Rayshawn Lamar Bennett (born February 16, 1991), known professionally as YFN Lucci, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. In 2014, Bennett signed a record deal with Think It's A Game Entertainment and released his debut

mixtape In the modern music industry, a mixtape is a musical project, typically with looser constraints than that of an album or extended play. Unlike the traditional album or extended play, mixtapes are labeled as laid-back projects that allow artists mo ...

, ''Wish Me Well'' in December of that year. His second mixtape, ''Wish Me Well 2'' (2016) marked his first entry on the ''Billboard'' 200, and was led by the single "

Key to the Streets "Key to the Streets" is a song by American rapper YFN Lucci. It was released on February 23, 2016, as the third Single (music), single from his mixtape ''Wish Me Well 2''. The song features Quavo and Takeoff (rapper), Takeoff from hip hop trio Migo ...

" (featuring

Migos Migos () were an American hip hop group founded in Lawrenceville, Georgia, in 2008. The group was composed of rapper Quavo, his nephew Takeoff, and their "cousin" friend Offset. Quavo is from Athens, Georgia, while Offset and Takeoff were bo ...

and Trouble)—his first ''Billboard'' Hot 100 entry. His debut

extended play An extended play (EP) is a Sound recording and reproduction, musical recording that contains more tracks than a Single (music), single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 1 ...

(EP), '' Long Live Nut'' (2017) peaked at number 27 on chart and spawned the single " Everyday We Lit" (featuring

PnB Rock Rakim Hasheem Allen (December 9, 1991 – September 12, 2022), known professionally as PnB Rock, was an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. Born and raised in Philadelphia, Allen signed with Atlantic Records in 2015 and gained initial recogn ...

), which peaked at number 33 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and remains his highest-charting song. His debut studio album, ''Ray Ray from Summerhill'' (2018) peaked at number 14 on the ''Billboard'' 200. In May 2021, he was arrested following a statewide manhunt and charged with 11 others in a

RICO The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act is a United States federal law that provides for extended criminal penalties and a civil cause of action for acts performed as part of an ongoing criminal organization. RICO was ...

indictment. On January 23, 2024, Bennett pleaded guilty to one count of violation of Georgia's Street Gang Terrorism and Prevention Act and was sentenced to serve ten years in prison and ten years on probation; he was credited for time already served. On January 31, 2025, YFN Lucci was released from prison.

Early life

Rayshawn Lamar Bennett was born in

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 ...

. He grew up listening to Atlanta rappers such as

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 ...

, and

Jeezy Jay Wayne Jenkins (born September 28, 1977), known by his stage name Jeezy (or Young Jeezy), is an American rapper. He is credited, alongside fellow Georgia-based rappers T.I. and Gucci Mane, with pioneering the hip hop subgenre trap music for ...

. He discovered his own musical talent at age 16 and was encouraged to take it seriously by rapper Johnny Cinco. Lucci's older brother is also a rapper, who goes by the name YFN KAY.

Career

2014–2016: Beginnings and breakthrough

In December 2014, Lucci signed a record deal with Think It's A Game Entertainment and released his debut mixtape, ''Wish Me Well''. In February 2016, he released the ''Wish Me Well 2'' mixtape, which peaked at number 183 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 chart. The mixtape's hit single "

" featuring

and Trouble, peaked at number 70 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. The official remix version of the song featured

2 Chainz Tauheed K. Epps (born September 12, 1977), known professionally as 2 Chainz (formerly Tity Boi), is an American rapper and actor. Born and raised in College Park, Georgia, he gained recognition as one-half of the Southern hip-hop duo Playaz Ci ...

Lil Wayne Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. (born September27, 1982), known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper. He is often regarded as one of the most influential hip hop artists of his generation, as well as one of the greatest rappers of all ...

and Quavo. "Key to the Streets" was included on '' XXL'' magazine's 50 Best Hip-Hop Songs of 2016 list and ''

Vibe Vibe, alternatively '' vibes,'' is short for ''vibration''. A "vibe" is an emotional reaction to the aura or energy felt to belong to a person, place or thing. Vibe may also refer to: People * DJ Vibe (born 1968), Portuguese DJ * Lasse Vibe (b ...

'' magazine's The 60 Best Songs Of 2016 list. The mixtape's second single is "''YFN''" which was accompanied by a music video. A behind the scenes of "YFN" was filmed by StayOnGrindTV's Director ''LookImHD'' and released on ''Risinghype.com'', ''YouTube.com'' & ''WorldStarHipHop.com''. In September 2016, Lucci along with

21 Savage Shéyaa Bin Abraham-Joseph (born October 22, 1992), known professionally as 21 Savage, is an American-British rapper. Born in London and raised in Atlanta, he began his recording career in 2013 and released three independent mixtapes to regiona ...

Kap G George Ramirez (born July 31, 1994), better known by his stage name Kap G, is a Mexican-American rapper. He is best known for his 2016 single "Girlfriend (Kap G song), Girlfriend", which received RIAA certification, platinum certification by the ...

, Young Dolph and

Zaytoven Xavier Lamar Dotson (born January 12, 1980), known professionally as Zaytoven, is an American record producer from Atlanta, Georgia. He has released collaborative projects with artists including Gucci Mane, Usher, Future, Young Dolph, Mig ...

was featured on the cover of ''Rolling Out'' magazine's "Hidden Hip-Hop Gems of Summer 16" issue. In October 2016, rapper

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 ...

released the track "You Know" featuring Lucci, which peaked at number nine on the

Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (also known as Bubbling Under the Hot 100) is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The chart lists the top songs that have not yet charted on the main ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Chart ...

chart and appeared on Mill's '' DC4'' mixtape. In December 2016, ''

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 ...

'' magazine included Lucci in its 10 Hip-Hop and R&B Artists to Watch In 2017 list.

Since 2017: ''Long Live Nut'', ''Ray Ray From Summerhill''

In April 2017, Lucci released his debut

, '' Long Live Nut'', featuring

guest appearance The term guest appearance generally denotes the appearance of a guest in an artistic or pop-culture setting. The guests themselves (referred to as guest artists, featured artists, guest stars, or guest fighters, depending on context), are disting ...

s from

Rick Ross William Leonard Roberts II (born January 28, 1976), known professionally as Rick Ross, is an American rapper. An influential figure in modern Hip-hop, hip hop music, Rick Ross has become known for his "Wiktionary:booming, booming" vocal perfor ...

, Dreezy,

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 ...

Boosie Badazz Torence Ivy Hatch Jr. (born November 14, 1982), better known by his stage name Boosie BadAzz or simply Boosie (formerly Lil' Boosie), is an American rapper. Hatch began rapping in the 1990s as a member of the Southern hip hop collective Concentr ...

and YFN Trae Pound. The EP debuted at number 27 on the ''Billboard'' 200. The lead single from the project, " Everyday We Lit" featuring

, has peaked at number 33 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. On March 9, 2018, Lucci released his first studio album entitled ''Ray Ray From Summerhill''. The album features

s from a plethora of acts such as frequent collaborators Dreezy,

and YFN Trae Pound. On February 14, 2020, Lucci released his single " Wet (She Got That...)", which received a remix featuring

Mulatto ( , ) is a Race (human categorization), racial classification that refers to people of mixed Sub-Saharan African, African and Ethnic groups in Europe, European ancestry only. When speaking or writing about a singular woman in English, the ...

on September 18, 2020. "Wet" served as the lead single from Lucci's mixtape ''Wish Me Well 3'', released in December 2020.

Personal life

In 2018 and 2020, Bennett was in a publicized on-again, off-again relationship with the daughter of

, Reginae Carter. He has fathered four children with two different mothers.

Other ventures

In 2017, Lucci along with artist Jacquees were chosen to star in

Sean John Sean John is a privately held fashion lifestyle company created by music mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs, Sean John "Diddy" Combs. The line made its fashion debut with a men's sportswear collection for the spring 1998 season. In 2016, the brand had ann ...

's holiday 2017 and spring 2018 campaigns.

Legal issues

On March 18, 2018, Anthony Cam aka Rackboy Cam, a New Jersey–based rapper filed a complaint in U.S. District Court in Georgia against Bennett, PnB Rock, music producer June James (The Jenius) and Think It's a Game Records (T.I.G.) with allegations of copyright infridgment of the plaintiff's 2016 song, ''"Everything Be Lit"'' in Bennett's 2017 song, ''"Everything We Lit"''. In 2019, Bennett and T.I.G. and the plaintiff reached a settlement for an undisclosed amount. On March 2, 2021, Senior U.S. District Court Judge Charles Pannell issued a $1.7 million default judgement in favor of the plaintiff after PnB Rock and James did not respond to the lawsuit. On September 6, 2022 the Georgia Court of Appeals vacated the judgement citing that plaintiff failed to properly serve James with the amended complaint plaintiff filed one month after the original. The case was sent bank to the lower court. On January 12, 2021, warrants for Bennett's arrest were issued in Atlanta, Georgia, charging him with a December 2020 shooting that left a 28-year-old man dead and another man wounded,

Atlanta Police Department The Atlanta Police Department (APD) is a law enforcement agency in the city of Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. The city shifted from its rural-based Marshal and Deputy Marshal model at the end of the 19th century. In 1873, ...

(APD) told the press. In addition to being a suspect in the shooting, the APD charged Bennett with "aggravated assault and participation in criminal street gang activity." He was arrested on January 13, 2021, after turning himself in to police. Bennett was released on house arrest after posting a $500,000 bond on February 8, 2021. In May 2021, Bennett was among twelve people charged in a 105-count

indictment An indictment ( ) is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that use the concept of felonies, the most serious criminal offense is a felony; jurisdictions that do not use that concept often use that of an ind ...

filed by Fulton County District Attorney

Fani Willis Fani Taifa Willis (; , ; born October 27, 1971) is an American attorney. She is the district attorney of Fulton County, Georgia, which contains most of Atlanta, serving since 2021. She is the first woman to hold the office in Fulton County. Wi ...

. Bennett faced charges including racketeering, violating the state's anti-gang law, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. The Atlanta Police Department stated that Bennett was a member of a faction of the

Bloods The Bloods are a primarily African Americans, African American street gang which was founded in Los Angeles, California. The gang is widely known for Crips–Bloods gang war, its rivalry with the Crips. It is identified by the red color worn ...

. An attorney for Bennett argued that the rapper was innocent of all charges against him. On June 1, 2021, a Fulton County judge denied Bennett bond. He accepted a

plea bargain A plea bargain, also known as a plea agreement or plea deal, is a legal arrangement in criminal law where the defendant agrees to plead guilty or no contest to a charge in exchange for concessions from the prosecutor. These concessions can include a ...

and pleaded guilty on January 23, 2024. He was sentenced to ten years in prison and ten years of probation. His jail time was counted as time served. On January 31, 2025, Bennett was released from prison.

Artistry

Discussing how he developed his sing-song style in an interview with

Noisey ''Vice'' (stylized in all caps) is a Canadian-American magazine focused on lifestyle, arts, culture, and news/politics. It was founded in 1994 in Montreal as an alternative punk magazine, and its founders later launched the youth media company ...

, Lucci said; "Growing up, I always had this high-pitched voice. I couldn't ever sing, you feel me, but I had a little high-pitched voice when I talked loud. I used to listen to

Ja Rule Jeffrey Bruce Atkins (born February 29, 1976), better known by his stage name Ja Rule (), is an American rapper, singer, and actor. Born and raised in New York City, Ja Rule became known for blending gangsta rap with pop rap, pop and contempo ...

. I knew how to rap, and I used to write my verses. And if it don't sound right when I rap it, I sing it. And it'd sound better. I used to let all my friends hear it, and they were like, 'I like that.' I just ran with it. If I can't rap it, I sing it."

Discography

Studio albums * ''Ray Ray from Summerhill'' (2018)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lucci, YFN 1991 births Living people 21st-century American rappers 21st-century African-American male singers 21st-century American male singers African-American male rappers 21st-century American male rappers African-American male singer-songwriters American male singer-songwriters American rappers of Jamaican descent Prisoners and detainees of Georgia (U.S. state) Rappers from Atlanta Singer-songwriters from Georgia (U.S. state) Southern hip-hop musicians Mumble rappers