Before They Were Famous

After Ugly God would drop insanely popular tracks like “Beat My Meat”, “Water”, and “Hello” featuring Lil Pump. After Ugly God would get arrested for a fight outside of a hospital early last year. After Ugly God would have over 82 Million lifetime views on his YouTube channel, as well as 1 Million followers on Twitter and 2.6 Million followers on Instagram at the time of this recording. It might seem like a long time ago now, but prior to the creation of TikTok, viral rap stars took off thanks in large part to platforms like SoundCloud and Vine. As part of that first generation of meme rappers, Ugly God paved the way for the future success of guys like Lil Nas X. Back in 2015, this Houston rapper racked up millions upon millions of streams on SoundCloud for his iPhone ringtone sampling hit “I Beat My Meat”, which is exactly what it sounds like, a risqué song about self-gratification that became so popular it spawned a dance craze in the process. It wouldn’t take long after that for Ugly God to hit the Billboard charts with his follow-up single: “Water”, which also got him inducted into the 2017 XXL Freshman Class. All-in-all it was a fantastic run for this talented rapper from 2016 to 2017, but by the following year, Ugly God would take a bit of a break, and ever since then, he’d had a difficult time recapturing lightning in a bottle twice – instead, he’s had to deal with co-workers blackmailing him, accusations of clout chasing, and going viral once more, but this time for getting arrested.

Before Desiigner would get world-famous off the back of his hit song “Panda” and get signed to Kanye’s GOOD Music label. Before Desiigner would publicly ask for his release from that same label only two years later citing a lack of creative control. Brooklyn native rapper Desiigner has had a frustrating career to this point in time to say the least. He’s equal parts fascinating, frustrating, magnetic, and mysterious. After exploding onto the rap scene with 2015’s “Panda”, Desiigner gained worldwide recognition for his insane flow and unmatched energy. “Panda” would climb all the way to number one on the Billboard Hot 100, but ever since that moment, his career has never managed to reach those same heights, at least not yet. Since then, he’s had to deal with a fallout between him and his record label, a constantly delayed debut studio album, and the expectations of fans looking for songs more like his original hit. Of course, since this is 2021, he’s also had to contend with what we’ve all been dealing with lately, lockdown in the era of COVID, but all this extra time on his hands has enabled him to reflect on the importance of hope and our collective ability to get through these unprecedented times together.

Before Tom MacDonald would begin his professional career as a wrestler. Before Tom MacDonald would go on to drop “Best Rapper Ever” which would beat out songs from Eminem’s deluxe edition of “Music to Be Murdered By” to land at the top of iTunes chart and Billboard. The road to success has been long and hard and he nearly drink his life away over the span of five years while dealing with crippling depression. Tom is finally on the other side of things. But he knows all too well how horrifying it is to hit rock bottom. This Canadian rapper grew up in a small town in British Columbia and after a foray into the world of professional wrestling, he began working as a rapper, dropping his first album, Lee Ann’s Son back in 2014. Since then, he’s developed and refined his talent further, leading to his most successful track yet, “Best Rapper Ever”. You guys might have seen this one trending on YouTube but it's just one of 4 videos that in the past 50 days has clocked in millions of views.

Before Nardwuar would become one of the most recognizable Canadian interviewers thanks to a decorated thirty-plus year career that saw his hometown of Vancouver, British Columbia name September 29th, Nardwuar Day. Before Nardwuar would suffer through some health scares, including a stroke in 2015 that would see some of his big-name friends from all over the music industry wish him well. Before Nardwuar would have over 196K followers on Twitter, 686K followers on Instagram, and over 1.8 Million subscribers on YouTube at the time of this recording. Let’s do a thought experiment for a moment: imagine you’re a world-famous rapper. Pretty great, right? Now imagine you’re a world-famous rapper being asked a series of bizarre questions by a strange-looking dude in glasses with an infectious grin and a tartan hat. What do you do? This might sound like a crazy hypothetical but it’s one a ton of celebrities in the music industry have been confronted with for over 30 years now because Nardwuar the Human Serviette never fails to get his man or his interview, even if they do sometimes blow up in his face. Nardwuar is a wide-eyed Vancouver native who, after decades in the game, is not only a Canadian-icon but globally recognized thanks to his unique brand of unbelievably researched interviews that are perfect to consume in the age of the internet. And while not everyone always gets in on the joke, a whole bunch of celebrities walks away feeling like they just had the best interview of their life.

After Bam Margera would rise to fame as a member of CKY and then team-up with the boys of Jackass to create not only a hit television series but three wildly successful feature films. After Bam Margera would struggle with a series of dependency issues and seek treatment multiple times, only to relapse again and again, resulting in his recent dismissal from the forthcoming Jackass film. After Bam Margera would have over 147K subscribers on YouTube, over 729K followers on Twitter, and over 2 Million followers on Instagram at the time of this recording. Back in the day, Bam Margera was everywhere. A rapid rise to fame would see him become one of the most recognizable faces in not only the skateboarding community but in the world of entertainment as well thanks to his insanely popular television series, MTV’s “Jackass”. But since his heyday, things have gone less than swimmingly. In fact, it’s been more or less a rough decade for Bam. Whether it was the loss of his best friend, Ryan Dunn, Bam’s own struggles with heavy drug use and alcoholism, not to mention constant arrests and a nervous breakdown that would see him show up on the Dr. Phil show. After that appearance, there was the hope that Bam might finally right his ship, but recent events have come to prove us wrong. After a tumultuous year for everyone in the world, Bam has once again hit rock bottom after getting tossed from the set of “Jackass 4” and posting a series of distressing videos talking about his own state of mind.

Before Pooh Shiesty would get signed by Gucci Mane to his 1017 Record label. Before Pooh Shiesty would get arrested in connection with a shooting that took place in Bay Harbor Islands that left two men hospitalized. Before Pooh Shiesty would have over 250K subscribers on YouTube across two channels, 51K followers on Twitter, and over 1 Million followers on Instagram at the time of this recording. Memphis-born rapper Pooh Shiesty not only has one of the most unique rap-names in the game he also spits the kinds of airy beats that pair nicely with his venomous delivery and slick-produced melodies. Over the last year or so, he’s racked up millions of streams and views while maintaining his independent status – this entrepreneurial kid even kick-started his own record label long before he signed onto one himself.

Lana R is probably best known for her early work in the adult entertainment industry where her first acting credits began in earnest in 2016 and within two years she had won multiple awards. These days, social media platforms like “OnlyFans” are making that possibility more attainable than ever and Lana is leading the charge with a net-worth reported to be in the $20 Million range! Don’t believe me that someone could make that kind of bank while filming this type of content? Well then, how do you explain her owning some the nicest whips you’ve ever laid eyes on? Like this gorgeous Lamborghini Huracan or this Mercedes AMG E53. Beyond her cars, she’s also got a pretty spectacular Condo in LA that provides her more than enough space to film her content from home. Not to mention enough animals to keep her company on those rare occasions when she finds herself alone. All that and she still has enough money left over to afford a trip for her and her boyfriend wherever they feel like going, like say, San Lucas, Mexico. So, how does she do it? Well, Lana transitioned herself away from the traditional model of the adult entertainment business into something wholly new, turning herself into a social media influencer superstar who turns every video she appears in, into YouTube gold. That means Lana makes her money from a series of different revenue streams, like her sponsored posts on Instagram. But as much as she’s making from all those different streams, she hasn’t totally left her adult entertainment days behind her. Instead, she simply made the brilliant decision to create her own content on the social media platform “Only Fans”, which has turned into her smartest career choice yet.

Before Top 5 Would hit trending in Canada and pull in millions of YouTube views with his tracks Cases, Heard Of Me, Drill Some More & others. Before Top 5 would post up with Drake, Juice, Lil Baby, Polo G, French Montana, Quavo, Metro, Nav, and even Birdman. Before Top 5 would hit the mainstream news cycle the world over after she was arrested for accessory after the fact for m***er. We here at Before They Were Famous reached out to Top5 to work with him on his come-up a few months back but instead he decided to go work with the local news. Perhaps it was an attempt to paint himself in a different light if the opps were taking a closer look at him. But with Top 5 it's hard to nail down when he's playing around or being serious. He was even giving our boy Friday a hard time over on @We Love Hip Hop Network . Top 5, Top 5, Top 5 is one of the most polarizing artists not just in Toronto but I'd say in the current rap game. His come-up has been a long time coming with him dropping music videos as far back as 2014. At the time he was only 16 years old and an unexpected shout-out from Drake would have him set his sights on making it a legitimate artist. The public info about his come-up is a little limited and probably for good reason. Regardless we are gonna let you in on who this Toronto mans is, where he came from, and his most recent arrest.

Before Rylo Rodriguez would drop hit songs like “BMF”, “Valentines” as well as team up with OMB Peezy to release his newest single, “Dope Boy”. Before Rylo Rodriguez would get signed to Lil Baby’s Four Pockets Full imprint. Before Rylo Rodriguez would have over 235K subscribers on YouTube, 110K followers on Twitter, and over 854K followers on Instagram at the time of this recording. Rylo Rodriguez is an up and coming rapper out of Mobile, Alabama, who's been working out a career for himself in the music industry since the middle part of the last decade. It would take a few years before he came to people’s attention but he’d breakthrough in a big way thanks to his innovative sample flipping that would see him incorporating popular R&B elements like a sample of a Mariah Carey track to provide the background to his some of his biggest hits. After jump-starting his career in such a creative fashion, he’s teamed up with the likes of NoCap and Lil Baby which helped take his music to the next level and expand his popularity around the country. With subsequent hits like “Walk” and “Court Dates”, Rylo Rodriguez has managed to drag himself up out of the streets of Mobile where he’s survived multiple close-calls since he was in the 6th grade, and he’s begun to finally create the life for himself that he always imagined he’d have.

Before 22Gz would pioneer the Brooklyn-Drill rap scene with hit songs like “Blicky” “Up Next”, and “Suburban”. Before 22Gz would let the entire world know that he’s not a fan of “WHOOPTY” rapper CJ and dropped his diss track, “Goofy”. Before 22Gz would have over 186K subscribers on YouTube, 17K followers on Twitter, and 387K followers on Instagram at the time of this recording. 22Gz is a rapper born and bred in the city of Brooklyn and before he had even turned 20-years-old, he arguably helped create an entirely new form of music emanating from his hometown, a genre that came to be known as Brooklyn-Drill. It was his song “Suburban” that really opened up the possibilities for the genre as he injected the single with the type of cockiness and swagger that always seems to be found in the most famous of East Coast rappers. But a life steeped in the streets would almost blow up 22Gz’s success-story before it could be realized, because just as he was catching on, 22Gz would go to jail for catching something else entirely: a body.