Sammie Marquez Benson (born April 8, 1990), known professionally as Blac Youngsta, is an American rapper from

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...

. He signed a recording contract with fellow Memphis-based rapper

Yo Gotti Mario Sentell Giden Mims (born May 19, 1981), known professionally as Yo Gotti, is an American rapper, singer, and record executive. Rooted in Memphis rap, he released five independent albums—''Youngsta's on a Come Up'' (1996), ''From da Dope ...

's record label, Collective Music Group (CMG), in 2015, which entered a joint venture with

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), cong ...

shortly after. He is best known for his 2017 singles " Hip Hopper" (featuring

Lil Yachty Miles Parks McCollum (born August 23, 1997), known professionally as Lil Yachty, is an American rapper. He first gained recognition in August 2015 for his viral hit "One Night (Lil Yachty song), One Night", the lead single from his debut extend ...

) and "

Booty Booty most commonly refers to: *Booty (loot), goods or treasure seized by force *"Booty", a slang term for the buttocks Booty may also refer to: Music * Booty music (also known as Miami bass or booty bass), a subgenre of hip hop * "Booty" (Jenn ...

"; the latter of which peaked at number 73 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Both songs received

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

certifications by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

(RIAA) and preceded the release of his debut studio album, ''223'' (2018), which peaked at number 42 on the ''Billboard'' 200. His second album, ''Church on Sunday'' (2019), peaked at number 91 and served as his final release with Epic.

Early life

Benson was born on April 8, 1990, and raised on McMillan Street, a poor area in South Memphis, Tennessee. Benson and his younger brothers were raised by their grandparents. Despite both of his grandparents having jobs, they earned very little and struggled to put food on the table. Benson's grandfather managed to get him a job at a local grocery store when he was just 7 years old. However, he was fired when the manager caught him placing fake orders to the store to take the food home for him and his brothers. After losing his job at the store, Benson began selling drugs and served numerous sentences in prison for drug and gun charges. In 2012, after serving a year in prison, Benson began hosting local block parties, making him locally popular in South Memphis. Shortly after, he began pursuing a music career, releasing his debut mixtape ''Fast Bricks'' in 2012.

Career

2012–2016: Early career and signing to CMG

Taking the stage name ''Blac Youngsta'', Benson began taking his recording career more seriously in 2012. From 2012 to 2014, he released three mixtapes as part of his ''Fast Bricks'' series. His breakout song "Heavy" was released in 2015 and gained the attention of

, who appeared on the song's remix and signed Blac Youngsta to his Collective Music Group label. Blac Youngsta's first mixtape as a member of CMG, ''I Swear To God'', was released on September 24, 2015, and featured guest appearances from Yo Gotti and

Boosie Badazz Torence Ivy Hatch Jr. (born November 14, 1982), better known by his stage name Boosie BadAzz or simply Boosie (formerly Lil' Boosie), is an American rapper. Hatch began rapping in the 1990s as a member of the Southern hip hop collective Concentr ...

. In March 2016, Blac Youngsta released a mixtape titled ''Young & Reckless'', followed by ''Fuck Everybody'', released in September 2016, with features from

Young Thug Jeffery Lamar Williams II (born August 16, 1991), known professionally as Young Thug, is an American rapper. Known for his eccentric vocal style and fashion, he is considered an influential figure in modern hip hop music, hip hop and trap music ...

Quavo Quavious Keyate Marshall (born April 2, 1991), better known by his stage name Quavo (), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as the frontman of the now-defunct hip hop group Migos. Formed with his nep ...

, Jacquees, and

YFN Lucci Rayshawn Lamar Bennett (born February 16, 1991), known professionally as YFN Lucci, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. In 2014, Bennett signed a record deal with Think It's A Game Entertainment and released his debut mixtape, ''Wish M ...

. He was featured on American rapper

Travis Scott Jacques Bermon Webster III (born April 30, 1991), known professionally as Travis Scott (formerly stylized as Travi$ Scott), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. Scott has had five number-one hits on the U.S. ''Bil ...

's 2016 song "Coordinate," which was included as the third track from Scott's album ''

Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight ''Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight'' is the second studio album by American rapper Travis Scott. It was released on September 2, 2016, through Grand Hustle Records and distributed by Epic Records. Originally promoted by the fake mixtape ''Days Be ...

'' (2016).

2017–2019: Epic Records and major label debut

In February 2017, Blac Youngsta released ''Illuminati'', his fourth mixtape as a member of CMG, with guest appearances from

Kodak Black Bill Kahan Kapri (born Dieuson Octave; June 11, 1997), known professionally as Kodak Black, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He gained initial recognition following the release of his 2014 songs " No Flockin" and " Skrt", both of ...

, and

Slim Jxmmi Aaquil Iben Shaman Brown (born December 29, 1991), known professionally as Slim Jxmmi (pronounced Slim Jimmy), is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. Slim gained mainstream recognition as one half of the Mississippi-based hip-hop duo Rae ...

. After Blac Youngsta turned himself in for his involvement in a shooting targeted towards

's longtime rival,

Young Dolph Adolph Robert Thornton Jr. (July 27, 1985 – November 17, 2021), better known by his stage name Young Dolph, was an American rapper and record executive. He first garnered mainstream attention for his guest appearance on O.T. Genasis' 2015 sin ...

, a "Free Blac Youngsta" grassroots movement was started, with fellow rapper

releasing a song of the same name on May 17, 2017. After his release, Blac Youngsta established his label imprint under CMG, Heavy Camp, and released a mixtape titled, ''I'm Innocent,'' in June 2017, with guest appearances from Slim Jxmmi and

Ty Dolla Sign Tyrone William Griffin Jr. (born April 13, 1982), known professionally as Ty Dolla Sign (stylized as Ty Dolla $ign or Ty$), is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, and record producer. Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, Griffin gai ...

. In December 2017, Blac Youngsta signed his first major label deal with

. In February 2018, Youngsta released his debut studio album, ''223,'' through Epic, with guest appearances from Lil Yachty,

, and

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 ...

. The album charted on the ''Billboard'' 200, peaking at number 42. The album also spawned the successful single "Booty", which charted on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, peaking at number 73 and was certified Gold by the

(RIAA). In August 2018, Blac Youngsta released a sequel to his 2016 mixtape, ''Fuck Everybody,'' with ''Fuck Everybody 2'', featuring a sole guest appearance from

Lil Pump Gazzy Fabio Garcia (born August 17, 2000), known professionally as Lil Pump, is an American rapper. He rose to prominence as part of the SoundCloud rap scene in the late 2010s, gaining distinction for his minimalist music and rambunctious pu ...

, which also charted on the ''Billboard'' 200, peaking at number 63. In May 2019, Blac Youngsta released his EP, ''Cut Up''. In August 2019, Blac Youngsta announced via Twitter that his second studio album would be called ''Church on Sunday.'' In October 2019, Blac Youngsta also announced an international tour of the same name, starting in November 2019. ''Church on Sunday'' was released at the end of the same month, and the project features guest appearances from major artists including

T.I. Clifford Joseph Harris Jr. (born September 25, 1980), known professionally as T.I. or Tip, is an American rapper and singer raised in Atlanta, Georgia. Harris is credited as a pioneer of the hip hop subgenre trap music, along with fellow Georgi ...

Moneybagg Yo DeMario DeWayne White Jr. (born September 22, 1991), known professionally as Moneybagg Yo, is an American rapper known for his melodic trap and Southern hip hop music style. White signed with fellow Memphis rapper Yo Gotti's record label, ...

DaBaby Jonathan Lyndale Kirk (born December 22, 1991), known professionally as DaBaby (formerly Baby Jesus), is an American rapper. After releasing several mixtapes between 2014 and 2018, he signed with Interscope Records in January 2019 in a joint ...

, Jacquees,

City Girls City Girls were an American hip hop duo consisting of Yung Miami (Caresha Romeka Brownlee; born February 11, 1994) and JT (Jatavia Shakara Johnson; born December 3, 1992), both of whom originate from Miami, Florida. The duo signed with Qualit ...

Tory Lanez Daystar Shemuel Shua Peterson (born July 27, 1992), known professionally as Tory Lanez, is a Canadian singer-songwriter and record producer. First discovered by Sean Kingston, he received initial recognition for his mixtape ''Conflicts of My S ...

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 ...

PnB Rock Rakim Hasheem Allen (December 9, 1991 – September 12, 2022), known professionally as PnB Rock, was an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. Born and raised in Philadelphia, Allen signed with Atlantic Records in 2015 and gained initial recogn ...

Wiz Khalifa Cameron Jibril Thomaz (born September 8, 1987), better known by his stage name Wiz Khalifa, is an American rapper, singer-songwriter and actor. Raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he signed with the local independent label Rostrum Records to re ...

Ty Dolla $ign Tyrone William Griffin Jr. (born April 13, 1982), known professionally as Ty Dolla Sign (stylized as Ty Dolla $ign or Ty$), is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, and record producer. Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, Griffin gai ...

, and

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 ...

2020–present: More charting singles

In January 2020, he was featured on

's song " 1 2 3," later released as a single in April 2020 and chart on the

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

chart, earning him his second charting single on that chart.

Heavy Camp

Heavy Camp is a record label imprint under Yo Gotti's Collective Music Group (CMG), founded by Blac Youngsta in 2017. Memphis native Julien Anderson was named the label's president in 2019.

Personal life

On August 18, 2023, Blac Youngsta's brother was shot and killed at a convenience store in Memphis, Tennessee.

Legal issues

On January 8, 2016, police were called to a

Wells Fargo Wells Fargo & Company is an American multinational financial services company with a significant global presence. The company operates in 35 countries and serves over 70 million customers worldwide. It is a systemically important fi ...

branch in downtown

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 ...

, after Blac Youngsta withdrew $200,000 from his bank account to purchase a car. Workers allegedly believed Blac Youngsta was robbing the bank after he was seen leaving the bank with the money. Youngsta and his associates were released at the scene. Youngsta later accused the police and staff at the bank of racial profiling, claiming he was arrested for being "young and black". On May 16, 2017, Blac Youngsta surrendered himself to police on charges related to a shooting involving fellow Memphis rapper

, in which Youngsta and his associates are alleged to have fired over 100 rounds into Young Dolph's SUV. Blac Youngsta had maintained that he was innocent before turning himself in. He was released on bond the same day, charged with six counts of discharging a weapon into an occupied dwelling or moving vehicle and felony conspiracy. In May 2019, the charges were dropped.

Discography

Studio albums

Compilation albums

Mixtapes

Extended plays

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

Notes

Awards and nominations

ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Music Awards

, - , rowspan="1" style="text-align:center;", 2019 , style="text-align:left;", "Booty" , rowspan="1" style="text-align:center;", Award Winning R&B/Hip Hop Songs , , -

Tours

Headlining

*''I Swear to God Tour'' (2015) *''Young & Reckless Tour'' (2016) *''I'm Innocent Tour'' (2017) *''Pull Up Tour'' (2018) *''Church on Sunday International Tour'' (2019)

References

External links

* * {{Authority control 1990 births Living people African-American male rappers 21st-century American male rappers 21st-century African-American male singers Epic Records artists Rappers from Memphis, Tennessee Singers from Memphis, Tennessee Southern hip-hop musicians 21st-century American singers