Lakeyah Danaee Robinson (born February 28, 2001), known mononymously as Lakeyah, is an American rapper, singer, and television personality. Born and raised in

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

, she began rapping at the age of 15. At 18, she moved to

Atlanta 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 ...

and was signed to

Quality Control Music Quality Control Music, LLC (also known as Quality Control or QC) is an American hip hop record label founded by Kevin "Coach K" Lee ( COO) and Pierre "P" Thomas (CEO) in March 2013. The label's releases were distributed through Universal Music Gr ...

. In 2021, she was announced as part of the ''XXL'' magazine freshman class, the first from Milwaukee.

Early life

Lakeyah Danaee Robinson was born on February 28, 2001, in Milwaukee, where she was also raised. In high school, she began on the slam poetry team before she was convinced by friends at the age of 15 to rap for the #SoGoneChallenge where people submit performances of rap verses to the instrumental of the song " So Gone" by Monica. In 2017, she joined the music duo "BTM" (Beyond the Music) and they achieved over one million

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

views. In 2019, she went on a birthday trip for her 18th birthday 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 ...

and visited rapper

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 ...

's Trap Museum and its exhibit on Quality Control Music. Inspired to move to Atlanta, she enrolled at the Art Institute of Atlanta for college but dropped out after two months.

Career

Lakeyah stayed in Atlanta after dropping out of college and went viral for the #FirstDayOutChallenge, a rap challenge celebrating rapper JT from the female rap group

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 ...

being released from prison. After that challenge and going viral from a freestyle over the song "We Paid" by

42 Dugg Dion Marquise Hayes (born November 25, 1994), known professionally as 42 Dugg, is an American rapper and songwriter from Detroit, Michigan. He signed with Yo Gotti and Lil Baby's respective labels, Collective Music Group (CMG) and Glass Windo ...

and

Lil Baby Dominique Armani Jones (born December 3, 1994), known professionally as Lil Baby, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He rose to prominence following the release of his 2017 mixtapes ''Harder than Hard'' and ''Too Hard'' — the for ...

, she was signed to

. On October 9, 2020, Lakeyah released her first single, "Big FlexHER", featuring

. It amassed over 400,000 views in five days and currently has over six million views. On December 11, 2020, Lakeyah released her debut album, ''Time's Up''. It included the singles "Female Goat" featuring

and "Worst Thing". "Female Goat" is Lakeyah's most popular track on

, with over 25 million views. In the spring of 2021, Lakeyah was named a brand ambassador for

Rihanna Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, businesswoman, and actress. One of the List of music artists by net worth, wealthiest musicians in the world, List of awards and nominations received by Rihanna, her vario ...

's lingerie line,

Savage X Fenty Savage X Fenty is a lingerie brand founded by Barbadian singer Rihanna. Along with lingerie, the line features bras, underwear, sleepwear, and loungewear. The brand features an optional membership program called Xtra VIP. History Savage X ...

. On April 9, 2021, Lakeyah released her second project, ''In Due Time''. The album included features from

Gucci Mane Radric Delantic Davis (born February 12, 1980), known professionally as Gucci Mane, is an American rapper. He is credited, along with fellow Atlanta-based rappers T.I. and Jeezy, with pioneering the hip hop subgenre trap music for mainstream a ...

and

Yung Bleu Jeremy Biddle (born April 4, 1994), known professionally as Yung Bleu or Bleu, is an American rapper and singer. He is best known for his 2020 single " You're Mines Still", which peaked at number 18 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 after it was remi ...

. After the album's release, Lakeyah was 4th on ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

''s Breakthrough 25 charts, which ranks the fastest rising new artists, behind Cico P. On June 16, 2021, ''XXL'' magazine named Lakeyah to the 2021 XXL Freshman Class, a spotlight for up and coming rappers that previously featured

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 ...

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 ...

Chance the Rapper Chancelor Johnathan Bennett (born April 16, 1993), known professionally as Chance the Rapper, is an American rapper. Born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, he released his debut mixtape '' 10 Day'' (2012) during one of his high school suspension ...

, and

Megan thee Stallion Megan Jovon Ruth Pete (born February 15, 1995), known professionally as Megan Thee Stallion, is an American rapper and singer-songwriter. Megan initially gained recognition when videos of her freestyling began to circulate widely on social me ...

. She was the first Milwaukee rapper named an XXL freshman in its 14 year history. The same year she also released a mixtape entitled ''My Time'' with the single "313-414" featuring Detroit rapper

Tee Grizzley Terry Sanchez Wallace Jr. (born March 23, 1994), known professionally as Tee Grizzley, is an American rapper. He first began posting music online following a two year prison sentence, he released the song "First Day Out (Tee Grizzley song), Fir ...

. The mixtape is part of the Gangsta Grillz series hosted by

DJ Drama Tyree Cinque Simmons (born April 22, 1978), known professionally as DJ Drama, is an American disc jockey (DJ), record executive and music promoter. He initially gained recognition as the DJ for Atlanta-based rapper T.I., and continued to gai ...

. The artwork depicts Lakeyah holding a championship trophy dressed in a

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

jersey which is a tribute to her hometown and winners of the NBA Championship that same year. In 2022 Lakeyah was cast as a regular on the

BET Black Entertainment Television (BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting Black American audiences. It is the flagship channel of the BET Media Group, a subsidiary of Paramount Global's CBS Entertainment Group. Originally launched ...

reality show '' The Impact: Atlanta'' season 1 and season 2. She also released two more projects ''No Pressure Part 1'' and ''No Pressure Part 2'' with the singles "Mind Yo Business" featuring

Latto Alyssa Michelle Stephens (born December 22, 1998), known professionally as Latto (formerly known as Mulatto), is an American rapper and singer-songwriter from Atlanta. She first appeared on Jermaine Dupri's reality television series ''The Rap G ...

and "Real Bitch" featuring Gloss Up. The projects also featured collaborations with

Lucky Daye David Debrandon Brown (born September 25, 1985), known professionally as Lucky Daye, is an American R&B singer-songwriter from New Orleans. He signed with Keep Cool Records and RCA Records to release his first two extended plays, ''I'' (2018) ...

Flo Milli Tamia Monique Carter (born January 9, 2000), known professionally as Flo Milli, is an American rapper and singer-songwriter. She rose to prominence after her 2018 single " Beef FloMix" and its 2019 follow-up, " In the Party" both reached viralit ...

and

Layton Greene Layton Greene (born December 4, 1998) is an American singer from East St. Louis, Illinois. She is best known for her 2019 single "Leave Em Alone" (with Lil Baby featuring PnB Rock and City Girls), which peaked at number 60 on the Billboard Hot ...

. On November 18, 2024 Lakeyah released a new single entitled "F.Y.T." featuring Rnb singer

Jacquees Rodriquez Jacquees Broadnax (born April 15, 1994), known mononymously as Jacquees ( ), is an American singer, songwriter, and rapper. He signed with Birdman's Cash Money Records in 2014, and first gained recognition with his 2016 single, " B.E ...

a remake of the Notorious Big and R Kelly collaboration which is featured on her mixtape ''Keymix lll'' a tribute to her fans that have been loyal since the beginning of her career. Notable artist Lakeyah has collaborated with include:

, Gloss Up,

Nardo Wick Horace Bernard Walls III (born December 30, 2001), known professionally as Nardo Wick, is an American rapper. He signed with RCA Records in 2021 and gained mainstream recognition following the commercial release of his single "Who Want Smoke?" ...

Kash Doll Arkeisha Antoinette Knight (born March 14, 1989), known professionally as Kash Doll, is an American rapper and actress from Detroit, Michigan. Signed to Republic Records, she is best known for her singles "For Everybody" (2017) and "Ice Me Ou ...

, Icewear Vezzo,

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, ...

and

Discography

Mixtapes

EPs

Singles

As lead artist

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, Lakeyah 2001 births Living people 21st-century American rappers African-American women rappers 21st-century American women rappers African-American LGBTQ people American lesbian musicians American LGBTQ rappers Rappers from Milwaukee