James Edward Johnson III (born June 6, 2000), known professionally as BabyTron, is an American rapper and songwriter. Known for his punchlines and beat selection, he initially gained popularity in 2019 with his track "Jesus Shuttleworth".

Early life and education

James Johnson was born on June 6, 2000, in

Ypsilanti, Michigan Ypsilanti (), commonly shortened to Ypsi, is a city in Washtenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 20,648. The city is bounded to the north by Superior Township and on the west, south, an ...

. He attended Lincoln High School in Ypsilanti.

Career

2017–2021: Early career, ''Bin Reaper'' and ''Bin Reaper 2''

BabyTron began taking music seriously at age 17, alongside childhood friends TrDee and StanWill, and they established the rap trio ShittyBoyz while in high school. BabyTron would also consistently release solo songs and mixtapes on streaming platforms. His 2019 solo track "Jesus Shuttlesworth" became viral within the hip hop community, with a variety of

memes A meme ( ) is an idea, behavior, or style that spreads by means of imitation from person to person within a culture and often carries symbolic meaning representing a particular phenomenon or theme. A meme acts as a unit for carrying cultural i ...

spawning from the track. The song was featured on his 2019 mixtape ''Bin Reaper.'' In 2021, he would feature on the

Lil Yachty Miles Parks McCollum (born August 23, 1997), known professionally as Lil Boat, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and producer. He first gained recognition on the internet in 2015 for his singles "One Night" and "Minnesota" (featuring ...

project, ''

Michigan Boy Boat ''Michigan Boy Boat'' is the third commercial mixtape by American rapper Lil Yachty. It was released on April 23, 2021, through Capitol Records, Motown Records, and Quality Control. The mixtape features guest appearances from Tee Grizzley, Veeze, ...

''. BabyTron released the ''Bin Reaper 2'' mixtape in October 2021 with features from Lil Yachty,

Miles Bridges Miles Emmanuel Bridges Sr. (born March 21, 1998) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Michigan State Spartans. ...

(credited as RTB MB), and ShittyBoyz.

2022–present: ''Megatron'' and ''Bin Reaper 3''

BabyTron gained traction in 2022 through his series of tracks that feature him rapping on a multitude of popular beats in one song. This began with "Prince of the Mitten" in January and was followed up with "King of the Galaxy" later that month. BabyTron released the album ''Megatron'' on March 4, 2022, through Empire and The Hip Hop Lab. His song "Emperor of the Universe" was released on May 17, and featured a music video directed by

Cole Bennett Cole Michael Bennett (born May 14, 1996) is an American business executive, videographer, and music video director. His multimedia company, Lyrical Lemonade, started in 2013 as an internet blog while he was in high school. Early life Cole Be ...

. He was named as part of the XXL 2022 freshman Class on June 14, 2022. On August 2, his single "Blah Blah Blah" with TrDee was released. ShittyBoyz' second mixtape, ''Trifecta 2'', was released on August 5, 2022. On September 19, BabyTron announced his next album ''Bin Reaper 3'' . On October 28, 2022, ''Bin Reaper 3: Old Testament'' released, peaking at number 69 on the ''Billboard'' 200, his first entry on the chart. On January 5, 2023, BabyTron announced his third album, ''Bin Reaper 3: New Testament''. The album includes features from

Babyface Ray Marcellus Rayvon Register (born February 7, 1991), known professionally as Babyface Ray, is an American rapper from Detroit, Michigan. He is noted as an important and prominent figure of the Detroit hip hop scene. Early life Ray recalls parti ...

and Cordae. ''New Testament'' acts as a sequel to ''Bin Reaper 3: Old Testament''. The album was released on January 13, 2023 and peaked at number 100 on the ''Billboard'' 200. Following his arrest on February 8, 2023, BabyTron surprise released the EP ''Out On Bond'' on February 24.

Legal issues

On February 8th, 2023, Johnson was pulled over and arrested after a police officer conducted a probable cause search of his vehicle finding: marijuana, marijuana edibles, psilocybin mushroom edibles, and a 9mm handgun. He was booked into Dawson County Jail in

Lexington, Nebraska Lexington is a city in Dawson County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 10,348 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Dawson County. Lexington is located in southern Nebraska, on the Platte River, southeast of North Platte. It s ...

, for Possession of a Controlled Substance. He was released after posting 10% of a $15,000 bond.

Discography

Studio albums

Mixtapes

Extended plays

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, James Songwriters from Michigan Living people American male rappers 2000 births Rappers from Detroit