Playboi Carti

Best known for his playful melodies, Playboi Carti charted a slow but steady track to popularity in the rap scene. He was born Jordan Carter on Sept. 13, 1996, in Atlanta and grew up in what became his hometown of Riverdale, Ga. In high school, he balanced his time between making music, attending classes and being a retail worker. He left Georgia to carve out his path in the music industry. In 2012 he took the name Playboi Carti and began releasing music through the label Awful Records. He took part in multiple collaborations as he hopped from New York to Texas to Los Angeles, working alongside rappers Da$h, A$AP Mob and Maxo Kream. He became known for his fun, melodic intonation that emphasized emotion and atmosphere over lyrical meaning. Carti originally released most of his songs on the digital platform SoundCloud. It wasn't until 2017 that he released his first mixtape, but with the help of popular singles "Woke Up Like This" and "Magnolia," the self-titled release shot up the Billboard 200 to 12th place and attracted industry attention. Carti cited rapper-songwriter A$AP Rocky as one of his greatest inspirations after having met him at SXSW in 2015. Outside of the recording studio, Carti enjoyed a side career as a fashion model. Despite the glamour of his new position, Carti maintained a humble attitude, recalling his upbringing in Georgia and publicly recognizing the artists like Rocky who helped him achieve stardom in the rap industry. He continued to evolve his sound with the release of his stylishly bouncy debut album, "Die Lit," in 2018.