Caswell Senior (born October 27, 1986), known professionally as Casanova, is an American rapper. In 2016, Casanova made his first original song "Don't Run". He is signed to

Roc Nation Roc Nation is an entertainment agency founded by Jay-Z in 2008. The company is headquartered in Manhattan and has additional offices in Los Angeles and London. Roc Nation comprises a comprehensive talent agency, sports agency, record label, mana ...

. In 2020, he was indicted on

RICO The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act is a United States federal law that provides for extended criminal penalties and a civil cause of action for acts performed as part of an ongoing criminal organization. RICO was en ...

charges alongside 17 others due to various criminal activities which his

Bloods The Bloods are a primarily African-American street gang founded in Los Angeles, California. The gang is widely known for its rivalry with the Crips. It is identified by the red color worn by its members and by particular gang symbols, includin ...

gang "Untouchable Gorilla Stone Nation," allegedly participated in.

Early life

Caswell Senior was born and raised in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, New York. He is of

Panamanian Panamanians (Spanish: ''Panameños'') are people identified with Panama, a transcontinental country in Central America (a region within North America) and South America, whose connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For mo ...

and Haitian descent. At age 18, he was imprisoned on

Rikers Island Rikers Island is a island in the East River between Queens and the Bronx that contains New York City's main jail complex. Named after Abraham Rycken, who took possession of the island in 1664, the island was originally under in size, but has ...

, where he formed a close bond with his cell mate, who was later discovered to be rapper

ASAP Rocky Rakim Athelaston Mayers (born October 3, 1988), known professionally as ASAP Rocky ( ; stylized as A$AP Rocky), is an American rapper, music producer and record executive. Born and raised in Harlem, he embarked on his musical career as a membe ...

Career

While in a studio with friends in early 2016, Casanova, without previous experience, came up with "Don't Run". The song was produced by U-Dub (of NY Bangers). Upon its release "Don't Run" received heavy radio play from DJ Self on Power 105.1 in New York City, and later also

Power 105.1 WWPR-FM (105.1 FM broadcasting, FM) is an urban contemporary music radio station city of license, licensed to New York City. WWPR-FM is owned by iHeartMedia and broadcasts from studios in the former 32 Avenue of the Americas, AT&T Building in t ...

and

Hot 97 WQHT (97.1 FM, ''Hot 97'') is a commercial radio station, licensed to New York, New York, which broadcasts an urban contemporary music format. The station is owned by Mediaco Holding and operated by Emmis Communications under a shared service ...

there. In June 2016, Casanova released the official video for "Don't Run". Casanova was discovered by

Memphis Bleek Malik Deshawn Cox (born June 23, 1978), known by his stage name Memphis Bleek, is an American rapper who was a protégé of fellow New York rapper Jay-Z. Cox started his own labels: Get Low Records in 1998, and #Warehouse Music Group, Warehouse M ...

through his label, Warehouse Music Group, which is under

Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and founder of Manhattan-based conglomerate talent and entertainment agency Roc Nation. He is regarded as one of ...

's record label

. In October 2016, Casanova officially signed his deal with Warehouse/Roc Nation. In September 2016, Casanova released the single "Line Me" as well as a freestyle to

Mobb Deep Mobb Deep was an American hip hop duo from New York City. The duo consisted of rappers Prodigy and Havoc. They are considered to be among the principal progenitors of hardcore East Coast hip hopEdwards, Paul, 2009, ''How to Rap: The Art & Scien ...

's "Quiet Storm". In 2017, Casanova released "Don't Run" Remix featuring

Young M.A Katorah Kasanova Marrero (born April 3, 1992), better known by her stage name Young M.A (acronym for Young Me. Always), is an American rapper. She first gained widespread recognition with the release of the quadruple-platinum hit single " Ooouuu ...

Fabolous John David Jackson (born November 18, 1977), better known by his stage name Fabolous, is an American rapper. Raised in Brooklyn, he first gained recognition while still a senior in high school, when he performed live on American music executive ...

Dave East David Lawrence Brewster Jr. (born June 3, 1988), better known by his stage name Dave East, is an American rapper. East began his career in 2010, and gained attention in 2014 from his eighth mixtape, ''Black Rose''. Its release garnered the attent ...

Don Q Don Q is a Puerto Rican rum, distilled, manufactured, bottled, and distributed by Destilería Serrallés from its corporate facility in Ponce, Puerto Rico. Don Q, "Puerto Rico's best-known rum", is the top-selling rum in Puerto Rico, where ov ...

. He continued to put out music, releasing "The Old 50", followed by his mixtape tape album "Be Safe Tho" featuring

Chris Brown Christopher Maurice Brown (born May 5, 1989) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actor. According to '' Billboard'', Brown is one of the most successful R&B singers of his generation, having often been referred to by many contempo ...

and LO on the song "OHB". On February 8, 2018, he released "Set Trippin" which addressed his beef with fellow New York artist Tekashi69. He performed on the Party Tour with

50 Cent Curtis James Jackson III (born July 6, 1975), known professionally as 50 Cent, is an American rapper, actor, and businessman. Born in the South Jamaica neighborhood of Queens, Jackson began pursuing a musical career in 2000, when he produced ...

French Montana Karim Kharbouch (Arabic: æɾiːm χɑɾbuːʃ born November 9, 1984), better known by his stage name French Montana, is a Moroccan-American rapper. Born and raised in Morocco, he emigrated to the United States with his family when he was 13. ...

O.T. Genasis Odis Oliver Flores (born June 18, 1987), better known by his stage name O.T. Genasis, is an American rapper, actor and singer. Early life Odis Oliver Flores was born on June 18, 1987, in Atlanta to Garifunas from Belize. He is a Garifuna Amer ...

and

Kap G George Ramirez (born July 31, 1994), better known by his stage name Kap G, is an Mexican-American rapper. He is best known for his song "Girlfriend", which peaked at number 10 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart. Early life George Ramirez was ...

. On June 29, 2018, Casanova released his debut EP ''Commissary'' with guest appearances from

G-Eazy Gerald Earl Gillum (born May 24, 1989), better known by his stage name G-Eazy, is an American rapper. His first major-label album, '' These Things Happen'', was released on June 23, 2014, and peaked at number 3 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 ...

Rich the Kid Dimitri Leslie Roger (born July 13, 1992), professionally known as Rich the Kid, is an American rapper. He released his debut studio album, '' The World Is Yours'', on March 30, 2018. His second studio album, '' The World Is Yours 2'', was relea ...

, Snap Dogg, A Boogie wit da Hoodie and

Mozzy Timothy Cornell Patterson (born June 24, 1987), known professionally as Mozzy, is an American rapper from Oak Park, Sacramento, California. He is signed with CMG, Interscope Records, Blackmarket Records. He started rapping in 2004 under the na ...

Legal issues

On December 1, 2020, prosecutors from the Southern District of New York Federal Court declared a warrant for the arrest of Casanova who they alleged was a leader within the Untouchable Gorilla Stone Nation Gang. He was among 18 alleged members of the Untouchable Gorilla Stone Nation Gang charged in connection with various racketeering, murder, narcotics, firearms and fraud offenses, officials said. The Acting U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said: "As alleged in the Indictment, members of Gorilla Stone committed terrible acts of violence, trafficked in narcotics, and even engaged in brazen fraud by exploiting benefits programs meant to provide assistance in response to the COVID-19 pandemic". The FBI apprehended 17 of the gang members, but Casanova was not detained and an arrest warrant was issued for him. On December 2, 2020, Casanova surrendered to federal authorities.

Tour

*'' The Party Tour'' (2017)

2x Entertainment

In 2016, Casanova started his own company called . On October 20, 2017, 2x Entertainment's partnership with Warehouse Music Group/Roc Nation was publicly announced by Casanova and Memphis Bleek in an interview with The Breakfast Club on Power 105.1. In November 2017, Casanova brought

Lamont Sincere Albert Lamont Brown (born May 3, 1989) formerly known as Lamont Sincere is an American mixing engineer, singer, songwriter and record producer from Brooklyn, New York. He gained credibility for his single "Huge Flirt" featuring Bagstheboss and ...

to the 2x Entertainment team as an artist.

Artists

*Casanova *Jah Dwella *Brash *P Racks *Lamont Sincere *Gallardo *Louski *Klass Murda

Producers

*Lamont Sincere

Discography

Studio albums

EPs

Singles

Mixtapes

*"Be Safe Tho" (2017)

Guest appearances

* Maino (featuring

Phresher Kashaun Rameek Rutling (born May 16, 1989), known professionally as Phresher (stylized as PHresher), is an American rapper from Brooklyn, New York. Phresher first gained recognition in 2016 for his single "Wait a Minute" featuring Remy Ma, and ...

, Casanova, and Lola Brooke) – "Doing Well" (2017) * Problem (featuring 1TakeJay, Casanova, and Saviii 3rd) – "F*ck Me Too" (2018) *

Papoose Papoose (from the Algonquian ''papoose'', meaning "child") is an American English word whose present meaning is "a Native American child" (regardless of tribe) or, even more generally, any child, usually used as a term of endearment, often in t ...

(featuring Casanova) – "Shooter" (2018) *

DJ Premier Christopher Edward Martin (born March 21, 1966), known professionally as DJ Premier (also known as Preemo), is an American record producer and DJ. He is considered one of the greatest hip hop producers of all time. He was half of the hip hop duo ...

(featuring Casanova) – "Wut U Said?" (2018)

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Casanova Living people People from Flatbush, Brooklyn Rappers from New York (state) American people of Panamanian descent Gangsta rappers Bloods East Coast hip hop musicians 21st-century American rappers American rappers of Jamaican descent American rappers of Haitian descent American rappers of Panamanian descent 1986 births Hispanic and Latino American rappers OnlyFans creators