Caswell Senior (born October 27, 1986), known professionally as Casanova, is an American rapper from

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, New York City. In October 2016, following the local success of his debut single "Don't Run", he signed with

Memphis Bleek Malik Deshawn Cox (born June 23, 1978), known by his stage name Memphis Bleek, is an American rapper. He is best known for his affiliation with fellow New York City-based rapper Jay-Z, with Cox often described as his hype man and protégé. Cox s ...

's Warehouse Music Group and

Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American Rapping, rapper, businessman, and record executive. Rooted in East Coast hip-hop, he was named Billboard and Vibe's 50 Greatest Rappers of All Time, the ...

Roc Nation Roc Nation is an American entertainment company founded by Jay-Z in 2008. Headquartered in New York City, the company is a successor to his previous Roc-A-Fella Records label, with additional offices in Los Angeles and London. It serves as a re ...

. In 2020, he was indicted on

RICO The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act is a United States federal law that provides for extended criminal penalties and a civil cause of action for acts performed as part of an ongoing criminal organization. RICO was ...

charges alongside 17 others, due to various criminal activities that his

Bloods The Bloods are a primarily African Americans, African American street gang which was founded in Los Angeles, California. The gang is widely known for Crips–Bloods gang war, its rivalry with the Crips. It is identified by the red color worn ...

gang "Untouchable Gorilla Stone Nation" allegedly participated in, and sentenced to 15 years.

Early life

Caswell Senior was born and raised in

, New York. He is of

Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...

an and

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

nian descent. At age 18, he was imprisoned on

Rikers Island Rikers Island is a prison island in the East River in the Bronx, New York (state), New York, United States, that contains New York City's largest jail. Named after Abraham Rycken, who took possession of the island in 1664, the island was orig ...

, where he formed a close bond with his cellmate, who was later discovered to be rapper

ASAP Rocky Rakim Athelaston Mayers (born October 3, 1988), known professionally as ASAP Rocky ( ; stylized as A$AP Rocky), is an American rapper. Born and raised in Harlem, he embarked on his musical career as a member of the hip hop music, hip hop coll ...

Career

While in a studio with friends in early 2016, Casanova, without previous experience, came up with "Don't Run". The song was produced by U-Dub (of NY Bangers). Upon its release "Don't Run" received heavy radio play from DJ Self on Power 105.1 in New York City, and later also

Power 105.1 WWPR-FM (105.1 FM) is an urban contemporary music radio station licensed to New York, New York. The station is owned by iHeartMedia and broadcasts from studios located at 125 West 55th Street in Midtown Manhattan, while its transmitter is loca ...

and

Hot 97 WQHT (97.1 FM, ''Hot 97'') is a commercial radio station, licensed to New York, New York, which broadcasts an urban contemporary music format. The station is owned by Mediaco Holding, a subsidiary of the Standard General hedge fund. WQHT's st ...

there. In June 2016, Casanova released the official video for "Don't Run". Casanova was discovered by

through his label, Warehouse Music Group, which is under

's record label

. In October 2016, Casanova officially signed his deal with Warehouse/Roc Nation. In September 2016, Casanova released the single "Line Me" as well as a freestyle to

Mobb Deep Mobb Deep was an American Hip-hop, hip hop duo formed in Queens, New York (state), New York in 1990. Consisting of rappers/songwriters/record producers Prodigy (rapper), Prodigy and Havoc (musician), Havoc, they are considered to be among the pr ...

's "Quiet Storm". In 2017, Casanova released "Don't Run" Remix featuring Young M.A,

Fabolous John David Jackson (born November 18, 1977), known professionally as Fabolous, is an American rapper. Raised in Brooklyn, he first gained recognition for his ability upon performing live on DJ Clue's WQHT, Hot 97 radio show. Jackson then signed ...

Dave East David Lawrence Brewster Jr. (born June 3, 1988), known professionally as Dave East, is an American rapper. East began his career in 2010, and gained attention in 2014 for his eighth mixtape, ''Black Rose''. Its release caught the attention of fe ...

and

Don Q Don Q is a Puerto Rican rum, distilled, manufactured, bottled, and distributed by Destilería Serrallés from its corporate facility in Ponce, Puerto Rico. Don Q, "Puerto Rico's best-known rum", is the top-selling rum in Puerto Rico, where ov ...

. He continued to put out music, releasing "The Old 50", followed by his mixtape album "Be Safe Tho" featuring

Chris Brown Christopher Maurice Brown (born May 5, 1989) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actor. A Pop music, pop and hip-hop-influenced contemporary R&B, R&B musician who works in a variety of genres, he has been called the "Honorific nic ...

and LO on the song "OHB". On February 8, 2018, Casanova released "Set Trippin" which addressed his beef with fellow New York artist Tekashi69. He performed on the Party Tour with

50 Cent Curtis James Jackson III (born July 6, 1975), known professionally as 50 Cent, is an American rapper, actor, and television producer. Born in Queens, a borough of New York City, Jackson began pursuing a musical career in 1996. In 1999–2000, ...

French Montana Karim Kharbouch (Moroccan Arabic, Arabic: IPA pronunciation, æɾiːm χɑɾbuːʃ born November 9, 1984), better known by his stage name French Montana, is a Moroccan-American rapper. Born and raised in Morocco, he immigrated to New York ...

O.T. Genasis Odis Oliver Flores (born June 18, 1987), better known by his stage name O. T. Genasis, is an American rapper. Flores is best known for his 2014 single "CoCo" and its 2015 follow-up " Cut It" (featuring Young Dolph), both of which peaked within ...

and

Kap G George Ramirez (born July 31, 1994), better known by his stage name Kap G, is a Mexican-American rapper. He is best known for his 2016 single "Girlfriend (Kap G song), Girlfriend", which received RIAA certification, platinum certification by the ...

. On June 29, 2018, Casanova released his debut EP ''Commissary'' with guest appearances from

G-Eazy Gerald Earl Gillum (born May 24, 1989), better known by his stage name G-Eazy, is an American rapper. Based in Oakland, California, he began his career in 2006 and released two independent studio albums before signing with RCA Records to releas ...

Rich the Kid Dimitri Leslie Roger (born July 13, 1992), known professionally as Rich the Kid, is an American rapper. After a number of independent mixtapes, he signed with Interscope Records in 2017 to release his debut studio album, '' The World Is Yours'' ...

, Snap Dogg,

A Boogie wit da Hoodie Artist Julius Dubose (born December 6, 1995), known professionally as A Boogie wit da Hoodie or simply A Boogie, is an American rapper, and singer-songwriter. He released his debut studio album, '' The Bigger Artist'', via Atlantic Records in ...

and

Mozzy Timothy Cornell Patterson (born June 24, 1987), known professionally as Mozzy, is an American rapper and convicted felon from Sacramento, California. He signed with Yo Gotti's record label Collective Music Group (CMG), an imprint of Interscope ...

Legal issues

On December 1, 2020, prosecutors from the Southern District of New York Federal Court declared a warrant for the arrest of Casanova who they alleged was a leader within the Untouchable Gorilla Stone Nation Gang. He was among 18 alleged members of the Untouchable Gorilla Stone Nation Gang charged in connection with various racketeering, murder, narcotics, firearms and fraud offenses, officials said. The Acting U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said: "As alleged in the Indictment, members of Gorilla Stone committed terrible acts of violence, trafficked in narcotics, and even engaged in brazen fraud by exploiting benefits programs meant to provide assistance in response to the COVID-19 pandemic". The FBI apprehended 17 of the gang members, but Casanova was not detained and an arrest warrant was issued for him. On December 2, 2020, Casanova surrendered to federal authorities. On June 27, 2023, he was sentenced to 188 months (15 years, 8 months) in prison.

Tour

*'' The Party Tour'' (2017)

2x Entertainment

In 2016, Casanova started his own record label called . On October 20, 2017, 2x Entertainment's partnership with Warehouse Music Group/Roc Nation was publicly announced by Casanova and Memphis Bleek in an interview with The Breakfast Club on Power 105.1. In November 2017, Casanova signed Lamont Sincere to 2x Entertainment.

Artists

*Casanova *Jah Dwella *Brash *P Racks *Lamont Sincere *Gallardo *Louski *Klass Murda

Producers

*Lamont Sincere

Discography

Studio albums

EPs

Singles

Mixtapes

*"Be Safe Tho" (2017)

Guest appearances

* Maino (featuring

Phresher Kashaun Rameek Rutling (born May 16, 1989), known professionally as Phresher (stylized as PHresher), is an American rapper who gained recognition in 2016 for his single "Wait a Minute" featuring Remy Ma, and found continued success with his sin ...

, Casanova, and

Lola Brooke Shyniece Deneen Thomas (born February 1, 1994), professionally known as Lola Brooke, is an American Rapping, rapper. Born and raised in Brooklyn, she is best known for her 2021 single "Don't Play with It", which gained popularity on Twitter and ...

) – "Doing Well" (2017) *

Problem Problem solving is the process of achieving a goal by overcoming obstacles, a frequent part of most activities. Problems in need of solutions range from simple personal tasks (e.g. how to turn on an appliance) to complex issues in business an ...

(featuring 1TakeJay, Casanova, and Saviii 3rd) – "F*ck Me Too" (2018) *

Papoose Papoose (from the Narragansett ''papoos'', meaning "child") is an American English word whose present meaning is "a Native American child" (regardless of tribe) or, even more generally, any child, usually used as a term of endearment, often in ...

(featuring Casanova) – "Shooter" (2018) *

DJ Premier Christopher Edward Martin (born March 21, 1966), known professionally as DJ Premier (also known as Preemo), is an American record producer and DJ. He has been frequently lauded as one of hip hop's greatest producers by publications such as '' ...

(featuring Casanova) – "Wut U Said?" (2018) *

(featuring Casanova,

Uncle Murda : ''For the American football player, see Len Grant'' Leonard Carl Grant (born June 25, 1980), better known by his stage name Uncle Murda, is an American rapper from Brooklyn, New York. He signed to 50 Cent's G-Unit Records in 2016, having previ ...

6ix9ine Daniel Hernandez (born May 8, 1996), known professionally as 6ix9ine (stylized in all caps and pronounced "six nine") and also as Tekashi 6ix9ine or Tekashi69, is an American rapper. His music has been marked by an aggressive style of rapping ...

) "Get The Strap" (2018)

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Casanova 1986 births Living people East Coast hip-hop musicians Rappers from Brooklyn Bloods Gangsta rappers People from Flatbush, Brooklyn American musicians of Jamaican descent 21st-century American rappers American rappers of Jamaican descent American rappers of Panamanian descent People convicted of racketeering American people convicted of drug offenses 21st-century prisoners and detainees of the United States federal government