Tavoris Javon Hollins Jr. (born August 17, 1997), known professionally as Vory (formerly King Vory), is an American singer, rapper, and songwriter. Raised 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 is perhaps best known for his guest appearances on

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer and record producer. One of the most prominent figures in hip-hop, he is known for his varying musical style and polarizing cultural and political commentary. After ...

's 2021 songs "God Breathed", "

Jonah Jonah the son of Amittai or Jonas ( , ) is a Jewish prophet from Gath-hepher in the Northern Kingdom of Israel around the 8th century BCE according to the Hebrew Bible. He is the central figure of the Book of Jonah, one of the minor proph ...

" (alongside

Lil Durk Durk Derrick Banks (born October 19, 1992), known professionally as Lil Durk, is an American rapper. Regarded as a pioneering artist in the Chicago-based hip-hop subgenre drill music, he is often considered the subgenre's most commercially suc ...

) and "

No Child Left Behind The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) was a 2002 United States Act of Congress promoted by the presidential administration of George W. Bush. It reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and included Title I provision ...

" — all of which appear on West's tenth album, ''

Donda ''Donda'' is the tenth studio album by American rapper Kanye West. It was released by GOOD Music and Def Jam Recordings on August 29, 2021. The album features a broad range of guest performances from artists, including The Weeknd, Jay-Z, Maril ...

''. His contributions to the album earned him nominations for

Best Rap Album The Grammy Award for Best Rap Album is an award presented to recording artists for quality albums with rapping at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. Honors in several categories ...

and Album of the Year at the

64th Annual Grammy Awards The 64th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on April 3, 2022. It recognized the best recordings, compositions, and artists of the eligibility year, running from September 1, 2020, to September 30, ...

. As a lead artist, Hollins began his recording in 2015 and signed with

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...

and Electric Feel Entertainment in 2018. He entered a joint venture with

Meek Mill Robert Rihmeek Williams (born May 6, 1987), known professionally as Meek Mill, is an American rapper. Born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he embarked on his career as a battle rapper, and later formed a short-lived rap group the Blo ...

's record label, Dream Chasers Records in 2020. His debut studio album, '' Lost Souls'' (2022), was met with positive critical reception despite failing to chart. He parted ways with Meek Mill and Dream Chasers in 2024. Having first gained success as a songwriter, Hollins won a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

for his work on

the Carters The Carters are an American musical superduo consisting of singer Beyoncé and rapper Jay-Z, who have been married since 2008. Outside of the Carters, the couple has also frequently collaborated in recordings and songwriting. Their first album ...

' album ''

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'' (2018). He has also co-written the singles " Don't" (2015) by fellow Kentucky-based singer

Bryson Tiller Bryson Djuan Tiller (born January 2, 1993) is an American singer, rapper, and songwriter. He began his career in 2011 with his debut mixtape, ''Killer Instinct Vol. 1''. He gained mainstream recognition following the release of his 2015 single ...

, and " Mob Ties" (2018) by Canadian rapper

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, both of which peaked at number 13 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. In 2022, he co-wrote

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 ...

's song "

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", which peaked within the chart's top ten.

Early life

Hollins was born and raised in

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 ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. He later moved to

, at age 16 to live with his father. While there, he met and began collaborating with singer and Louisville native,

. Vory was initially signed to the Louisville-based record label, FPR Music Group, from 2016 to 2018.

Career

Vory began his career working behind the scenes as a songwriter. In 2015, he first received attention after his guest appearance on fellow Kentucky-based recording artist

's song "Break Bread", under his former stage name King Vory. In 2017, Vory co-wrote his hit song " Don't", which peaked at number 13 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 while he guest performed on its parent album '' Trapsoul'' (2017). In 2016, Vory began independently releasing songs, including "Overdose" and "My Life A Movie" featuring Blu and produced by

Dun Deal David Maximillian Cunningham (born August 19, 1986), known professionally as Dun Deal, is an American record producer, songwriter and rapper. He is best known for producing A$AP Mob's hit single " RAF", Young Thug's single " Stoner" and Migos' s ...

. Later in July 2016, FPR Music Group released his debut mixtape, ''Overdose''. After moving to

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California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, he met Canadian record producer

Boi-1da Matthew Jehu Samuels (born October 12, 1986), known professionally as Boi-1da (a play on Boy Wonder) is a Canadian record producer and songwriter based in Toronto, Ontario. He is an in-house producer for Drake's OVO Sound label and has prod ...

, with whom he would later collaborate on a number of songs. Throughout 2017, Vory continued releasing singles, including "Try", "Do That Shit", and "Hold of Me". The latter song was premiered by

Zane Lowe Alexander Zane Reed Lowe (born 1973) is a New Zealand radio DJ, live DJ, record producer, and television presenter. After an early career in music creation, production and DJing, he moved to the UK in 1997. He came to prominence through pr ...

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Radio. In 2018, he earned writing credits on numerous songs including Canadian rapper

's " Mob Ties" from his fifth studio album ''

Scorpion Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the Order (biology), order Scorpiones. They have eight legs and are easily recognized by a pair of Chela (organ), grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward cur ...

'' and American duo

The Carters The Carters are an American musical superduo consisting of singer Beyoncé and rapper Jay-Z, who have been married since 2008. Outside of the Carters, the couple has also frequently collaborated in recordings and songwriting. Their first album ...

' "Friends" from their collaborate studio album ''

'', which would go on to win a Grammy for his work on the album. In August 2018, he signed to

and Electric Feel Management and released his debut EP, ''Lucky Me''. He guest featured on

Rich the Kid Dimitri Leslie Roger (born July 13, 1992), known professionally as Rich the Kid, is an American rapper. After a number of independent mixtapes, he signed with Interscope Records in 2017 to release his debut studio album, '' The World Is Yours'' ...

's song "Ring Ring" from his second studio album ''

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,'' which was released on March 22, 2019; and on the same day, Vory released his single, "You Got It". In June 2020, he signed to a joint venture with

's Dream Chasers Records and released an eponymous extended play in January of that year. The following year, he made three guest appearances on

's tenth studio album ''

'' (2021) — on the tracks "God Breathed", "

", and "

". In April 2022, Vory guest featured alongside

Polo G Taurus Tremani Bartlett (born January 6, 1999), known professionally as Polo G, is an American rapper. He rose to prominence with his singles " Finer Things" and " Pop Out" (featuring Lil Tjay). His debut album '' Die a Legend'' (2019) peaked a ...

on the song "Changed On Me" from rapper

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's debut album, '' B.I.B.L.E.''. In June of that year, Vory released his debut album, ''Lost Souls'', which features Kanye West, Nav, Beam, 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 ...

, among others. In October of that year, he co-wrote the hit song "

" for

and

Fridayy Francis Leblanc, known professionally as Fridayy, is a Haitian-American singer, songwriter, and record producer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In 2022, he signed with Def Jam Recordings and guest performed on the hit songs "Forever" by Lil Ba ...

Personal life

In February 2024, security camera footage of Vory was leaked, in which he threatened to kill his girlfriend. Following this, label boss

immediately dissociated with the singer and terminated his recording contract, deeming that he has a "mental problem."

Discography

Studio albums *'' Lost Souls'' (2022)

Awards

References

External links

AllMusic profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vory 1997 births Living people Musicians from Louisville, Kentucky Rappers from Houston Capitol Records artists American hip-hop singers Songwriters from Kentucky American contemporary R&B singers African-American male rappers 21st-century American male rappers African-American songwriters 21st-century African-American musicians Dream Chasers Records artists