Trae tha Truth (or simply Trae) is an American rapper. He embarked on a recording career in 1998, and established local prominence in the Texas hip hop scene with his solo debut, ''Losing Composure'' (2003). His second and third albums, '' Same Thing Different Day'' (2004) and '' Restless'' (2006), followed thereafter, the latter of which was his debut on Rap-a-Lot Records. Thompson has released 11 solo studio albums, as well as 26 mixtapes and two albums as a part of the duo Assholes by Nature (ABN) with fellow Texas rapper

Z-Ro Joseph Wayne McVey (born January 19, 1977), better known by his stage names Z-Ro and the Mo City Don, is an American rapper from Houston, Texas. He was named one of America's most underrated rappers by ''The New York Times'' in 2007. Early life ...

. He is also known for his " I'm On" series of singles, which have featured several of prominent rappers since its first installment in 2011. He signed with fellow Southern rapper T.I.'s Grand Hustle Records in 2012, and was named

vice president A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...

(VP) of the label in 2017. In addition to his music career, Thompson is known for his activism and philanthropy as the founder of both Angel by Nature, a charity aimed at helping the impoverished youth of Texas, and Relief Gang, a non-profit organisation initially formed to help the people of

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

and the surrounding areas rebuild their homes, as well as provide shelter, food and education in the wake of 2017's Hurricane Harvey. Since forming, the group have expanded to provide aid to people in

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

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 ...

, and other areas affected by natural disasters. Thompson's work has led to him being referred to as Houston's "Hometown Hero", and from 2008 onwards, July 22 has officially been recognised as "Trae Day" in Houston.

Life and career

Trae tha Truth gained exposure on the

rap scene in 1998, when he made his rapping debut with a guest appearance on

's album ''Look What You Did to Me''. In 2003, he began his solo career with the album ''Losing Composure''. 2004's '' Same Thing Different Day'', 2006's '' Restless'', and 2007's '' Life Goes On'' followed shortly after. Trae Tha Truth has also worked relentlessly with fellow Houston rapper Chamillionaire on his various ''Mixtape Messiah'' series. He also collaborated with Z-Ro to form the duo ABN or Assholes by Nature. They have released two albums, Assholes by Nature (2003) and It Is What It Is (2008). Trae Tha Truth was involved in a fight with Texas rapper Mike Jones at the 2008 Ozone Awards. It was recently suspected that Trae Tha Truth's music was banned from Houston's local radio Station, 97.9 The Boxx. After creating a buzz for himself, T.I. announced that he had signed Trae Tha Truth to Grand Hustle Records on March 1, 2012. On October 9, 2012, Trae was featured on the annual BET Hip Hop Awards cypher, alongside his Grand Hustle label-mates Iggy Azalea, B.o.B, Chip and T.I. His first Grand Hustle album, then-titled ''Banned'', was scheduled to be released in 2014. However, prior to that he was involved in the recording process for the Grand Hustle Records compilation album. His Grand Hustle Records debut titled '' Tha Truth'' was released on July 24, 2015.

Honors

In 2008, Trae Tha Truth was awarded by the mayor of Houston, Bill White, and Council Member Peter Brown with his own day, Trae Day, in honor of his outstanding work within the community. This is the first time the honor has been extended to a rap artist. Trae Day is celebrated every year on July 22. On May 23, 2021, Trae received the Change Maker Award at that year's ''Billboard'' Music Awards. The award, according to ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'', pays tribute to "the artist or group that speaks truth to power through their music, celebrity, and community. They are socially conscious, politically aware, active in their community and charitable with time, money and/or influence to improve the lives of others."

Philanthropy

During Hurricane Harvey in September 2017, Trae worked as part of his non-profit, the Relief Gang, spending a full day assisting area residents caught in heavy flooding. In October 2017, Trae hosted a fundraiser for a Houston area grandma attacked and carjacked at a gas station. In late 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 ...

, Trae and his non-profit organization Relief Gang handed out clothing, including jackets and face masks, for the homeless.

Controversy

Trae Tha Truth hosted the second annual Trae Day in July 22, 2009, near

Texas Southern University Texas Southern University (Texas Southern or TSU) is a Public university, public Historically black colleges and universities, historically Black university in Houston. The university is a member school of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund an ...

. After the event had ended, eight people, ranging in age from 14 to 21, were shot near a parking garage located on the Texas Southern University campus. One of several people charged with shooting into the crowd was Sauce Walka. When he explained to the morning crew at radio station KBXX "97.9 The Box" that he did not condone the shooting, he was accused by one of the personalities of being responsible for the violence ''per'' the lyrical content. When Trae Tha Truth retaliated against her on a mixtape, KBXX banned Trae Tha Truth's music and contributed music from the station and ordered their personalities not to play his music. It caused backlash in the music community as several DJs at KBXX were terminated from their positions due to playing songs that featured Trae. Due to his inability and hindrance from being able to promote his music in Houston as a result, Trae filed a lawsuit against KBXX early in 2010 citing damages to his career. On July 15, 2020, Trae among 87 people were arrested in a Breonna Taylor protest in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...

; he was among two rappers alongside

Cordae Cordae Amari Brooks ( Dunston; born August 26, 1997), known mononymously as Cordae (formerly YBN Cordae and Entendre), is an American rapper. He began his career as a member of the hip hop collective YBN (collective), YBN. His 2019 debut studio ...

in a protest to be arrested. On September 2, 2022, a viral video obtained by TMZ, shows Trae attacking

with the rest of his crew, during 50 Cent’s TYCOON weekend.

Shooting

On June 20, 2012, at about 3am, Trae tha Truth was shot in the shoulder following a performance at an afterhours club located at 9850 Westpark Drive, Houston, TX. His friend, Carlos Durell "Dinky D" Dorsey, died at the scene along with 30-year-old Erica Rochelle Dotson and the intended target, Coy "Poppa C" Thompson (not related to Trae). A man named Willie Wilkins was also wounded. There were around 20 gunshots fired. In a December 2012 interview with MTV, Trae said that he had been left lying and bleeding at the hospital for hours after being brought in. He went on to say that he "didn't get no bandage, I ain't get no stitches, they didn't take the bullet out, none of that." On July 4, 2012, it was reported that a suspect, 24-year-old Feanyichi Ezekwesi Uvukansi, had been arrested and charged with capital murder for the shooting. He was later convicted of capital murder and sentenced to life without parole. On November 25, 2013, Trae released a mixtape titled ''I Am King'', as a tribute to Dominic "Money Clip D" Brown. On January 18, 2017, Trae uploaded a video to Instagram showing himself pushing the bullet out of his shoulder.

Discography

Studio albums *''Losing Composure'' (2003) *'' Same Thing Different Day'' (2004) *'' Restless'' (2006) *'' Life Goes On'' (2007) *'' The Beginning'' (2008) *'' Street King'' (2011) *'' Tha Truth'' (2015) *'' Tha Truth, Pt. 2'' (2016) *''The Truth, Pt. 3'' (2017) *''Hometown Hero'' (2018) *''Exhale'' (2019) *''Truth Season: The United Streets of America'' (2022) *''Stuck in Motion'' (2023) *''Crowd Control'' (2024)

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Trae the Truth 1980 births Living people African-American male rappers 20th-century American male rappers African-American songwriters American shooting survivors Gangsta rappers Grand Hustle Records artists Rappers from Houston Songwriters from Texas Screwed Up Click members 21st-century American rappers 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century American philanthropists Hip-hop activists American music industry executives 21st-century African-American musicians 20th-century African-American musicians American male songwriters