Gucci Mane’s 1017 Records’ signee, Pooh Shiesty, quickly marked his territory in the rap game after capturing the public’s attention with an aggressive flow and a series of head-turning public antics.
Pooh Shiesty, real name Lontrell Williams Jr., is a 21-year-old proud Memphis native. He grew up in Memphis with his mother, before relocating to Texas for several years, however, the family returned to Memphis just before Shiesty graduated high school to give him better chances of getting his diploma. After completing high school, Shiesty started rapping, when he was just 18 years old-- three years ago, mind you-- and was heavily influenced by Lil Wayne, Chief Keef, and Kodak Black. In a short period of time, Shiesty is on the verge of becoming the next big star out of Memphis.
However, Williams has already carved quite a controversial path with allegedly being connected to public shootouts and disagreements with other rappers in the hip-hop community. Even so, he's also got his fair share of supporters and co-signs within the industry-- he’s landed several collaborations with some of rap’s favorites including Lil Durk, Moneybagg Yo, Gucci Mane, and 21 Savage.
Shiesty season is in full effect.
Image via label - photo by Zach Wolfe
Early Career
Pooh Shiesty released his debut single “Hell Night” featuring fellow Memphis-native and rapper Big30, in March 2019 and gained over 6 million views on YouTube, an impressive milestone for an unsigned artist at the time. Viewers appreciated his early 2000’s South Memphis vibe, which was heard in the music that followed, including Shiesty Summer released in August 2019, and “Choppa Talk,” another collaboration with Big30. Eventually, the rapper caught Atlanta icon Gucci Mane’s attention, leading to a record deal under 1017 records in April 2020. Shiesty’s career has only gone up from there.
Beef With Big Boogie
Image via label - photo by Zach Wolfe
Despite his short time in the limelight, Pooh Shiesty is no stranger to rap beef. Another Memphis rapper, Big Boogie, and Shiesty went back and forth on Instagram live in July 2020. The rap scene is competitive, especially in the Memphis area, and the altercation started when Boogie claimed he was a better rapper in the IG live comment section. Boogie popped up on Shiesty’s livestream along with another friend who was in the car, and the two began to trash talk each other for about ten minutes. The territorial beef turned into threats although neither followed through. Shiesty taunted the fellow Memphis rapper, sarcastically asking him for a feature on one of his songs saying “he’s ready to pull up.”
Later that day, Big Boogie started his own IG live session claiming he didn’t even know who Pooh Shiesty was. On the livestream, Boogie said, “where [did your] beef come from big bro?” However, his non-confrontational attitude didn’t stay for long. Boogie ended up hopping in the studio and dropped a diss track toward Shiesty the very next day. A few days later, a shooting broke out at one of Boogie’s shows and Shiesty went on IG live again to clear the air, letting his followers know that he had nothing to do with the shooting because their “issue” wasn’t that deep. The rappers have since moved forward and haven’t mentioned each other.
Bay Harbor Islands Shooting
In early October 2020, an alleged drug and sneaker exchange went sour after two people were shot during an altercation, and sent to the hospital with life-threatening injuries. Footage of the incident, that took place in a condominium parking lot, showed Shiesty and a few friends in a Maybach. After several minutes of talking, two men pulled out guns wounding two people during the exchange, and ending with Shiesty and two friends escaping in their cars, leaving the two injured men behind. Several days after the incident, Pooh Shiesty was arrested in connection with the shooting after the surveillance footage reportedly identified him as one of the people involved with the assault. He was arrested on the charges of armed robbery, aggravated assault and battery, and criminal theft, but was released the same day on a $30,000 bond. The rapper currently awaits trial for the charges.
“Back In Blood” Collaboration and Shiesty Season Release
Lil Durk and Pooh Shiesty linked for a powerful collaboration called “Back In Blood” in November 2020. The video, which paid tribute to the fallen King Von, accumulated over 46 million views, gaining momentum for the release of Shiesty Season on February 5.
Shiesty’s debut mixtape, Shiesty Season, reached number four on the US Billboard 200 and number two on the US Billboard Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums charts. Gucci Mane applauded Shiesty’s success for his debut under 1017 Records, and emphasized that it was only the beginning for him. Fans and critics loved the rapper’s mixtape. The album’s content seems to be impacting many, especially 6ix9ine who felt the need to yell the lyrics to “Back In Blood” at Meek Mill in the middle of an argument in Miami-- thus putting the spotlight on Shiesty even further.
However, everyone doesn’t necessarily want to see Shiesty win.
Following the success of Shiesty Season, another Memphis rapper, EBG Jizzle, apparently expressed his disdain with the rapper. Jizzle explained on an Instagram live session with Street Juice TV that “Back In Blood” was apparently a diss Shiesty made towards his brother. Soon after, Jizzle released a diss track aimed back at Shiesty, Lil Durk, and O-Block. When it was reported that Jizzle was shot and paralyzed, Shiesty quickly celebrated on his Instagram story, adding fuel to the fire. However, Jizzle responded letting everyone know he wasn’t paralyzed, dropping a video of him moving his legs in a hospital bed. There hasn’t been any updates on their beef since, although it doesn’t seem to be resolved.
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