Richard Welton Morales Jr. (born July 18, 1979), better known by his stage name Gunplay, is an American rapper known for his association with fellow rapper

Rick Ross William Leonard Roberts II (born January 28, 1976), known professionally as Rick Ross, is an American rapper. An influential figure in modern Hip-hop, hip hop music, Rick Ross has become known for his "Wiktionary:booming, booming" vocal perfor ...

, with whom he formed the hip hop group

Triple C's Triple C's, also known as Carol City Cartel, is an American hip hop group founded by Rick Ross in 2005. The group takes its name from the Carol City neighborhood of Miami Gardens, and consists of Gunplay from Miami, Torch from The Bronx, and Yo ...

in 2005, along with rappers

Torch A torch is a stick with combustible material at one end which can be used as a light source or to set something on fire. Torches have been used throughout history and are still used in processions, symbolic and religious events, and in juggl ...

and Young Breed. Following their debut album, '' Custom Cars & Cycles'' (2009), Morales signed a solo recording contract with Ross'

Maybach Music Group Maybach Music Group (; abbreviated MMG) is a record label founded by American rapper Rick Ross in 2008. An imprint of gamma. since 2023, the label was previously an imprint of Def Jam Recordings (2009–2011), Warner Records (2011–2012) and ...

, which entered a joint venture with

Def Jam Recordings Def Jam Recordings (also simply known as Def Jam) is an American multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It is based in Manhattan, New York City, specializing predominantly in hip hop, contemporary R&B, soul and pop. The l ...

in July 2012. His debut studio album, '' Living Legend'' (2015), narrowly entered the ''Billboard'' 200 and served as his only release on a major label.

Early life

Born Richard Morales Jr. to a Puerto Rican father and Jamaican mother on July 18, 1979, Morales spent some of his early childhood in

Opa-locka Opa-locka () is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. Spanning roughly , it is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 16,463, up from 15,219 in 2010. Opa-locka was founded ...

. By age 10, Morales' parents divorced and the family split. His father returned to

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

. Morales, his mother and younger brother later settled in

Carol City Carol City is a neighborhood in Miami Gardens, Florida, United States. It was formerly listed as a census-designated place in the 2000 U.S. Census. History Julius Gaines, the developer, had originally planned to name it Coral City. However, un ...

located in

Miami-Dade County Miami-Dade County () is a county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Florida. The county had a population of 2,701,767 as of the 2020 census, making it the most populous county in Florida and the seventh-most-populous coun ...

.Meet The Hard Rock 12: Gunplay « The Hard Rock 12
Hiphopweekly.com. Retrieved on 2012-10-26. At the age of 15, Morales dropped out of high school after being told he would have to repeat

ninth grade Ninth grade (also 9th grade or grade 9) is the ninth or tenth Educational stage, year of Formal education, formal or compulsory education in some countries. It is generally part of middle school or secondary school depending on country. Students i ...

. After leaving school, Morales started using and selling

cocaine Cocaine is a tropane alkaloid and central nervous system stimulant, derived primarily from the leaves of two South American coca plants, ''Erythroxylum coca'' and ''Erythroxylum novogranatense, E. novogranatense'', which are cultivated a ...

at the age of 16 saying he used to spend $600–700 a week on drugs and thousands after his record deal.

Music career

1997–2009: Career beginnings with Triple C's

In 1997 he met with Miami-Dade County native Rick Ross and their passion for music led them to form the group

(Carol City Cartel) alongside rappers Torch and Young Breed. The group released their debut album '' Custom Cars & Cycles'' in 2009, which debuted at #44 on the U.S. Billboard 200.

2009–2014: Solo career

Gunplay made his solo debut by appearing on Rick Ross' track "Gunplay" on his album ''

Deeper Than Rap ''Deeper Than Rap'' is the third album by American rapper Rick Ross. It was released on April 21, 2009, by Maybach Music Group, Slip-n-Slide Records and Def Jam Recordings. Recording sessions for the album took place during 2008 to 2009, with add ...

'' (2009). He released mixtapes under

while appearing on featured tracks and making appearances on collaborative albums. In July 2012, he signed a solo deal with

Def Jam Def Jam Recordings (also simply known as Def Jam) is an American multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It is based in Manhattan, New York City, specializing predominantly in hip hop, contemporary R&B, soul and pop. The ...

. He released his first mixtape, ''601 & Snort'', in September 2012. It was praised by critics and was named the tenth best album of 2012 by ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles * Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...

'' magazine. One of his featured guest appearance songs, " Cartoon & Cereal" with

Kendrick Lamar Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer. Regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time, he was awarded the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Music, becoming the first music ...

, was ranked in ''

Complex Complex commonly refers to: * Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe ** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...

s Best 50 Songs of 2012 list at #2. Gunplay's mixtape ''Cops & Robbers'' was released on January 18, 2013. Gunplay was featured on Dirty Diana's ''R.I.P. To The Competition'' in June 2013. He was also featured on Lil Wayne's 2013 album ''

I Am Not a Human Being II ''I Am Not a Human Being II'' is the tenth studio album by American Rapping, rapper Lil Wayne. It was released on March 26, 2013, by Young Money Entertainment, Cash Money Records and Republic Records. Recording sessions took place during 2006 to ...

'' on the song "Beat The Shit".

2015–present: ''Cry baby''

Gunplay's debut album, '' Living Legend'', was released on July 31, 2015. It had first been announced in 2012, initially with the title ''Bogota'', then the title ''Medellin''. Gunplay described the album as "raw" and a "real street album" by Gunplay. The album includes guest appearances by Rick Ross,

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 ...

, YG, and

Currensy Shante Scott Franklin (born April 4, 1981), better known by his stage name Currensy (stylized as Curren$y), is an American rapper. Born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana, he signed with the local record labels Cash Money Records and Young Mo ...

, among others; it was meant to include other collaborations, including a track with

Big Sean Sean Michael Leonard Anderson (born March 25, 1988), known professionally as Big Sean, is an American rapper. He met Kanye West as a teenager, and signed with his record label GOOD Music, an imprint of Def Jam Recordings in 2007. He gained popul ...

and another produced by

Pharrell Williams Pharrell Lanscilo Williams (; born April 5, 1973), also known mononymously as Pharrell, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, rapper, record producer, and fashion designer. He first became known as one half of the music production duo ...

titled "Steel Drums", but these did not materialize. Four singles were released from ''Living Legend'': "Tell 'Em", "Wuzhanindoe", "Be Like Me" and "Blood on the Dope". In 2019, Gunplay released the full-length collaborative album, ''Chop Stixx and Banana Clips'' with

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 ...

. Writing about the project for Freemusicempire, Dan-O praised the project: "Gunplay and Mozzy paint pictures so you can see the crook's whole journey, not just the sentence".

Personal life

Gunplay has a son with his ex-wife, from whom he divorced in 2008. His wife, Von'Shae Taylor-Morales, gave birth to his second child and first daughter, although Gunplay lost custody of her in October 2023. The month prior, he was arrested and charged with

aggravated battery Battery is a criminal offense involving unlawful physical contact, distinct from assault, which is the act of creating reasonable fear or apprehension of such contact. Battery is a specific common law offense, although the term is used more gen ...

with a deadly weapon,

child abuse Child abuse (also called child endangerment or child maltreatment) is physical abuse, physical, child sexual abuse, sexual, emotional and/or psychological abuse, psychological maltreatment or Child neglect, neglect of a child, especially by a p ...

, and domestic abuse. Von'Shae stated this was due to Gunplay's severe drug abuse, and has since filed a

restraining order A restraining order or protective order is an order used by a court to protect a person in a situation often involving alleged domestic violence, child abuse and neglect, assault, harassment, stalking, or sexual assault. Restraining and perso ...

against the rapper. Gunplay practices Santeria, stating that he felt a "deeper connection" with God when he began practicing it.

Legal issues

TMZ ''TMZ'' is an American entertainment-focused tabloid news organization owned by Fox Corporation. It made its debut on November 8, 2005, as a collaboration between AOL and Telepictures, a division of Warner Bros., until Time Warner divested ...

reported that on October 10, 2012, Gunplay turned himself in to Miami authorities after a warrant was issued for his arrest on charges of armed robbery. According to his attorney, Gunplay could have faced life in prison if convicted on both counts. On October 22, 2012, he was given a $150,000 bond and placed on house arrest in connection to the robbery which took place at a Miami tax business. He was released from house arrest in January 2013. On February 25, 2013, Gunplay's trial began on the charges of armed robbery, assault with a deadly weapon and aggravated assault, stemming from when he allegedly pulled a gun on his accountant in April 2012. On the same day, the case was dismissed because the victim, Turron Woodside, refused to further cooperate with authorities. Woodside refused to authenticate the footage of the incident and was "out of town" according to his family. Subsequently, the prosecution in the armed robbery case was forced to drop the charges against Gunplay.

Controversies

Gunplay has a

swastika The swastika (卐 or 卍, ) is a symbol used in various Eurasian religions and cultures, as well as a few Indigenous peoples of Africa, African and Indigenous peoples of the Americas, American cultures. In the Western world, it is widely rec ...

tattoo and has given differing explanations for it. In a 2012 interview with ''

Pigeons & Planes Complex Networks is an American media and entertainment company for youth culture, based in New York City. It was founded as a bi-monthly magazine, ''Complex'', by fashion designer Marc Eckō. Complex Networks reports on popular and emerging tr ...

'', Gunplay said he deliberately uses the tattoo to conflate Nazi atrocities with his intentions to deal with "bullshit out here." He continued: "I came to Nazi that shit. I came to Hitler that motherfucker. Put all the fake motherfuckers in the gas chamber and gas your fuck ass. That's what I'm here to do." Several months later, in a 2013 interview with ''

'', he said: "Swastika was originally a sign of peace, happiness, and love. The Nazis turned it into the symbol of death. That's the same way I feel society does to people. We start off as innocent babies and it turns us into monsters. If the shoe fits, wear it." At the 2012

BET Hip Hop Awards The BET Hip Hop Awards are an annual awards show, airing on BET, showcasing hip hop performers, producers and music video directors. The awards ceremony began in 2006; it was held on November 12, 2006 at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta and was first ...

, Gunplay was involved in a fist fight with members of

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, ...

G-Unit G-Unit (short for Guerilla-Unit). was an American hip hop group formed by longtime friends and East Coast rappers 50 Cent, Tony Yayo, and Lloyd Banks. After amassing a string of self-released mixtapes in the early 2000s, the group released ...

affiliates backstage.

Discography

Studio albums * '' Living Legend'' (2015) * ''The Plug'' (2017) * ''Haram'' (2017) * ''ACTIVE'' (2018) * ''All Bullshit Aside'' (2022) Collaborative albums * '' Custom Cars & Cycles'' (with

) (2009)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gunplay 1979 births American musicians of Puerto Rican descent American rappers of Jamaican descent American Santeríans Gangsta rappers Def Jam Recordings artists African-American male rappers 20th-century American male rappers 21st-century American male rappers Southern hip-hop musicians Rappers from Miami People from Carol City, Florida Living people 21st-century American rappers 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century African-American musicians 20th-century African-American musicians