Chaz Gibson French (born May 1991) is an American rapper based in

Northeast, Washington, D.C. Northeast (NE or N.E.) is the northeastern quadrant of Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. It encompasses the area located north of East Capitol Street and east of North Capitol Street. Geography Northeast includes the 35 neighbor ...

Early life and career

French grew up in Northeast and

Temple Hills Temple Hills is an unincorporated area and census-designated place (CDP) in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. Temple Hills borders the communities of Hillcrest Heights, Marlow Heights, Camp Springs and Oxon Hill. Per the 202 ...

. Growing up, he was not allowed to listen to hip hop but was exposed to gospel music. He went to Eleanor Roosevelt High School in

Greenbelt, Maryland Greenbelt is a city in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States, and a suburb of Washington, D.C. At the 2020 census, the population was 24,921. Greenbelt is the first and the largest of the three experimental and controversial New De ...

before transferring to

Champaign Champaign ( ) is a city in Champaign County, Illinois, United States. The population was 88,302 at the 2020 census. It is the tenth-most populous municipality in Illinois and the fourth most populous city in Illinois outside the Chicago metropo ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Roc ...

and Arlington in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. During French's childhood, his father went to prison. He eventually dropped out of high school despite completing a

GED The General Educational Development (GED) tests are a group of four subject tests which, when passed, provide certification that the test taker has United States or Canadian high school-level academic skills. It is an alternative to the US high ...

program. French lived in various places in Texas before becoming homeless for a short period. A mutual associate of French and rapper Phil Adé played the former's music for the latter, who was impressed and introduced him to co-founder of the label 368 Music Group, Andre “Dre the Mayor” Hopson. French then signed to the label within two weeks. Being the father of a son and a daughter, French wrote an open letter to fathers on

Father's Day Father's Day is a holiday of honoring fatherhood and paternal bonds, as well as the influence of fathers in society. In Catholic countries of Europe, it has been celebrated on 19 March as Saint Joseph's Day since the Middle Ages. In the United ...

. His debut mixtape ''Happy Belated'', featuring collaborations with artists such as GoldLink and Wale, was released in October 2014. His debut studio album ''True Colors'', featuring seventeen tracks and collaborators such as Casey Veggies, Phil Ade, Shy Glizzy and BJ The Chicago Kid, was released alongside his debut single "Way Out" on July 14, 2017, via

Capitol A capitol, named after the Capitoline Hill in Rome, is usually a legislative building where a legislature meets and makes laws for its respective political entity. Specific capitols include: * United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. * Numerou ...

and

Motown Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''mot ...

. He was also signed to the labels. In a statement, he said "I’m happy for my label ThreeSixEight and I love my new Motown family." French told Respect "This album means everything to me from start to finish. I put my heart and soul into every song."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:French, Chaz American rappers Rappers from Washington, D.C. Living people Motown artists Capitol Records artists 21st-century American rappers 1991 births