Kenzo B | |
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Birth name | Te'arah Gaines [1] |
Born | Connecticut, U.S. | March 4, 2004
Origin | The Bronx |
Genres | |
Occupations |
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Years active | 2021–present |
Labels | Coke Boys, Warner |
Te'arah Gaines, better known by her stage name Kenzo B, is an American rapper. Originating from The Bronx, she has been called the "Queen of Bronx drill". She has released numerous singles and two EPs, Top Dawg in 2022 and Top 2, Not 2 in 2023. She is signed to French Montana's Coke Boys label.
Te'arah Gaines was born on March 4, 2004, in Connecticut, where her mother was serving an 11-year prison sentence. [2] She was raised in The Bronx and lived in the River Park Towers. Her brother Bando is also a rapper. [3] She began rapping at the age of seven and grew up practicing battle raps with her brothers. Her first foray into songwriting was a rap about breakfast cereal set to Drake's "Started from the Bottom". [1]
Kenzo B's breakout single was the 2022 song "Bump It", [4] which samples the Dick Dale surf rock song "Miserlou". Towards the end of 2021, she teased a Triller for the song where she is wearing a ski mask. [1] The song has received over 1.9 million views on YouTube. [5]
Kenzo was signed to French Montana's Coke Boys label through Warner Records in October 2022. [6] [7] She recorded another iteration of "Bump It" featuring Young Devyn called "The Facts". [7] She released the Top Dawg EP, her label debut, towards the end of 2022. It includes the track "Hood Love Story", which is an interpolation of Young Thug's "Love You More". [1]
Kenzo was a guest vocalist on "Gang Gang", a song off of French Montana and DJ Drama's Coke Boys 6: Money Heist Edition mixtape. [1] For the "Area Codes (718 remix)" by Kaliii, she represented New York City, and performed the song with Ice Spice at Hot 97's Summer Jam Stage. [7]
Kenzo released the single "BFFR" (short for "be for fucking real") in June 2023. [8] The song is a "nod to litefeeters" from New York. [7] Her second EP, Top 2, Not 2 was released in June 2023 as well. [7]
Kenzo has been called the Queen of Bronx drill. [7] Her music incorporates elements from gangster rap, boom bap, and trap. [1] Her rap and freestyle rap has been praised for her clean flow [9] and her "magnetic ability to be both vicious and vulnerable". [7] According to The Fader, she is known "for her throaty, brolic, and quick-witted bars". [1]
Charly Wingate, better known by his stage name Max B, is an American rapper and singer. He is best known for his solo Public Domain and Million Dollar Baby series of mixtapes, and introducing the term "wavy" as a slang in popular lexicon.
Karim Kharbouch, better known by his stage name French Montana, is a Moroccan-American rapper. Born and raised in Morocco, he immigrated to the United States with his family at the age of 13. He embarked on a musical career in 2002, releasing a slew of underground material until signing a joint-venture record deal with Puff Daddy's Bad Boy Records and Rick Ross's Maybach Music Group in 2012.
Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) is an American independent record label. Specializing in hip hop and R&B artists, TDE is based in Carson, California. The label was founded in 2004 by record producer Anthony "Top Dawg" Tiffith, who is the chief executive officer. His son, Anthony "Moosa" Tiffith Jr., and Terrence "Punch" Henderson are the presidents of the label.
Lionel Du Fon Pickens, better known by his stage name Chinx, was an American rapper. He was a member of The Rockaway Riot Squad alongside fellow slain rapper Stack Bundles. Chinx later joined French Montana's Coke Boys Records, gaining recognition for his appearances on the Coke Boys mixtapes and the Cocaine Riot mixtape series. He was killed in a drive-by shooting in Jamaica, Queens on May 17, 2015. Two men have since been arrested in the case.
Drill is a subgenre of hip hop music that originated in Chicago in the early 2010s. It is sonically similar to the trap music subgenre and lyrically similar to the gangsta rap subgenre. Early drill artists are noted for their explicit, confrontational style of lyricism and association with crime in Chicago, especially the Black Disciples and Gangster Disciples. The genre progressed into the American mainstream in 2012 following the success of pioneering rappers like Chief Keef, Lil Reese, Lil Durk, Fredo Santana, G Herbo, Lil Bibby and King Louie, who had many local fans and a significant internet presence alongside producer Young Chop. Other rappers, such as Edai, L'A Capone, RondoNumbaNine, SD, FBG Duck, Lil Jojo and producer Leek-E-Leek also contributed to the early drill scene. As the audience grew, media attention and the signing of drill musicians to major labels followed. After the initial momentum of the subgenre subsided, Chicago drill saw a resurgence in the late 2010s and early 2020s with trailblazing artists such as King Von, Polo G, Calboy and a renewed Lil Durk.
Solána Imani Rowe, known professionally as SZA, is an American singer-songwriter. She first gained recognition through her self-released extended plays (EPs), See.SZA.Run (2012) and S (2013), which helped her become the first female artist to sign with Top Dawg Entertainment. Her third EP, Z (2014), was her first project to be released to digital retailers and reached the top-ten on the US Independent Albums chart.
Coke Zoo is a collaborative mixtape by American rappers French Montana and Fetty Wap. The mixtape was announced in early October and released on October 26, 2015 by Coke Boys, RGF, Maybach Music Group and 300 Entertainment. It features guest appearances from Chris Brown, Puff Daddy, Zoo Gang associates Monty and Nitt Da Gritt, and Coke Boy associates Lil Durk and Zack. Production derives from AK47, Bassivity, Eye Beat, Metro Boomin, Mike DZL, Mixx, NickEBeats, Peoples, Remo The Hitmaker, RGF Productions, The MeKanics and Yung Lan.
Belcalis Marlenis Cephus, known professionally as Cardi B, is an American rapper. She is one of the most commercially successful female rappers of her generation. Born and raised in New York City, she first gained popularity through videos shared on Vine and Instagram. From 2015 to early 2017, she appeared as a regular cast member on the VH1 reality television series Love & Hip Hop: New York, which depicted her pursuit of her music aspirations, and earned further recognition with the release of her two mixtapes: Gangsta Bitch Music, Vol. 1 (2016) and Vol. 2 (2017).
"Welcome to the Party" is the debut single by American rapper Pop Smoke from his debut mixtape Meet the Woo (2019). It was released on April 23, 2019, by Victor Victor Worldwide and Republic Records. The song was written alongside producer 808Melo. The first official remix for "Welcome to the Party" was released on August 15, 2019, with fellow New York rapper Nicki Minaj. The second official remix with British rapper Skepta was released on August 21, 2019. Both remixes were later released on the deluxe edition of Meet the Woo.
"Rules" is a song by American rapper and singer Doja Cat, released on October 24, 2019, as the third single from her second studio album Hot Pink (2019). The song was written by Doja Cat, Yeti Beats, Lydia Asrat, Uptown AP of R. City, and producers Salaam Remi, Tyson Trax, and Ben Billions. Soon after its release, the song became popular on Twitter, and Doja Cat's performance was noted to be influenced by Kendrick Lamar.
Jahvante Jahqwane Sheldon Smart, known professionally as Smoke Dawg, was a Canadian rapper, singer and songwriter from Toronto, Ontario. Smoke Dawg was a part of hip hop collective Halal Gang alongside Mustafa the Poet, Puffy L'z, Safe, and Mo-G who come together with the Prime Boys to make the supergroup Full Circle. His debut and only studio album Struggle Before Glory was released posthumously in 2018.
Brooklyn drill is a regional subgenre of drill music, which is a subgenre of rap music. It centered in Brooklyn, New York, that began as derivative of the drill music scene in Chicago and later became derivative of UK drill with its 808 percussion and sliding notes by producers from the UK drill scene. Brooklyn drill emerged around 2014 with the single "Hot Nigga" from the rapper Bobby Shmurda. Other early contributors were Rowdy Rebel, Bam Bino, Money Millz, Dah Dah and Curly Savv.
"Whoopty" is the debut single by American rapper CJ. The song was initially self-released on July 30, 2020, before being re-released by Warner Records following his signing to the label. The song reached number 10 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart in February 2021, as well as number three in the UK and the Billboard Global 200 top 10. It was produced by the Cypriot producer Pxcoyo and samples Arijit Singh's "Sanam Re" (2015). The song was officially remixed by fellow American rappers French Montana and Rowdy Rebel, titled "Whoopty NYC", and by Puerto Rican rappers Anuel AA and Ozuna, titled "Whoopty Latin Mix".
Kevin Perez, known professionally as Kay Flock, is an American rapper of Puerto Rican and Dominican descent. Hailing from the Bronx, he began his musical career in 2020, he rose to fame through a variety of singles, most notably "Shake It". He released his debut mixtape, The D.O.A. Tape, in 2021.
"Shake It" is a song by American rapper Kay Flock featuring fellow American rappers Cardi B, Dougie B, and Bory300. Released on April 15, 2022, it samples Akon's 2005 song "Belly Dancer (Bananza)". The music video was released on Kay Flock's YouTube channel, and features the rappers outside a convenience store in The Bronx, New York. It is Kay Flock's first single since releasing his debut project The D.O.A. Tape. "Shake It" became Kay Flock's highest-charting song so far on the US Billboard Hot 100, as well as Dougie B's and Bory300's first entry on the chart. It became Cardi's 40th entry on the chart. On April 24, 2023, the song was certified Gold by the RIAA
"D.M.B.", is a song by American rapper ASAP Rocky, released on May 5, 2022. It was produced by Rocky himself, Skepta, Hector Delgado, Kelvin Krash, Shlohmo and D33J. The song is an ode to Barbadian singer Rihanna.
"Munch (Feelin' U)" is a song by American rapper Ice Spice, released on August 10, 2022. A music video accompanied. The song trended on TikTok. It was later released as the lead single from the debut EP Like..?.
Isis Naija Gaston, known professionally as Ice Spice, is an American rapper. Born and raised in the Bronx in New York City, she embarked on her musical career while studying at college in 2021 after meeting producer RiotUSA.
Coke Boys 6 is a collaborative mixtape by Moroccan-American rapper French Montana and American disc jockey DJ Drama. It was released through Coke Boys Records on January 6, 2023. The mixtape contains guest appearances from Stove God Cooks, Cheeze, the late Chinx, Smooky Margielaa, ASAP Rocky, Vory, Max B, Rob49, Ayoub, Jeremih, Benny the Butcher, DThang, EST Gee, Big30, Nav, King Combs, Kodak Black, and Pheelz. The "Money Heist Edition" of the mixtape was released simultaneously alongside the release of the original version. It contains additional guest appearances from Kenzo B, Mr.Chicken, LGP Qua, Tory Lanez, Chinese Kitty, YNP Maine, CJ, T Dot, Bando Gz, Viso, and Jhettaheat. Production was handled by a variety of record producers, including Harry Fraud, Cubeatz, SprngBrk, ISM, Boi-1da, Matthew Burnett, Young Martey, Sahara, Cool & Dre, YC, Pro Logic, Frost, Rippa on the Beat, Miichkel, and Oogie Mane. The project serves as a mixtape for Gangsta Grillz, a mixtape series hosted by DJ Drama. It was originally supposed to be released on December 9, 2022, but it was delayed due to the release of Chinx's third studio album, CR6, which serves as the rapper's third posthumous project and was released exactly one week before the original release date of Coke Boys 6.
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