Donavin Rashad Hogan (born January 15, 1990), better known by his stage name D The Business (formerly known as Lil' D and Little D), is an American rapper, actor, entrepreneur, songwriter and real estate agent. D The Business gained fame as a young street rapper in the early 2000s at just 10 years old along with his cousin

Romeo Miller Percy Romeo Miller (born August 19, 1989), also known by his stage name Romeo (formerly Lil' Romeo), is an American rapper, actor, and television personality. He gained fame as a rapper in the early 2000s after signing with No Limit Records, the ...

(formerly Lil’ Romeo) after signing with

No Limit Records No Limit Records is an American record company founded by Master P. The label's albums were distributed by Priority Records, Universal and Koch Records. The label included artists such as Snoop Dogg, Mercedes, Silkk the Shocker, Mystikal, M ...

, which was founded by his cousin,

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 ...

. He was one of the only artist featured on Romeo's debut album ''

Lil' Romeo Percy Romeo Miller (born August 19, 1989), also known by his stage name Romeo (formerly Lil' Romeo), is an American rapper, actor, and television personality. He gained fame as a rapper in the early 2000s after signing with No Limit Records, the ...

'', which charted the US

Billboard 200 The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine and is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of ar ...

at number six and went on to be certified gold, selling over 500,000 copies with in a month, which went on to be

certified platinum Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). He was billed on early commercial releases as Lil' D or Little D before eventually changing his stage name to D The Business in 2012. This name change was accompanied by his breakout street single We So Bout It featuring

, Black Don, and

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, joining ...

. In 2019, he released the song Fancy featuring Black Don and in 2020, he released the single Flex featuring Romeo Miller & Young V. In 2022, he released the mixtape Back To Business. Aside from music, D The Business is also an actor, realtor and is the founder of numerous companies. Hogan also co-founded the independent label L.I.E. Entertainment and played a pivotal role in the creation of the record labels Guttar Music and

No Limit Forever Records No Limit Forever Records is an American independent record label founded by Romeo Miller. No Limit's Vice President is Romeo's brother Valentino. No Limit's COO is Romeo's uncle Silkk The Shocker. History On November 26, 2010, No Limit Forever ...

Early life

Donavin Rashad Hogan was born in Houston, Texas by way of

Missouri City Missouri City is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, within the metropolitan area. The city is mostly in Fort Bend County, Texas, Fort Bend County, with a small portion in Harris County, Texas, Harris County. As of the 2020 census, the c ...

to parents Donald Morgan Hogan and Maxine Denise Miller, as well as family from the

Calliope In Greek mythology, Calliope ( ; grc, Καλλιόπη, Kalliópē, beautiful-voiced) is the Muse who presides over eloquence and epic poetry; so called from the ecstatic harmony of her voice. Hesiod and Ovid called her the "Chief of all Muse ...

and

Magnolia ''Magnolia'' is a large genus of about 210 to 340The number of species in the genus ''Magnolia'' depends on the taxonomic view that one takes up. Recent molecular and morphological research shows that former genera ''Talauma'', ''Dugandiodendro ...

Housing Projects of

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

, Louisiana. He spent a lot of his adolescence around music, basketball and street life while still excelling in school academically. At the time Mo. City and Houston was sort of a melting pot of organized gangs and sports. He traveled frequently between Houston,

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

, and New Orleans growing up. He is the cousin of rappers and entrepreneurs

and

. He is the cousin of rappers

C-Murder Corey Miller (born March 9, 1971), better known by his stage name C-Murder, is an American rapper and songwriter. He initially gained fame in the mid-1990s as a part of his brother Master P's label No Limit Records, primarily as a member of the ...

and

Silkk the Shocker Vyshonn King Miller (born June 18, 1975), better known by his stage name Silkk the Shocker, is an American rapper and actor. He originally went under the stage name Silkk, but later adopted Silkk the Shocker after the release of his first album ...

, and he is the brother of rapper and pro athlete basketball trainer

Black Don No Limit Forever Records is an American independent record label founded by Romeo Miller. No Limit's Vice President is Romeo's brother Valentino. No Limit's COO is Romeo's uncle Silkk The Shocker. History On November 26, 2010, No Limit Forever ...

(formerly BBlak or Black). He attended Thurgood Marshall High School, where he played basketball, and graduated in 2008 with offers of athletic scholarships and credits for college courses he had taken while still in high school. D The Business was coached by

LeBron James LeBron Raymone James Sr. (; born December 30, 1984) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "King James", he is widely considered one of the greatest p ...

under the guidance of Michael Jordan at a basketball camp in Santa Barbra, Ca. Hogan and Romeo Miller also went to the Reebok-sponsored invitation-only basketball Teaneck, New Jersey-based ABCD Camp and both played on the AAU circuit for many years as part of the P.Miller Ballers alongside many now NBA professional players. He briefly attended college before leaving to focus solely on music and business. D The Business was signed to No Limit at the age of ten, after he wrote a rap and snuck with Romeo Miller into his fathers studio to record it. This inevitably started both of their careers in music.

Music career

2001-04: ''Lil' Romeo, Lil' D, and No Limit''

In 2001, Hogan known at the time as Lil' D and Little D was one of the only features on Romeo Miller's debut album, titled after his original alias Lil' Romeo. Also in 2001, D The Business was featured on his cousins Silkk the Shocker's remix single of "That's Kool", featuring Lil’ Romeo and Trina which was the second lead single for the Lil' Romeo album. Later that year, at just 11 years old he released his own debut hit single "Cotton Candy" featuring Lil’ Romeo executive produced by Master P and distributed by

Priority Records Priority Records is an American distribution company and record label known for artists including N.W.A, Ice-T, Jay-Z, Snoop Dogg, Big L, Silkk the Shocker and Westside Connection. It also distributed hip hop record labels including Death Row ...

off of his scheduled debut album titled "Meet Me At The Playground". The album was never released. In 2002, during the spring D The Business along with his cousin Romeo skipped school for the road on a 15 date tour at only 12 years old. Later that year he was featured on multiple songs on Romeo's second studio album, ''

Game Time ''Game Time'' is the second studio album by American rapper Lil' Romeo. It was released on December 17, 2002 on The New No Limit and Universal Records. The album peaked at number 33 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and had first week sales of 93,000 c ...

'' via The New No Limit and

Universal Records Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch–American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...

which included "Clap Your Hands" and the more notable single "Play Like Us" which spawned live TV performances of the song on Nickelodeon's 2002 "TEENick Summer Concert Series" hosted by

Nick Cannon Nicholas Scott Cannon (born October 8, 1980) is an American television host, actor, rapper, and comedian. In television, Cannon began as a teenager on ''All That'' before going on to host '' The Nick Cannon Show'', ''Wild 'n Out'', ''America's ...

and on the television show Soul Train. D The Business also featured on the

504 Boyz 504 Boyz were an American hip hop group from New Orleans, Louisiana named for the New Orleans area code. The original 504 Boyz, Master P (as "Nino Brown"), Mystikal (as "G. Money"), Silkk The Shocker (as "Vito"), C-Murder, and Krazy, released ...

hit single ''Tight Whips'' off of their second album

Ballers ''Ballers'' is an American sports comedy drama television series created by Stephen Levinson and starring Dwayne Johnson as Spencer Strasmore, a retired NFL player who must navigate his new career of choice as the financial manager of other NF ...

released on December 10, 2002. In 2004, Hogan lead on the songs “Bobblehead” “Rich Boyz” “Can’t Stop Us” released on Romeo's third studio album ''

Romeoland ''Romeoland'' is the third studio album by American rapper Lil' Romeo. It was released on September 21, 2004 on The New No Limit and Koch. ''Romeoland'' peaked at No. 70 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 and No. 29 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums cha ...

'' via The New No Limit and Koch. D The Business was featured on "I Like That" “Dime Pieces" “We Can Make It" “Party" “Bobble Head" off of the soundtrack Romeo! TV Show (The Season) for the hit show ''

Romeo! ''Romeo!'' is a sitcom that aired on Nickelodeon from 2003 to 2006, totaling 53 episodes. The filming was done in Vancouver, British Columbia, while the show takes place in Seattle, Washington. The show stars Romeo as a fictionalized version of h ...

'' an American sitcom that aired on

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its networks division's Kids and Family Group. It ...

from 2003 to 2006.

2005-07: ''Collaborations, Rich Boyz, and Guttar Music''

In 2005 Lil' D's song "You Don't" was featured on the 504 Boyz Hurricane Katrina (We Gon' Bounce Back) album. Lil' D and C-Los were part of a street organization called “GUTTA Click” which prompted Master P to launch the Guttar Music Entertainment record label. Also in 2005, Lil D,

, Valentino Miller, C-Los and Doug formed the rap group Rich Boyz and on November 22, 2005, they released their debut album titled ''Young Ballers: The Hood Been Good to Us'' on Guttar Music. Hogan appeared on songs "Sittin’ Low" and "Fitted Cap” on the soundtrack album titled ''God's Gift'' which was Romeo Miller's first album to be classified as explicit released with his official name changed to Romeo. D The Business also featured on Master P's Ghetto Bill: The Best Hustler In The Game, Vol. 1 on songs “Let Me See It” and “Hood Starr”. In 2006, the release of the movie Repos Original Soundtrack included his song “Bang” as well as his features on “Back Up Off Me” and the movie's lead single “Repo” along with Master P and Black Don.

2008-11: ''Mixtapes, No Limit Forever, Collaborations''

& Lil' D released a compilation mixtape titled “Live From The Gutta Vol. 1”. In 2010, D The Business featured on Romeo's ''Patience Is A Virtue'' Mixtape on the song Feelin Myself with

Will Smith Willard Carroll Smith II (born September 25, 1968), also known by his stage name The Fresh Prince, is an American actor and rapper. He began his acting career starring as a fictionalized version of himself on the NBC sitcom '' The Fresh ...

’s nephew K. Smith. On May 25, 2010 at the time still known as Lil' D featured on Romeo Miller’s single entitled "She Bad”. In addition, that year D The Business also performed at the VH1 televised 2010

Hip Hop Honors The Hip Hop Honors is an annual event that airs on VH1. The television special honors old school and golden age hip hop rappers and contributors for their long-term influence and importance in the history of hip hop culture. It features live pe ...

awards with his cousins

, Valentino Miller,

Silkk The Shocker Vyshonn King Miller (born June 18, 1975), better known by his stage name Silkk the Shocker, is an American rapper and actor. He originally went under the stage name Silkk, but later adopted Silkk the Shocker after the release of his first album ...

, his brother

, along with

Trina Katrina Laverne Taylor (born December 3, 1978), known professionally as Trina, is an American rapper. She rose to prominence in 1998 with her appearance on the Trick Daddy single "Nann Nigga". Trina has been described by '' XXL'' as "the most ...

Gucci Mane Radric Delantic Davis (born February 12, 1980), known professionally as Gucci Mane, is an American rapper and record executive. He helped pioneer the hip hop subgenre of trap music alongside fellow Atlanta-based rappers T.I. and Young Jeezy, ...

and

Mystikal Michael Lawrence Tyler (born September 22, 1970), better known by his stage name Mystikal, is an American rapper. Early life and education Tyler grew up in New Orleans, Louisiana's 12th Ward. His father, who ran a small neighborhood store, d ...

announced on stage by actress Taraji P. Henson to honor his cousin

and

. His appearance on the song “I Be Chasing Money” and his single “We Here” were both released on his brother Black Don's mixtape entitled The Scrimmage. In 2011, D The Business would go on a tour with his cousins Romeo Miller,

and

, the tour was titled "No Limit Forever International". On August 19, 2011, D The Business featured on Romeo Miller's ''I Am No Limit'' mixtape and was billed on this project as “D” after dropping "Lil" from his stage name on songs such as "Rock Wit It”, "Catch Me If You Can", "Drop That", and his brother Black Don's single "Money Flow" with Master P & Romeo Miller. D The Business also featured on Romeo Miller's Maserati Rome Inception Mixtape on the song Phone Sex.

2012-present: ''New name, New label L.I.E. Entertainment''

In 2012, Hogan formed a new independent record label with his brother Black Don titled L.I.E. Entertainment (Loyalty Is Everything) and he also officially changed his stage name to D The Business. On January 5, 2012, D The Business released his breakout single "We So Bout It" featuring

, and

. On June 28, 2013, D The Business released his debut solo mixtape, From Sidelines 2 Headlines, and on July 17, 2013, released the official video to the single We So Bout It. His second mixtape Loyalty Is Everything, Vol. 1 was released on November 11, 2014, with the songs Sunny Days, On Right Now and Live It Up. In 2017, he released the Lit Nights & Good Mornings EP on May 5, 2017, led by singles Gwap and the song All You Gotta Do (Say Yes). On January 24, 2020, D The Business released the single Flex featuring his cousins

& Young V. D The Business released the mixtape ''Back To Business'' featuring the singles Fancy and Tonight on March 11, 2022.

Other Ventures

Acting career

In 2004, D The Business was cast in the independent film Decisions. D The Business appeared as a school bully in the 2007 movie ''Uncle P''.

Business Ventures and Real Estate

Hogan started many businesses and he is a licensed real estate agent in Texas.

Other media

Hogan is the co-founder and co-host of the Intellects Connect podcast which launched in 2021.

Discography

References

{{Reflist