Swae Lee, an American rapper and singer-songwriter, first rose to prominence as one half of the Southern sibling hip-hop duo Rae Sremmurd. During the height of that act’s commercial peak with the 2016 chart-topping single “Black Beatles,” he stepped out on his own by delivering his de facto solo debut Swaecation as one disc within the group’s third project, the 2018 triple set SR3MM. He continued to register on the charts through an array of featured appearances, among them French Montana’s “Unforgettable,” Travis Scott’s “Sicko Mode,” Post Malone’s Grammy-nominated “Sunflower,” the Ellie Goulding and Diplo collaboration “Close to Me,” and Alicia Keys’ “LALA [Unlocked].”
Born Khalif Malik Ibn Shaman Brown in Whittier, California, he moved with his family to Tupelo, Mississippi while still very young, alongside his brother Slim Jxmmi (Aaquil Iben Shamon Brown). The siblings grew up inside the Ida Street housing projects, an area known for elevated crime rates. After their parents separated not long after the relocation, the pair at times took shelter in abandoned local houses. Music became a refuge, and they looked up to fellow Mississippian rapper David Banner. Their entry into recording began with the formation of Dem Outta St8 Boyz alongside Jemiah Middlebrooks; later striking out alone, the brothers scored regional traction with the single “Party Animal.” In 2013 they signed to EarDrummers Entertainment and adopted the name Rae Sremmurd—an inversion of the label name—before releasing the studio albums SremmLife (2015) and SremmLife 2 (2016), the latter anchored by the multi-platinum Hot 100 leader “Black Beatles” featuring Gucci Mane.
Lee’s first solo credit arrived on Mike WiLL Made-It’s “Drinks on Us,” followed by spots on Wiz Khalifa’s “Burn Slow” and French Montana’s “Unforgettable,” the last of which reached the top three of the Billboard 200, topped both the R&B/hip-hop and rap charts, and earned multi-platinum status worldwide. Early 2018 brought an appearance alongside R&B singer Khalid on the Black Panther soundtrack; months later he issued “Hurt to Look,” the lead single from his own debut effort. That project surfaced as part of SR3MM, which bundled one Rae Sremmurd disc with the solo sets Swaecation and Jxmmi’s Jxmtro, ultimately debuting at number six on the Billboard 200. Additional 2018 collaborations included Camila Cabello’s “Real Friends,” Ellie Goulding’s “Close to Me,” and Travis Scott’s “Sicko Mode,” yet it was the Post Malone duet “Sunflower,” drawn from the Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse soundtrack, that kept Lee in the mainstream spotlight through much of 2019. The track topped the Hot 100 and logged one of the longest Top Ten runs in chart history, receiving Grammy nominations for Record of the Year and Best Pop/Duo Performance. That same year he joined Madonna on “Crave” from her album Madame X.
He resumed issuing his own material with the 2020 singles “Someone Said” and “Reality Check.” In 2021 he linked with Skrillex and Siiickbrain for “Too Bizarre” and with Pink Sweat$ for “Forever Never,” while also working with Alicia Keys and Jhene Aiko.
