Fam-Lay (born Vernon N. Johnson Jr.) is a rapper from Norfolk, Virginia. Signed to Pharrell Williams’ Star Trak imprint, he first gained notoriety through a slew of guest appearances he made on various Neptunes-related projects, including the Clipse’s debut album Lord Willin’ in 2002. He also later appeared on The Neptunes’ compilation The Neptunes Present… Clones in 2003, which featured his song “Rock ‘N Roll.” Then in 2004 he had the single and video Rock N Roll (Remix)featuring Lil Flip. It gained heavy rotation on MTV Jams.
He planned to release his debut album, titled Traintogo, in March of 2004,[1] through a joint venture between Star Trak and Def Jam Recordings. Unlike most Neptunes helmed projects, where Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo handle almost all of the production duties, Traintogo was unique in that it was to feature production from outside producers, including Lil’ Jon and David Banner. Unfortunately, after suffering several delays, Traintogo failed to meet its scheduled release date. To further complicate matters, Fam-Lay’s deal with Def Jam fell through, and he was dropped from the label in July of 2004. Nearly two years later, Traintogo still has yet to be released.
He is currently working on the second iteration of Traintogo, re-e seen titled Dat Missile. Its first single is “Da Beeper Song,” produced by The Neptunes. Fam-Lay can be seen in a cameo shot in 2005’s Can I Have It Like That video with Pharrel. Also he can be seen sitting in front of a car in the Clipse’s new music video ‘Mr. Me Too’.
