Before They Were Famous

6ix9ine has become such a viral sensation that even after having spent nearly three years in prison, his track “Gooba” would go onto earn over 43 Million views in just 24 hours and today now tops over 300 million views total. But beyond the smoke and mirrors, this self-proclaimed “Supervillain” is not only a former gang member and convicted felon, he’s also been charged with Child Crimes, as well as domestic crime. And that’s before we even get into the whole “Snitching” fiasco that was the eventual result of his being arrested on Racketeering charges. But hey, you know what they say – no publicity is bad publicity. The thing is – 6ix9ine has seemingly pushed that age-old piece of wisdom past its breaking point. In today’s episode, we’re zeroing in on the controversial career of none other than the Crown Prince of Rap, Tekashi 6ix9ine – perhaps one of the most hate-watched artists of all time. So, I hope you’ll join us as we take a look at his brush with the Dark Side of Fame.

Only three years removed from dropping his breakthrough album “Life of Betrayal”, Florida rapper Yungeen Ace is ready to release the follow up to that project, “Life of Betrayal 2x”. Pair that with his viral and controversial hit single “Who I Smoke”, which has already earned nearly 30 Million views on YouTube, and it seems like Yungeen Ace is finally ready to take over the hip-hop game once and for all. It’s a remarkable turnaround for the young man who nearly died only a few years ago after getting caught in the middle of a deadly drive-by that took the lives of his closest friends and younger brother. Ever since that moment, Ace doubled down on his rap career and knew that he had to accomplish his goals in memory of his fallen day-ones. But what bitter feud placed Ace in the middle of that cross-hairs in the first place? And what does it have to do with his hit single “Who I Smoke? Stay tuned to our newest episode of Before They Were Famous to find out!

Jelly Roll is a 34-year-old rapper hailing from Antioch, Tennessee, who has eaten at the restaurant chain known as the Waffle House more times than he cares to count. And while it might not be the only reason why Jelly Roll weighs around 450-pounds, it sure is a contributing factor. In fact, Jelly Roll is such a big fan of this fine establishment that when it came time to create his breakout record, he chose to include Waffle House in the title -- a decision that would wind up throwing his entire life into upheaval. But for a man whose childhood included robbery, selling drugs, and large amounts of time spent in and out of jail -- this was nothing but another speedbump along the way to becoming one of the most popular independent rappers around. Today I’m going to tell you all about how he accomplished this remarkable feat.

After the tragic passing of Pop Smoke left a gaping void in most Brooklyn Drill fans’ playlists, few people ever thought there’d be another artist that embodied the movement as much as he did -- until Dusty Locane showed up that is. This 21-year-old artist recently became the latest rap sensation to hail from Brooklyn -- and thanks to his personal connection with Smoke himself, many fans see him as Pop’s heir apparent. Not only do both young men hail from the neighborhood of Canarsie in Brooklyn, but back in their elementary days, these two even went to the same school! Of course, the fact that their voices sound strikingly similar also helps with the comparisons. But much like with Pop it was hard for Dusty to ever imagine he’d escape Brooklyn to have a career in music -- because when you grow up on the streets of Canarsie, you never know what might happen next.

It’s been said that fame and fortune change people, but don’t tell that to EST Gee – this dude is still the same guy he always has been despite the fact that he’s now earning himself nearly 7-figure paydays and performing on stage next to Jack Harlow. It’s a far cry away from his early days, growing up in the Clarksdale projects of Louisville, Kentucky, where he was never too far away from possibly making a poor decision that would send his life in the wrong direction, including earning himself a prison sentence at only 16-years-old. But flash-forward a little over ten years later and EST Gee now has the poise of a seasoned musical veteran. Keeping things the same might have been a contributing factor to EST Gee catching shots only a couple years ago, but there’s little denying that the path he’s forged for himself appears to finally be paying off – big time.

Chris Hansen is a reporter whose main claim-to-fame was as the host of the NBC investigative journalist series, “Dateline” and its signature segment: “To Catch a Predator”. Back in the early 2000s, Chris would lure unsuspecting criminals with very particular and disturbing tastes into a sit-down interview where the depths of their depravity would be visible for a national audience to see first-hand. But while Chris definitely made a name for himself as someone most American’s believed they could trust – he’s had something of a roller coaster of a career over the past few years after a high-publicized affair would see him fall from grace and fired from the network he called home for decades. Of course, once you’ve got the taste for breaking stories, it can be impossible to give up – and Chris has worked hard to reinvent himself as someone all Predators still need to be wary of... especially if they happen to be on the prowl over on YouTube.

Santan Dave, who often goes by just DAVE, has had a monumental rise to UK superstardom over the past few years thanks in large part to his critically and commercially successful music that has seen him not only earn the Hyundai Mercury Prize in 2019 but deliver legendary performance at the BRIT Awards in 2020 as well. Today, Dave is only 23-years old, and he started this journey back when he was 16 and still reeling from a high-profile criminal trial that would send his older brother Christopher out of his life and into prison to serve a life sentence. This tragic occurrence would be a contributing factor in motivating Dave to accomplish something truly spectacular. So, how did Santan Dave not only right his family-ship, but turn himself into a poet with the microphone -- basically becoming the UK’s answer to Tupac Shakur in the process? Stay tuned to our newest episode of Before They Were Famous to find out!

Just last week these two men exchanged real-world beef online after 6ix9ine poked fun at Blueface's latest tattoo of his jeweler across his head. Blueface soon after had his instagram deleted calling out 6ix9ine with a Twitter post. For the record, our main Instagram also got deleted last week and I don't even have an online brothel or hit up the strip clubs like your man Blueface. Your boy McCrudden can't catch a break these days. While these two battle it out via DJ Akademiks IG page Blueface is gearing up for a real-world fight against a Tik Tok star by the name of Kane Trujillo. Let's find out who will win the fight between them!

Way back when in 1991, LL Cool J opened his hit-single “Mama Said Knock You Out”, with the now-infamous line: “Don’t call it a comeback/I been here for years” – and in our newest video series, we’re going to take that sentiment to a whole new level as we study the rise, fall, and rise again of some of today’s most resilient celebrities in a series we call – what else -- The Comeback! Whether it’s scandal, burn-out, or simply fading away into irrelevancy, the celebrity lifestyle is about as cyclical as they come – what goes up, must inevitably come back down, only to – occasionally -- rise up once again. For our inaugural episode, we’re shining the spotlight on one of the early 21st century's biggest hip-hop stars, T-Pain.

If you were to just take a quick glance at Mario Judah, you'd be forgiven for thinking he is basically the love child of Dracula and upcoming comedian Druski 2 Funny, after all, he is a mixture of Druskis talents as a jokester, elite-level musical acumen with the theatrics of what we can only describe as a swaggy Gothic Vampire. In fact -- believe it or not, but Druski and Judah have actually already met before and the resulting interview turned into viral gold. But that interview also gave us a taste of -- for lack of a better word -- just how weird, Mario Judah could be. After jump-starting his career in the middle of the pandemic last year, recent events in his life have got his fans talking about whether or not his rapid ascent to fame has done more harm than good and completely ruined his life – especially after some false allegations stemming from tapes that created a narrative involving Mario's sexuality which made the rounds online a few months ago. Want to find out what actually happened? Then stay tuned to our newest episode of Where Are They Now to find out!