Khalif Malik Ibn Shaman Brown (born June 7, 1993), known professionally as Swae Lee, is an American singer and rapper. Known for his wide vocal range and genre-bending, Swae Lee is one half of the hip hop duo Rae Sremmurd with his brother Slim Jxmmi. As a member of Rae Sremmurd, he achieved success with the singles "

No Flex Zone "No Flex Zone" is the debut single by American hip hop duo Rae Sremmurd. It was released on May 18, 2014, by EarDrummers Entertainment and Interscope Records, as the lead single from their debut studio album '' SremmLife'' (2015). The song was ...

", " No Type" and " Black Beatles", the last of which topped the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. In 2017, he was featured French Montana's single " Unforgettable", which earned him his first top ten on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 as a soloist, and was later certified

Diamond Diamond is a solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Another solid form of carbon known as graphite is the chemically stable form of carbon at room temperature and pressure, ...

(10× Platinum) by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/ ...

(RIAA). He was also nominated for the Grammy Award for Song of the Year in 2017 for co-writing Beyoncé's single "

Formation Formation may refer to: Linguistics * Back-formation, the process of creating a new lexeme by removing or affixes * Word formation, the creation of a new word by adding affixes Mathematics and science * Cave formation or speleothem, a secondary ...

". In 2018, Swae Lee released his debut solo studio album ''

Swaecation ''SR3MM'' is the third studio album by American hip hop duo Rae Sremmurd. It was released on May 4, 2018, by Ear Drummer Records and Interscope Records. The triple album also includes the debut solo studio albums by each of the duo, ''Swaecat ...

'' as part of Rae Sremmurd's third album, '' SR3MM'' (2018), which was a triple album. In the same year, his single " Sunflower" (with

Post Malone Austin Richard Post (born July 4, 1995), known professionally as Post Malone, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. Known for his variegated vocals, Malone has gained acclaim for blending genres and subgenres of hi ...

) was promotional and lead single to the soundtrack for the film '' Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse'' (2018). The song peaked atop the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, was nominated for two

Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

, and reached Diamond status, being certified 17× Platinum by the RIAA. He was also featured on the single " Close to Me" by Ellie Goulding and Diplo, which reached number one on the US

Adult Top 40 The Adult Pop Airplay (formerly known as Adult Pop Songs and Adult Top 40) chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and ranks "the most popular adult top 40 as based on radio airplay detections measured by Nielsen Broadcast Data System ...

airplay chart. In 2020, he released the single " Be Like That" with Kane Brown and Khalid, which reached the top 20 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100.

Early life

Brown was born in Inglewood, California, to a single mother who worked on tanks in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

. Brown was raised in Tupelo, Mississippi, and began to make music in high school with his brother Slim Jxmmi and local rapper Lil Pantz as "Dem Outta St8 Boyz". After graduating high school, Brown, alongside his brother had a period of homelessness in which they squatted in an abandoned house.

Career

In 2013, he and Slim Jxmmi signed to Mike Will Made It's label EarDrummers Entertainment as Rae Sremmurd. They have since released three studio albums under EarDrummers, '' SremmLife'', ''

SremmLife 2 ''SremmLife 2'' (sometimes stylized as ''SremmLife II'') is the second studio album by American hip hop duo Rae Sremmurd. It was released on August 12, 2016, by Ear Drummer Records and Interscope Records. The album serves as a sequel to their p ...

'', and '' SR3MM''.

In March 2015, Swae Lee was featured on Mike Will Made It's "Drinks on Us", which also featured artists Future and

The Weeknd Abel Makkonen Tesfaye (born February 16, 1990), known professionally as the Weeknd, is a Canadian singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor. Known for his sonic versatility and dark lyricism, his music explores escapism, Romance (love), ...

, and became his first single as solo artist. In September 2015, he was featured on

Wiz Khalifa Cameron Jibril Thomaz (born September 8, 1987), better known by his stage name Wiz Khalifa, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and actor. He released his debut album, ''Show and Prove'', in 2006 and signed to Warner Records, Warner Bros ...

's "Burn Slow", which peaked at number 83 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, making it Swae Lee's first solo entry on the chart. In April 2017, Swae Lee was featured on French Montana's " Unforgettable". The song peaked at number three on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, making it Swae Lee's first top ten single on the chart as a solo artist. In September 2018,

Jhené Aiko Jhené Aiko Efuru Chilombo (; born March 16, 1988) is an American singer who embarked on her music career contributing vocals and appearing in several music videos for R&B group B2K. In an effort to promote Aiko and cultivate a following for h ...

featured Swae Lee on her track "Sativa". Two months later, Swae Lee released a song titled "TR666" alongside

Trippie Redd Michael Lamar White II (born June 18, 1999), known professionally as Trippie Redd, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He is one of the most prominent members of the SoundCloud rap scene, which gained mainstream acclaim in the late ...

. On May 4, 2018, almost two years after its initial announcement in August 2016, Swae Lee released his debut solo album, ''

'' as a part of a triple album set, which also contained Rae Sremmurd's third studio album, ''SR3MM'' and Slim Jxmmi's debut studio album as a solo artist, '' Jxmtro''. In October 2018, he featured on the song " Close to Me" by Ellie Goulding and Diplo. Swae Lee also collaborated on XXXTentacion's song " Arms Around You" after his death, along with Lil Pump and Maluma. On October 18, 2018, Swae Lee featured on

's song " Sunflower" for '' Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse'', which became Post Malone's third and Swae Lee's first song as a soloist to top the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. He appeared on

Nicki Minaj Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (; born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj ( ), is a Trinidadian-born rapper based in the United States. She is known for her musical versatility, animated flow in her rapping, alter egos and accents. ...

’s 2018 album '' Queen.'' In May 2019, he collaborated on the song "

Crave __NOTOC__ Crave or Craving may refer to: Entertainment and media Companies and services * Crave (streaming service), a Canadian video-on-demand streaming service * Crave (TV network), a Canadian linear pay TV service operated in conjunction with ...

" with Madonna on her album '' Madame X''. In August 2019, Swae Lee released "

Won't Be Late "Won't Be Late" is a song by American singer and rapper Swae Lee featuring Canadian rapper Drake, released as a single by EarDrummers Records on August 16, 2019. It was produced by Tekno with additional production by Mike Will Made It, and relea ...

" featuring Canadian rapper and singer Drake, produced by Tekno and Mike Will Made It. In October 2019, he was featured on 88rising's "Walking", alongside Joji,

Jackson Wang Jackson Wang (; ko, 왕잭슨; born 28 March 1994) is a Hong Kong rapper, singer, dancer, record producer, fashion designer, and music video director. He is the founder of record label Team Wang and is the creative director and lead designer ...

, and Major Lazer. As of 2020, he released the single "Someone Said", a reworked version of Travis Scott's " Sicko Mode". He also collaborated with Chloe x Halle on the Mike Will Made It-produced "Catch Up", from the former's album '' Ungodly Hour''. He was featured on the remix to Arizona Zervas' hit song " Roxanne". On June 18, 2020, Swae Lee released the single, "Reality Check". Swae Lee invested in esports organization

XSET XSET is an American professional esports and entertainment organization based in Boston, Massachusetts. It has rosters competing in Fortnite, Valorant, Rocket League, Call of Duty: Warzone, Call of Duty: Mobile, PUBG Mobile, Madden NFL, Ap ...

in October 2020. Swae Lee has been working on his upcoming album ''Human Nature'' since 2020. In the same year, he appeared on Pop Smoke’s posthumous album '' Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon''. In 2021, he collaborated with

Alicia Keys Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. A classically trained pianist, Keys started composing songs when she was 12 and was signed at 15 years old by Colu ...

on the single " Lala (Unlocked)" at the

2021 MTV Video Music Awards The 2021 MTV Video Music Awards were held on September 12, 2021, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York City. This marked the first time in eight years that the venue hosted the show. The show was hosted by hip-hop rapper and singer Doja ...

Artistry

Swae Lee has become known for his hooks and melodies, as demonstrated in collaborations with the likes of Madonna, Ellie Goulding, Anitta, French Montana, and

, among other artists. He has been described as 'the songbird of our generation', with several of his peers and critics praising his vocal ability. According to a 2017 interview with A Polaroid Story, Swae Lee describes himself more as a singer than a rapper.

Personal life

Brown has a daughter with Brazilian model Aline Martins, who was born in 2020. In 2022, he filed for joint custody.

Discography

* ''

'' (2018) * ''Human Nature'' (TBA)

Awards and nominations

Grammy Awards

The

are annual awards presented by

The Recording Academy The Recording Academy (formally the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences; abbreviated NARAS) is an American learned academy of musicians, producers, recording engineers, and other musical professionals. It is famous for its Grammy A ...

to recognize outstanding achievement in the mainly English-language

music industry The music industry consists of the individuals and organizations that earn money by writing songs and musical compositions, creating and selling recorded music and sheet music, presenting concerts, as well as the organizations that aid, trai ...

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, "

" (as songwriter) ,

Song of the Year Song of the Year may refer to: * Country Music Association Award for Song of the Year * Dove Award for Song of the Year * Golden Melody Award for Song of the Year * Grammis Song of the Year * Grammy Award for Song of the Year * Latin Grammy Awa ...

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MTVU Woodie Awards

The

MTVU Woodie Awards MTVU (formerly stylized as MtvU and mtvU) is an American digital cable TV channel owned by the MTV Entertainment Group, a unit of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. The channel was first known as VH1 Uno from 2000 to ...

are semi-annual awards presented by MTVU which it states recognizes "the music voted best by college students". ! , - , 2017 , Swae Lee , Songwriter of the Year , , style="text-align:center;",

Soul Train Music Awards

The Soul Train Music Awards are annual awards to honor the best in

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music Music is generally defined as the The arts, art of arranging sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Exact definition of music, definitions of mu ...

and

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" (as songwriter) , The Ashford & Simpson Songwriter's Award , , style="text-align:center;",

Teen Choice Awards

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Swae 1993 births Living people 21st-century American rappers 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century African-American male singers African-American male rappers Interscope Records artists People from Tupelo, Mississippi Rappers from Mississippi Singer-songwriters from Mississippi Southern hip hop musicians American hip hop singers People from Inglewood, California Rappers from California Singer-songwriters from California African-American male singer-songwriters Trap musicians OnlyFans creators Pop rappers