William Gazelle Fields Jr. (born September 25, 1993), professionally known as Aha Gazelle, is an American rapper from

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

. In 2012, he had a project released called #TeamGMG. In 2014, Aha released his first official mixtape, ''Greenbeans & Tuna'', which was received well locally and online via popular mediums such as Spinrilla and Mymixtapez. He received further recognition for "Vegeta", his most successful record to date. ''

Trilliam 2 ''Trilliam 2'' is the second extended play by American rapper Aha Gazelle. It was his first project since signing with Reach Records. It was released on June 9, 2017 via iTunes and Spotify Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish audio stream ...

'' was released June 9, 2017 as his debut for

Reach Records Reach Records is an American independent record label specializing in Christian hip hop. The label was founded in 2004 by Ben Washer and the hip-hop artist Lecrae. In addition to Lecrae, the Reach Records roster contains artists like Tedashii, ...

Life and career

Early life and career beginnings

At an early age, Aha showed an interest in music, playing

trombone The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the Brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the Standing wave, air column ...

in middle school, and playing the drums by the age of 13 at his father's church. Aha began experimenting with

music production A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

at 14 years old. By 15, he released his first self-produced

mixtape A mixtape (alternatively mix-tape, mix tape or mixed tape) is a compilation of music, typically from multiple sources, recorded onto a medium. With origins in the 1980s, the term normally describes a homemade compilation of music onto a cassette ...

under the name Trill Will. At 18, Aha became fascinated with the piano and taught himself how to play by ear, releasing ''#TeamGMG'' the following year. He transitioned from the drums to keyboards and began playing at other churches in his native

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

. He attended

Grambling State University Grambling State University (GSU, Grambling, or Grambling State) is a public historically black university in Grambling, Louisiana. Grambling State is home of the Eddie G. Robinson Museum and is listed on the Louisiana African American Heritage ...

where he graduated with a bachelor's degree in business management in 2014. He gained further recognition upon releasing ''Free Barabbas'' in 2015, which featured the singles "Gettin' Money" and "Vegeta", the latter of which proved to be his most successful single. Aha was signed to Reach Records in 2017 by

Lecrae Lecrae Devaughn Moore (born October 9, 1979), mononymously known as Lecrae, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record and film producer, record executive, actor, and entrepreneur. He is the president, co-owner and co-founder of the ind ...

, who had been closely watching the young artist. In 2018, Aha announced that he was leaving Reach Records to pursue other ventures. Since leaving Reach Records, Aha has released several singles and, in 2020, released a new album, ''180''.

Artistry

Most of Aha's projects are self-produced. Aha plays piano and drums, and is also a vocalist (although he has admitted that he uses

Auto-Tune Auto-Tune (or autotune) is an audio processor introduced in 1996 by American company Antares Audio Technologies. Auto-Tune uses a proprietary device to measure and alter pitch in vocal and instrumental music recording and performances. Auto-Tu ...

). In an interview with

HipHopDX ''HipHopDX'' is an online magazine of hip hop music criticism and news. The website's current president and publisher is Sharath Cherian and the Head Of Content is Jerry L. Barrow. ''HipHopDX'' is the flagship publication of Cheri Media Group. ...

, Aha revealed that his musical influences include

Master P Percy Robert Miller Sr. (born April 29, 1967), known by his stage name Master P, is an American rapper, record executive, record producer, actor, and entrepreneur. He is the founder of the record label No Limit Records, which was relaunched as ...

Lil Wayne Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. (born September 27, 1982), known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record executive. His career began in 1995, at the age of 12, when he was signed by rapper Birdman (rapper), ...

Kevin Gates Kevin Jerome Gilyard (born February 5, 1986), better known by his stage name Kevin Gates, is an American rapper, singer, and entrepreneur. He is currently signed to Bread Winners' Association with a partnership with Atlantic Records. His debut ...

Boosie Badazz Torence Ivy Hatch (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 hip hop collective Concentration Camp, ev ...

Frank Ocean Christopher Francis "Frank" Ocean (born Christopher Edwin Breaux; October 28, 1987), is an American singer, songwriter, and rapper. His works are noted by music critics for featuring avant-garde styles and introspective, elliptical lyrics. Ocean ...

and

PJ Morton P.J. Morton (born Paul Morton Jr.; March 29, 1981) is an American Grammy winning musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. Since 2012, he has been one of the keyboardists, alongside Jesse Carmichael, for the pop rock band Maroon 5. Mort ...

Discography

* ''#TeamGMG'' (2012) * ''Greenbeans and Tuna'' (2013) * ''Beemo & I'' (2014) * ''Beemo & I 2'' (2015) * ''Free Barabbas'' (2015) * ''Trilliam'' (2016) * ''

'' (June 2017) * ''Trilliam 3'' (November 2017) * ''180'' (January 2020) * ''Secession'' (collaboration with Starringo) (July 2020) * "Wah Wah" (two singles) (January 2021) * ''Table or Bouff'' (two singles) (March 2021) * ''Pardon Me'' (May 2021) * ''Spin'' (August 2021) * ''September Season Pack, Vol. 2 (two singles) (September 2021)

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gazelle, Aha 1993 births African-American male rappers American male rappers Rappers from New Orleans Living people 21st-century American rappers 21st-century American male musicians Reach Records artists 21st-century African-American musicians