'all Know Who I Am" and "Too West Coast" on his ninth solo studio album I Am the West (2010).
In 2010 Young Maylay was featured on two tracks on the album DJ Premier Presents Year Round Records – Get Used to Us. The track "Temptation" is a solo performance, while the track "Ain't Nuttin' Changed (remix)" is a collaborative effort with Blaq Poet and MC Eiht.
In an interview, when asked about a new studio album, Maylay said:
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Yeah, I'm working on an album. But I will not tell the title again! (laughs) And we gonna know when we're gonna drop it. But I got something that I wanna put out. I was gonna call it "Brushfires and Earthquakes", cause that's California all day. On the brushfire side I come with just straight heat spittin'. And then on the earthquake side I'm coming for that like to get out there in traffic and show you they got some sounds. But that's gonna be more or less like a mixtape. The album is in the works. I'm not trying to just take songs that I didn't use off my mixtape and put it on a CD and call it my album. I can't really put no timeline on it, we're working everyday. So it ain't the fact about getting songs done or nothing like that, timing is everything man.[8]
OBG Rider Clicc
OBG Rider Clicc is Young Maylay's rap trio (with Young Dre The Truth and Killa Polk) the group first appeared on Young Dre's studio album called Revolution in Progress the Movement with the single "Let's Get 5£3 Game Bacc Right". and later appeared with Compton Cavie, Dresta and BG Knocc Out with the song "Wes Indeed" in the Cali Luv mixtape.
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
Maylay was working in New York when he received a phone call from DJ Pooh, who was in a meeting with Rockstar Games' staff, including co-founder Dan Houser. They started a regular conversation about music which, unknown to Maylay, occurred on speakerphone. Rockstar staff heard the conversation, and after the conversation between the two ended, they encouraged Pooh to bring Maylay in to audition. A few weeks after the audition, Rockstar reviewed the tapes and decided on Maylay for the role of the main character of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Carl "CJ" Johnson.[9] In a 2026 interview with YouTuber SanInPlay and Brazilian outlet Portal Viciados, Maylay revealed that Pooh intentionally kept the speakerphone a secret so he would act naturally and not force a persona.[10]
During the game's development, Maylay worked closely with Houser, participating in recording sessions that sometimes lasted up to 14 hours. He was also given creative freedom by the studio to modify the script to ensure the Los Angeles street slang was authentic.[11] Furthermore, Maylay clarified a long-standing rumor regarding the character's appearance, confirming that CJ's facial model was not based on his own physical features. He stated that the character's 3D model was already finalized prior to his casting, and he only provided the voice and motion capture.[12]
When asked in 2021 if he would consider reprising the role of CJ in any future Grand Theft Auto titles if given the opportunity, Maylay stated that he would never voice CJ again due to conflicts with Rockstar Games. He accused Rockstar of being "culture vultures" and expressed frustration over their depiction of African American and gang culture, arguing that they were exploiting and profiting from a culture to which they don't belong.[13]
Despite his ongoing feud with Rockstar, Maylay has continued to fully embrace the character of CJ., frequently appearing in public alongside his cousin Shawn Fonteno (Solo), who portrayed Franklin Clinton in Grand Theft Auto V (2013). During a 2024 live stream by internet celebrity Kai Cenat, he indulged viewers by quoting CJ's iconic line, "Ah shit, here we go again."[14] As of 2025, Maylay has also begun attending fan conventions alongside members of the GTA V cast.[15]
Maylaynium Muziq
Malaynium Muziq is Young Maylay's own independent record label based in Studio City, Los Angeles. His mixtapes were released on this label.[16]
Discography
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- San Andreas: The Original Mixtape (2005)
- The Real Coast Guard (2008)
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | The Introduction | Carl "CJ" Johnson | Short film made in the Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas game engine, showcasing the events that occurred prior to the game itself. |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | The Brodies | Mario | Unreleased |
Video games
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas | Carl "CJ" Johnson | |
| 2021 | Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition | Archival recordings Remaster of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas only |
References
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- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Young Maylay". Discogs. Archived from the original on August 10, 2013. Retrieved August 7, 2008.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Young Maylay". AllMusic. Retrieved March 3, 2009.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."IGN's GTA 5 Panel - NY Comic Con 2013". IGN. October 12, 2013. Archived from the original on July 29, 2020. Retrieved January 12, 2018.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."King T Ruhtless Chronicles". Retrieved May 15, 2009.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Ice Cube Dubcnn interview". Archived from the original on May 7, 2016. Retrieved October 10, 2008.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Who's Young Maylay? Mix Blog by DJ Crazy Toones". Dubcnn. Archived from the original on January 13, 2020. Retrieved March 3, 2009.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Young Maylay, WC and Bad Lucc Mix Blog by DJ Crazy Toones". Dubcnn. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved April 5, 2009.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Young Maylay Dubcnn interview". Archived from the original on January 31, 2009. Retrieved May 5, 2009.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Young Maylay RiotSound interview". Archived from the original on September 17, 2008. Retrieved October 10, 2008.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."GTA San Andreas | Young Maylay revela como foi chamado para a Rockstar e se tornou o CJ". Portal Viciados (in português). Retrieved March 5, 2026.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."GTA San Andreas | Young Maylay, ator de CJ revela bastidores inéditos com Dan Houser". Portal Viciados (in português). Retrieved March 5, 2026.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Exclusivo: GTA San Andreas; Ator de CJ encerra mito sobre o rosto do personagem". Portal Viciados (in português). Retrieved March 5, 2026.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Bhushan, Rahul (January 14, 2021). "Young Maylay from GTA San Andreas: The actor behind CJ and his dispute with Rockstar Games". Sportskeeda. Archived from the original on May 1, 2021. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Sahay, Suyash (November 13, 2024). "GTA San Andreas CJ voice actor Christopher Bellard said the famous line on Kai Cent's livestream". www.sportskeeda.com. Retrieved June 12, 2025.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.It’s Recording Time Media (May 22, 2025). GTA San Andreas & V Reunion Before GTA 6: Nostalgia Con 2025. Retrieved June 12, 2025 – via YouTube.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Jaxsta". jaxsta.com. Retrieved November 2, 2024.
External links
- Official website
- Young Maylay at AllMusic
- Template:Wikidata Young Maylay discography at DiscogsTemplate:EditAtWikidata
- Young Maylay at IMDbTemplate:Edit at Wikidata
- Young Maylay official Twitter
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