Leonard Eugene Hendricks III
(born April 8, 1991), known professionally as Larry June, is an American rapper from
San Francisco
San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
, California.
He is best known for his albums ''Orange Print'' (2021), ''Spaceships on the Blade'' (2022), and ''
The Great Escape'' (2023), and has toured with musicians such as
Cousin Stizz,
Berner,
Curren$y, and
Post Malone
Austin Richard Post (born July 4, 1995), known professionally as Post Malone, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor. His music blends various genres including hip-hop, Pop music, pop, Contemporary R&B, R&B, Tra ...
.
June has released 19
underground projects, and is currently an independent artist, having previously been signed to
Warner Records.
Early life
Larry Eugene Hendricks III is originally from San Francisco's
Bayview Hunters Point neighborhood, specifically Harbor road (also home to RBL Posse and Prezi). He was born to teenage parents.
At the age of five, he moved 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 ...
, where he stayed until the age of 15, though he would return to visit family in San Francisco every summer. After middle school, June attended high school at
Jesse Bethel High School in
Vallejo, California
Vallejo ( ; ) is a city in Solano County, California, United States, and the second largest city in the North Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, Bay Area. Located on the shores of San Pablo Bay, the ci ...
. His father dabbled in rap, which influenced June. He would distribute
CD's with his music to schools in his area, and found a breakthrough after selling his music to a
Rasputin Music store in
Berkeley. June later dropped out of high school to focus on making music.
Career
As a teenager, Hendricks used
MySpace -- to collaborate with musicians like G-Eazy back in 2006
-- and YouTube, where he listened to instrumentals from producers like
Cardo in 2008. Years later, he collaborated with both musicians.
Larry released "Cali Grown", his first album in 2010.
In 2014, ''
Complex'' posted June's mixtape ''Route 80'' with
TM88. Following the exposure in ''Complex'', he was signed to
Warner Records, with the label giving him a $20,000 advance in exchange for two
extended plays with the option for more records.
According to June, Warner failed to show interest in his work, which led him to stop recording music for two years. He instead toured the US, opening for
Post Malone
Austin Richard Post (born July 4, 1995), known professionally as Post Malone, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor. His music blends various genres including hip-hop, Pop music, pop, Contemporary R&B, R&B, Tra ...
and
Smokepurpp.
June released numerous tracks in 2016, including the full-length mixtape ''Sock It to Me''.
Warner eventually released him, and he created an account with
DistroKid, releasing the projects ''You're Doing Good'', ''Sock it to Me, Pt. 2'' and ''Very Peaceful''.
As an independent artist, he made more profit from his music streams.
He also released the EPs ''Larry'' and ''Orange Season'', both of which were produced by
Cookin' Soul. The release of ''Orange Season'' was accompanied by an iOS game of the same name, inspired by Nintendo's early era 8-bit graphics.
He also toured with Cousin Stizz in 2016 and was featured on Stizz's song ''Down Like That'' as well as Malone's single ''Never Understand''.
Additional collaborations in 2016 include rapping with
Asher Roth and Michael Christmas on the track "Laundry".
In 2020, during the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, he recorded at his home studio, releasing six projects, including ''Adjust to the Game'', ''Cruise USA'', ''Numbers'', and ''Keep Going''.
In early 2021, June launched the Honeybear Boba in San Francisco.
On June 11, 2021, June released ''Orange Print'', a project that "displays every bit of his persona".
The release marked his first to be distributed through
Empire Distribution, after he stopped releasing independently through DistroKid.
Speaking to
The Ringer in May 2021, June said he would consider a major-label record deal if the opportunity comes, but is not rushed about it.
Artistry
Logan Murdock of
The Ringer wrote about June's craft: "If
E-40 is rap's model of independence, June is hip-hop's
Jack LaLanne, and he's primed to transform
Bay Area rap. He has a mouthpiece like
Mac Dre and the soul of
RBL Posse, with a mission to make it on his terms, even if celebrity doesn't necessarily follow.
June is known to rap about "passive income", and has said he does not consider his music to portray him as a "lifetime coach", but instead wants to help those from the streets who are trying to make a healthy income.
Among his most used
ad-libs are "Yee-hee", inspired by
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...
, and "Good job, Larry", stemming from his ascent in the industry.”
Orange branding
Outside his career as a musician, June plans on releasing his own brand of oranges based on a suggestion from a friend whose family owns a farm.
On his social media promotions, June ends his sentences with an orange emoji.
Discography
Studio albums
Collaborative albums
Extended plays
Mixtapes
Singles
As lead artist
As featured artist
Guest appearances
Music videos
References
External links
*
* Lejarde, Arielle
Meet the MC Larry June(June 19, 2023), DJ News
{{DEFAULTSORT:June, Larry
1991 births
Living people
African-American male rappers
21st-century American male rappers
Warner Records artists
Rappers from the San Francisco Bay Area
People from Riverdale, Georgia
Musicians from Vallejo, California
21st-century American rappers
Bayview–Hunters Point, San Francisco