Foogiano has been slowly making his name ring bells across the internet, burrowing his hole within the hip-hop genre. At the same time, he's still seemingly learning how to leave his street life behind him. Apart from his records giving his name viral status, many of the first times we heard about Foogiano was by way of an arrest, or run-in with the law. Nonetheless, even with his rap career thoroughly entangled in his legal problems-- he's currently locked up for attempting to evade authorities when he took off his ankle monitor-- he seems to be destined for success. With his streaming numbers and his clout climbing, which recently led to an online spat with Trey Songz, we decided to break down everything to know about him.
Early Life
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Kwame Khalil Brown, best known as Foogiano, was born on July 4th, 1993. He grew up in Greensboro, Georgia, a small town with a population of under 4,000 people. Brown lived in a house with his mother, five brothers, and four sisters. "I jumped in the streets and they didn’t," Brown said when pointing out the difference between himself and his siblings. Running the streets came to a halt, though, when Foogiano was first arrested at the age of 14, on charges of robbery. He spent a little over a year in a juvenile detention center.
At the age of 15 he was released, and he moved in with his grandmother shortly after, which is when (and where) he started writing his first poems. In between playing basketball and getting in trouble, he used poetry as a way to process what he was going through. At the same time, his older brother urged him to turn his poems into raps, clearly impressed with the skill of his penmanship.
When Foogiano wound up in prison for three years on burglary and robbery charges at the age of 20, instead of feeling defeated and giving up, Foogiano decided to sharpen his mind while he was behind bars. Not only did he spend countless hours rapping and writing, but he also read everything he could get his hands-on. His favorite books to read were The Cartel series by Ashley JaQuavis.
Jumping Into Rap
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When Foogiano was released after serving those three years, his family and friends all pushed him to focus on music. With their support, as well as using them directly for motivation, not to mention all the effort he put in refining his craft while he was locked up-- Foogiano began turning his poems into rhymes.
After dropping a few mixtapes Foogiano decided to blindly enter the Authentic Empire Music Group Rap Competition with a possible $10,000 prize and a record deal for the winner. Foogiano ultimately won the grand prize, and quickly signed with Atlantic Records. As the story goes, the same day he inked the deal with Atlantic, Foogiano was simultaneously approached by Gucci Mane to be a part of his newly-relaunched 1017 label. Foogiano accepted Gucci's offer as the first artist to be signed to 1017, which did not pose an issue to Atlantic considering 1017 is distributed by the major label.
"Gutta Baby" & Viral Success
In April 2020, Foogiano released “Molly” and “Trapper” which were his first singles under Gucci Mane’s 1017 imprint. Both singles were on the top 50 of the Apple Music charts for the first two weeks after being released, and both music videos went viral on YouTube. Foogiano rode the wave of online success and dropped his album Gutta Baby in November of 2020. The album included his trademark hard-hitting records, including the “Molly” remix featuring DaBaby, “Trapper” remix featuring Lil Baby, “Yano,” and “Menace” featuring his 1017 label mate Pooh Sheisty.
In the first week Gutta Baby shot up to the top 20 on the Apple Music Charts. Foogiano has also had major success with his contributing bars to the New 1017 compilations Gucci Mane Presents: So Icy Summer and So Icy Gang, Vol. 1. His last release is a song that advocates for his release, "Free Foo," released at the beginning of April.
Recent Arrest & Probation Violation
The first time Foogiano got into trouble with the law was when he was only 14 years old, and this of course, resulted in a stint at a juvenile detention center. Foogiano went back to prison again at the age of 20 for home invasion and robbery, and this time he served a little over three years, and was released in 2017, directly preceding the rise in his rap career.
Recently, however, Foogiano has found himself back in trouble with the law, and behind bars once again. The rapper was arrested for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon in Barrow County, GA in December, 2020. The arrest was a violation of his probation stemming from the prior burglary conviction. Therefore, Foogiano was given an ankle monitor and ordered to stay in his home state of Georgia. Weeks later the authorities found the ankle bracelet on the side of a highway in Barrow County, GA-- it appeared to be burned off. After months of being on the run from the authorities, Foogiano was eventually found and taken into custody in Memphis, Tennessee in March, 2021. He is currently in custody in Greene County, Georgia and has yet to be sentenced.
Renni Rucci Relationship
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Foogiano and Renni Rucci have maintained a low-key relationship for awhile, but the two were recently thrust into the spotlight due to unsuspecting drama with Trey Songz (more on that below). Renni recently spoke with us on connecting with Foogiano via DM, revealing that she was the one who sent out the first DM, asking to hop on the "Molly" remix-- little did she know, Foogiano had already recorded one with DaBaby. After a lapse in communication, the two picked back up with flirtatious vibes when Foogiano apparently would not stop commenting under Renni's photos. Once the rapper made it publicly known that he was interested in the South Carolina native, the two finally connected with each other directly over the phone, and their relationship quickly evolved from online to IRL.
Trey Songz Beef
The jailed rapper had some unfriendly words for Trey Songz after the singer posted a photo of Foogiano’s girlfriend, Renni Rucci, on his Instagram Story the other week. The post, which occurred without clear motivation, led many to believe that Trey was simply attempting to shoot his shot with Renni. Foogiano caught wind of the “Mr. Steal Your Girl'' singer's post and, inevitably, wasn’t too fond of it. While the jailed rapper currently does not have direct access to social media, his team managed to shar a message on his behalf. Through his Instagram Story, Foogiano was able to deliver a public threat to Trey Songz, including telling him that he’s going to “slap the f*ck outta” him.
"Slap the sh*t out you when I get out @treysongz. From The Mayor," Foogiano warned Trey. Then, in a follow-up to the text message, there was a video that was posted by Foogiano’s team: "Trey, you a b*tch. I’m gonna slap the f*ck outta you when I catch you, boy," Foogiano said through a jail phone. "You better have a lot of security with you … I’ll slap the f*ck out them, too, with yo old a**. Sangin a** n***a, you ain’t gonna sing when I catch your b*tch a**, boy."
Ultimately, the beef pretty much petered out right there, as Trey Songz did not exactly reply, although some speculated that a few laughing emojis and a "picture that" response shared shortly after Foogiano's post could be construed as such.
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