Emerging from Richmond’s trap scene in the late 2010s, Virginia rapper Traptize Ky stepped forward as a solo act after his stint in the duo Ward Boyz.
Raised in the Jackson Ward district, he relocated to North Carolina at age six, only to return to Richmond a year later because of a family dispute. His uncle sparked his interest in rapping, an outlet that proved especially useful amid the challenges of his school years. By 2017 he had partnered with Rio to create Ward Boyz, and the pair began posting videos of their trap material online. He adopted the name Traptize Ky to merge the words “trap” and “baptize” while also referencing his given name, Ky.
Under that name he released his debut solo EP, A Different Me, on the Rich & Reckless imprint in 2018. That November, Back I Go followed, mixed by the sought-after Richmond engineer Kada, who also handled his “Ky Hefner” single the subsequent summer. Early 2020 yielded collaborations with producer Gringo on singles including “42XBELLY” and “Stamped,” after which a revamped edition of the Back I Go mixtape lifted his profile in May 2020.
