Roland Collins (born November 23, 1985), better known by the stage name Troy Ave, is an American rapper from the
Crown Heights neighborhood of
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
, New York City. His moniker derives from Troy Avenue, a street near his childhood home. In November 2013, his first studio album, ''
New York City: The Album'', was released. It debuted at number 47 on the US ''Billboard''
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a music chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks R&B and hip-hop albums based on sales in the United States and is compiled by Luminate. The chart debuted as Hot R&B LPs in the issue dated January 30, ...
chart. He was named in ''
XXL'' magazine's 2014 Freshmen Class.
Career
Collins began his rap career in 2009.
He announced that his new street album, ''Dope Boy Troy Vol. 2: NuPac'' was released in April 2017.
Feud with Joey Badass
In June 2015, tensions began brewing between Troy Ave and a fellow Brooklyn-native rapper
Joey Badass
Jo-Vaughn Virginie Scott (born January 20, 1995), known professionally as Joey Badass (stylized as Joey Bada$$), is an American rapper and actor. Born in Brooklyn, New York City, he formed the regional hip-hop group Pro Era in 2011, with whom h ...
, when the latter declared himself the "#1
independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States
* Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...
hip hop recording artist and a brand in the world" in a series of
tweets, to which the former responded in another tweet by pointing out that he has been signed to
Cinematic Music Group
Cinematic Music Group is an American record label, management, publishing & touring company distributed by Geffen Records founded in 2007 by Jonny Shipes. Their roster as of 2020 consists of Joey Badass, Joey Bada$$, Pro Era, T-Pain, Smoke DZA, ...
, whose music is distributed by
RED Distribution
RED Music, stylized RED MUSIC, formerly RED Distribution, LLC (Relativity Entertainment Distribution) was a Sony Music, Sony-owned sales and marketing division that merged under The Orchard (company), The Orchard in 2017. RED previously hand ...
, a subsidiary of
Sony Music Entertainment
Sony Music Entertainment (SME), commonly known as Sony Music, is an American multinational music company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation. It is the recording division of Sony Music Group, with the other half being the ...
. Joey Badass later refuted reports of a feud between him and Troy Ave in another tweet.
On July 7, 2015, in an interview with
Ebro Darden on
Hot 97, Joey Badass had words of praise for Troy Ave, stating: "At some point you gotta
ichave some level of respect for Troy because, at the end of the day, we're both independent artists who are standing on major platforms next to a whole bunch of major artists and they know who we are." In February 2016, he reignited the feud in a single, titled "Ready", where he raps: "60k, first week for the badass / 200k to this day, I know you niggas mad / With that 80-20 split, my nigga do the math / my nigga Kirk just outsold Troy Ave" (in reference to
Kirk Knight's debut studio album ''
Late Knight Special'' and Troy Ave's second studio album ''
Major Without a Deal''). In response, Troy Ave released a
diss track
A diss track, diss record or diss song (an abbreviation of ''disrespect'' or ''disparage'') is a song whose primary purpose is to verbally attack someone else, usually another artist. Diss tracks are often the result of an existing, escalating feu ...
, titled "Badass" the following week, in which he not only insulted Joey Badass, but also targeted fellow
Pro Era member
Capital Steez
Courtney Everald Dewar Jr. (July 7, 1993 – December 23, 2012), better known by his stage name Capital Steez (stylized as Capital STEEZ), was an American rapper from Brooklyn, New York. He was a founder of the Brooklyn-based rap collective Pr ...
, who committed
suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death.
Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...
by jumping off a building in December 2012.
Following the release of "Badass", Troy Ave called in at ''Sway in the Morning'' on
Shade 45, stating: "He didn't pass away; he killed himself. There's a difference. He took his own life. God gave you life, it ain't your right to take that. That's a fact. I got niggas in jail who got life sentences, they might as well be dead. They could've traded their life for his." He then received heavy criticism from fans and fellow artists alike, including
Styles P
David R. Styles (born November 28, 1974), better known by his stage name Styles P (also known Mononymous person, mononymously as Styles), is an American rapper, best known as a member of East Coast hip hop group the Lox. Formed with fellow rappe ...
, ASAP Ant and
ASAP Twelvyy
Jamel Da'Shawn Phillips (born May 30, 1989),https://www.instagram.com/p/BGCiV-ZhwX9/ known professionally as ASAP Twelvyy (stylized as A$AP Twelvyy), is an American rapper from Harlem, New York City. He is a member of the hip hop group ASAP Mob, ...
, who wrote, amongst a series of other tweets: "Wish I had a time machine to go back and give these niggas moms
icthat abortion money."
On March 29, 2016, in a
freestyle on ''Sway in the Morning'', Joey Badass responded to "Badass" in a series of lines aimed at Troy Ave, though never referring to him directly. Among other lines, he rapped: "Now I won't even lie, can't agree with suicide / but in the darkest times, there's still a brighter side / He took a leap of faith and only brightened his light / You took a cheap shot at hate and only shortened your life." In an interview with ''
HipHopDX
''HipHopDX'' is an online magazine of Hip hop music, hip hop music criticism and news. ''HipHopDX'' has over 3.5M monthly readers, the website encompassing hip hop news, interviews, music, and reviews. The website's founder and CEO is Sharath C ...
'' the following day,
Fat Joe
Joseph Antonio Cartagena (born August 19, 1970), better known by his stage name Fat Joe, is an American rapper. He began recording as a member of Hip-hop, hip hop group D.I.T.C., Diggin' in the Crates Crew (D.I.T.C.) in 1992, and pursued a sol ...
stated that he personally reached out to both Joey Badass and Troy Ave to try and squash the feud, but failed.
Legal issues
On May 26, 2016, Collins was arrested for attempted murder and illegal weapon possession for shooting at a
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 ...
concert. During the event at
Irving Plaza
Irving Plaza (known through sponsorship as Irving Plaza, powered by Verizon 5G and formerly known as the Fillmore New York at Irving Plaza) is a ballroom-style music venue located within the Union Square neighborhood of Manhattan in New York ...
, where T.I. and others were scheduled to perform, four people were shot, one fatally, by a shooter from the VIP section of the event. The man who died, Ronald McPhatter, 33, was said to be a friend of Collins, who was first taken to
NYU Langone Medical Center
NYU Langone Health is an integrated Health system, academic health system located in New York City, New York, United States. The health system consists of the New York University Grossman School of Medicine, NYU Grossman School of Medicine and NY ...
and then transferred to nearby
NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue
Bellevue Hospital (officially NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue and formerly known as Bellevue Hospital Center) is a hospital in New York City and the oldest public hospital in the United States. One of the largest hospitals in the United States ...
where he was arrested as a primary suspect in the shooting.
While at the hospital, it was alleged that the gunshot wound was self-inflicted.
Collins pleaded not guilty, claiming self-defense and that he and McPhatter were shot by an unnamed assailant. He was
remanded without bail. His lawyer then urged the public to come forward with any information that witnesses could provide.
Collins dropped a single called "Chuck Norris (Hoes & Gangstas)" and a mixtape called ''Free Troy Ave'', in reference to his condition of being charged with shootings.
It was released on June 6, 2016.
On July 11, 2016, he made bail and was temporarily released.
Discography
Studio albums
Mixtapes
Singles
Promotional singles
Guest appearances
References
External links
sample tracks
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ave, Troy
1982 births
Living people
African-American male rappers
21st-century American male rappers
People from Crown Heights, Brooklyn
Rappers from Brooklyn
Songwriters from New York (state)
21st-century American rappers
21st-century American male musicians
21st-century African-American musicians
20th-century African-American musicians
African-American male songwriters