Justin Harrell (born December 29, 1984), better known by his stage name 38 Spesh, is an American rapper and producer.

Biography

Early life and career beginnings

38 Spesh was born on December 29, 1984, in Rochester, New York, and began rapping in the early 2000s. He got his stage name from the .38 Special. He began making appearances on

Sirius XM Sirius XM Holdings Inc. is an American broadcasting corporation headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, that provides satellite radio and online radio services operating in the United States. The company was formed by the 2008 merge ...

show Invasion Radio hosted by fellow Rochester native DJ Green Lantern in 2008 and was featured in ''XXL'' for his music in 2009. Shortly after his initial breakthrough, 38 Spesh spent two years incarcerated and was paroled to

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, where he began to pursue a full-time career in music. Following his release, Spesh began releasing several notable mixtapes and albums with other artists affiliated with his Trust Comes First Music group. Spesh's musical style is highlighted by one of the most unique rapping voices in the game and his strong punchlines. Notable rappers who have worked with 38 Spesh include:

Styles P David R. Styles (born November 28, 1974), better known by his stage name Styles P (also known Mononymous person, mononymously as Styles), is an American rapper, best known as a member of East Coast hip hop group the Lox. Formed with fellow rappe ...

Jadakiss Jason Terrance Phillips (born May 27, 1975), better known by his stage name Jadakiss (, ), is an American rapper who began his career in the 1990s and formed the hip hop trio the Lox alongside Styles P and Sheek Louch in 1994. The group signed w ...

Fred the Godson Frederick Thomas (February 22, 1985 – April 23, 2020), known as Fred the Godson, was an American DJ and rapper. He was the first high-profile hip hop personality to have died from COVID-19 in April 2020; the early stages of the pandemic. Earl ...

, AZ,

Noreaga Victor James Santiago Jr. (born September 6, 1977), better known by his stage names N.O.R.E. (an acronym for Nigga On the Run Eating) and Noreaga, is an American rapper, singer and podcaster. Santiago first rose to prominence as one half of th ...

DJ Green Lantern James Christopher D'Agostino (born July 7, 1975), professionally known as DJ Green Lantern, is an American hip hop DJ and producer from Rochester, New York. In 2002, D'Agostino was signed by American rapper Eminem, to become the official DJ for ...

Benny the Butcher Jeremie Damon Pennick (born November 27, 1984), known professionally as Benny the Butcher, or simply Benny, is an American rapper and songwriter. He came to prominence in 2018 following the release of his debut album, '' Tana Talk 3''. Along w ...

Conway the Machine Demond Price (born February 16, 1982), known professionally as Conway the Machine, or simply Conway, is an American rapper and co-founder of the hip hop label Griselda Records, alongside his paternal half-brother Westside Gunn. Acclaimed for h ...

, and

Kool G Rap Nathaniel Thomas Wilson (born July 20, 1968), better known by his stage name Kool G Rap (or simply G Rap), is an American rapper. He began his career in the mid-1980s as one half of the group Kool G Rap & DJ Polo and as a member of the Juice Cr ...

. He has worked with several high-profile hip hop record producers among the likes of

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 '' ...

Pete Rock Peter O. Phillips (born June 21, 1970), better known by his stage name Pete Rock, is an American record producer, DJ and rapping, rapper. He is widely recognized as one of the greatest hip hop producers of all time, and is often mentioned along ...

and

The Alchemist An alchemist is a person who practices alchemy. Alchemist or Alchemyst may also refer to: Books and stories * ''The Alchemist'' (novel), the translated title of a 1988 allegorical novel by Paulo Coelho * ''The Alchemist'' (play), a play by Ben ...

Discography

Solo projects *2007: ''Out on Bail'' *2009: ''In Custody'' *2012: ''Time Served'' *2014: ''The Art of Production'' *2015: ''The Trust Tape'' *2015: ''The Trust Tape 2'' *2016: ''The 38 Laws of Powder'' *2019: ''5 Shots'' *2019: ''The 38 Strategies of Raw'' *2019: ''The Trust Tape 3'' *2019: ''A Bullet For Every Heathen'' *2019: ''1994'' *2020: ''Speshal Blends'' *2020: ''6 Shots'' *2020: ''1995'' *2020: ''Interstate 38'' *2023: ''Gunsmoke'' *2024: ''Mother & Gun'' Collaboration projects *2015: ''Cocaine Cowboys'' (with

) *2018: ''Stabbed & Shot'' (with Benny the Butcher) *2018: ''In the Mob We Trust'' (with Joe Blow) *2018: '' Son of G Rap'' (with

) *2019: ''Loyalty and Trust'' (with Flee Lord) *2019: ''Army of Trust'' (with Trust Army) *2020: ''Juno'' (with Che Noir) *2020: ''Martyr's Prayer'' (with Elcamino) *2020: Trust the Chain (with

Planet Asia Jason Green (born October 24, 1976), better known as Planet Asia, is an American rapper from Fresno, California. He is prominent for being one half of the now reunited Hip Hop duo the Cali Agents and is currently a member of the groups Gold Cha ...

) *2020: ''1000 Words'' (with 1000 Words) *2020: ''Army of Trust II'' (with Trust Army) *2020: ''Ways and Means'' (with Rasheed Chappell) *2020: ''Loyalty and Trust 2'' (with Flee Lord) *2021: ''Trust the Sopranos'' (with Benny the Butcher) *2023: ''Speshal Machinery'' (with

) *2024: ''Stabbed & Shot 2'' (with Benny the Butcher)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:38 Spesh African-American male rappers 21st-century American male rappers Musicians from Rochester, New York Rappers from New York (state) 21st-century American rappers 21st-century American male musicians East Coast hip-hop musicians Living people 1985 births