George Albert Stone III (born May 11, 1994), known professionally as EST Gee, is an American rapper. He is signed to
Yo Gotti
Mario Sentell Giden Mims (born May 19, 1981), known professionally as Yo Gotti, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record executive. In 1996, Gotti released his debut album ''Youngsta's On a Come Up'' under the alias Lil Yo. He went on to re ...
's
Collective Music Group
Collective Music Group (also known as CMG the Label, formerly known as Cocaine Muzik Group), is a record label founded by Yo Gotti. The label's current president is Yo Gotti's cousin, Brandon Mims. The label houses artists Blac Youngsta, BlocBoy ...
(CMG),
Interscope Records
Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture with Atlantic Records of Warner Mu ...
and Warlike.
His fifth mixtape, ''Bigger Than Life or Death'', released on July 21, 2021, and peaked at number 7 on the
''Billboard'' 200. It spawned the
''Billboard'' Hot 100-charting songs "
Lick Back
"Lick Back" is a song by American rapper EST Gee, released on April 16, 2021 as his debut solo single and the lead single from his fifth mixtape ''Bigger Than Life or Death'' (2021). It was produced by ForeveRolling and Juke Wong. An official remi ...
" and "
5500 Degrees
"5500 Degrees" is a song by American rapper EST Gee from his fifth mixtape ''Bigger Than Life or Death'' (2021). The song features American rappers Lil Baby, 42 Dugg and Rylo Rodriguez. It was produced by Enrgy Beats.
Composition
The song sees t ...
". A deluxe edition of the mixtape was released on December 3, 2021.
Early life
George Albert Stone III was born on May 11, 1994, in
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana borde ...
to George and Sheila Stone. He grew up in the now demolished Clarksdale Projects before moving to Tubman Court & Ellington Avenue in the southeastern region of the city. After graduating
St. Xavier High School in 2012, Stone received a football scholarship to
Indiana State University
Indiana State University (ISU) is a public university in Terre Haute, Indiana. It was founded in 1865 and offers over 100 undergraduate majors and more than 75 graduate and professional programs. Indiana State is classified among "D/PU: Doctor ...
and majored in communications. He spent two years there before transferring to Sac City College after just a year he transferred again to
Stephen F. Austin University. Stone dropped out of college in 2016. He was arrested for drug trafficking in the same year and was sentenced to four months of house arrest.
During 2017, he was briefly on the
CFL team the
Winnipeg Blue Bombers
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division (CFL), West division. They play their h ...
.
Career
During his house arrest, Stone became motivated to pursue a rap career after watching rapper and future collaborator
Lil Baby
Dominique Armani Jones (born December 3, 1994), known professionally as Lil Baby, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He rose to mainstream fame in 2017 following the release of his mixtape ''Perfect Timing''. *Alt URL* * His deb ...
perform on TV. He initially adopted the name "Big Gee" before switching to "EST Gee", in which EST is an
initialism
An acronym is a word or name formed from the initial components of a longer name or phrase. Acronyms are usually formed from the initial letters of words, as in ''NATO'' (''North Atlantic Treaty Organization''), but sometimes use syllables, as ...
for "Everybody Shines Together". He released his debut song "Stains" as "Big Gee" on
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second most ...
on December 17, 2017. He continued to release consistently through YouTube, gaining himself a local fanbase. He released his first and second mixtapes ''El Toro'' and ''Die Bloody'' in June and August 2019, respectively.
EST Gee gained mainstream attention with his third mixtape ''Ion Feel Nun'' on March 6, 2020, following it up with his fourth mixtape ''I Still Don't Feel Nun'' on December 18, 2020. In January 2021, EST Gee signed a deal with
Yo Gotti
Mario Sentell Giden Mims (born May 19, 1981), known professionally as Yo Gotti, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record executive. In 1996, Gotti released his debut album ''Youngsta's On a Come Up'' under the alias Lil Yo. He went on to re ...
's
Collective Music Group
Collective Music Group (also known as CMG the Label, formerly known as Cocaine Muzik Group), is a record label founded by Yo Gotti. The label's current president is Yo Gotti's cousin, Brandon Mims. The label houses artists Blac Youngsta, BlocBoy ...
(CMG),
Interscope Records
Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture with Atlantic Records of Warner Mu ...
and Warlike. He featured on Lil Baby's single "
Real as It Gets", which became his first
''Billboard'' Hot 100 song, peaking at number 34. His fifth mixtape ''Bigger Than Life or Death'' was released on July 21, 2021. It features guest appearances from
Future
The future is the time after the past and present. Its arrival is considered inevitable due to the existence of time and the laws of physics. Due to the apparent nature of reality and the unavoidability of the future, everything that currentl ...
,
Young Thug
Jeffery Lamar Williams (born August 16, 1991), known professionally as Young Thug, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He is considered to be an influential figure of his generation, with his music impacting the modern sound of hip ...
,
Pooh Shiesty,
Lil Durk
Durk Derrick Banks (born October 19, 1992), known professionally as Lil Durk, is an American rapper and singer. He is the lead member and founder of the collective and record label Only the Family (OTF). Durk garnered a cult following with the ...
, and more. He explained the meaning of the project to
Audiomack: "It's just telling you what's going on. And what I got going on right now is bigger than life or death. Can't nothing affect me or stop me. Even if I die, that ain't gonna do nothing but make me bigger. I'm not dying until I make a hundred million, make that two hundred million".
The mixtape debuted at number 7 on the
''Billboard'' 200 with roughly 30,000 units.
It was followed by the release of a deluxe edition, ''Bigger Than Life or Death, Pt. 2'', on December 3, 2021, containing no features.
Personal life
EST Gee's mother died in March 2020 due to leukemia and his brother died a week later in a shooting in Louisville.
EST Gee was shot five times in September 2019 following a music video shoot, getting hit in the stomach four times and once on his left eye.
His brother was hit in the leg. They were transported to a hospital and Gee was discharged after two weeks. Following surgery, Gee has retained most vision in his eye.
Discography
Studio albums
Compilation albums
Mixtapes
Singles
As lead artist
As featured artist
Other charted songs
Notes
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gee, EST
Living people
1994 births
Interscope Records artists
21st-century American male musicians
21st-century American rappers
Rappers from Kentucky
Musicians from Louisville, Kentucky
African-American male rappers
Trap musicians
21st-century African-American musicians