J. Zane Stephens

J. Zane Stephens is an American attorney, actor, voice-over artist, rapper, print model, screenwriter and director originally from the south-side of Chicago. He earned a Bachelor's of Arts from the University of Notre Dame and a J.D. from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. J. Zane Stephens is admitted to the Illinois state bar and has practiced law since 2010 and practiced private equity finance and commercial lending at McDermott, Will & Emery LLP and Holland & Knight, LLP. Thereafter, he served as legal counsel for Slate Asset Management and eventually General Counsel of Thatgamecompany, Inc. before transitioning into a full-time artist. Most recently, Stephens made his network debut in Season 24 of NBC's Law & Order. The University of Notre Dame featured Stephens' band, Santiago x The Natural, at Notre Dame Football related events and productions. The Chicago RedEye named the duo one of Chicago's top unsigned artists. The duo placed second in RedEye's Rock n' Vote band competition in 2012. That year they released the single "Got A Hold of Me". The single was selected to be played on ESPN Unite and ESPN First Take. Santiago x The Natural performed with rapper Talib Kweli in April 2013. ESPN licensed Santiago x The Natural's song "Warriors" for the official BCS national championship playlist and Friday Night Fights boxing. The single was also featured on the Spirit of Notre Dame album and chosen as the official theme song for the Georgia Swarm (previously the Minnesota Swarm), a professional lacrosse team. Stephens' band has also performed at the North by Northeast music festival in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. As a solo artist, Stephens opened for Akon, The Clipse, Mya, Cake and Curren$y.