LiL Bibby

Emerging as a teenager with a resonant vocal tone that concealed his age, Chicago rapper Lil Bibby began his career under the name Brandon Dickinson. He drew from an upbringing shaped by violence and drug addiction, directing that intensity into weighty lyricism. Referencing fellow Chicagoan Kanye West's track "Crack Music," his debut mixtape Free Crack arrived in 2013. Vibe magazine highlighted him as an artist worth following, after which Free Crack II appeared the next year and Free Crack III in 2015. Those projects secured a contract with Kemosabe Records, an RCA imprint, which issued his debut studio album FC3: The Epilogue in late 2015. During this period he contributed guest verses to recordings by Lil Herb, Yo Gotti, and Juicy J; the latter's "Low," also featuring Nicki Minaj and Young Thug, reached the Billboard R&B/hip-hop chart. Building momentum, Bibby's summer 2016 single "You Ain't Gang" quickly accumulated millions of streams.