Lakeyah

Lakeyah secured a recording agreement with Quality Control Music on the strength of her commanding delivery and assured rhymes, an imprint known for launching the careers of Rich the Kid, Lil Baby, and City Girls. Her attention-grabbing reinterpretation of City Girls’ “JT First Day Out” first drew the label’s notice. The Atlanta-based rapper and singer has since issued the charged mixtapes Time’s Up (2020) and In Due Time (2021) along with the EP No Pressure, Pt. 1 (2022).

Born Lakeyah Danaee Robinson, she began performing vocals in childhood and took up rapping during her early teenage years. While attending high school in her hometown of Milwaukee, she formed half of the duo BTM, which drew online attention through the YouTube release “It’s a Fucked Up Love Story.” Following the group’s dissolution, she promptly put out her debut solo effort, The Keymix. Upon completing high school she relocated to Atlanta, where a 2019 variation on City Girls’ single “JT First Day Out” led to her signing with the city’s Quality Control Music.

Quality Control arranged broader release of The Keymix II before the close of 2020 and also put out Time’s Up, which included guest appearances from 42 Dugg, Inayah, and City Girls; their collaboration “Female Goat” quickly surpassed one million streams. In Due Time arrived in April 2021 and featured Gucci Mane on the track “Poppin.” September brought the DJ Drama-hosted project My Time (Gangsta Grillz: Special Edition), which carried contributions from Tee Grizzley, Tyga, and Moneybagg Yo. The EP No Pressure, Pt. 1 followed in 2022, with Latto appearing on the single “Mind Yo Business.”