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. It featured the single "

I Mean It "I Mean It" is a song by American rapper G-Eazy featuring fellow American rapper Remo. It was released on May 13, 2014, as the fifth single from the former's debut studio album '' These Things Happen'' (2014), The song was written and produced by ...

", which reached number 98 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. His second studio album, ''

When It's Dark Out ''When It's Dark Out'' is the fourth studio album by American rapper G-Eazy. It was released on December 4, 2015, by RCA Records. The album features guest appearances from Big Sean, Chris Brown, Tory Lanez, Too $hort, Yo Gotti, Lil Wayne, Kehlani ...

'', was released on December 4, 2015, and peaked at number 5 on the US ''Billboard'' 200. It featured the single " Me, Myself & I" (with

Bebe Rexha Bleta Rexha (; born August 30, 1989), known professionally as Bebe Rexha ( ), is an American pop singer and songwriter. After signing with Warner Records in 2013, Rexha received songwriting credits on Eminem's single " The Monster" (which later ...

), which reached number 7 of the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100. His third album, '' The Beautiful & Damned'', was released on December 15, 2017, and peaked at number 3 on the US Billboard 200. It featured the single "

No Limit No Limit may refer to: Music Record labels *No Limit Records, a record label founded by Master P * No Limit Forever Records, a record label founded by Romeo Miller, son of Master P Albums * ''No Limit'' (Art Pepper album), 1977 * ''No Limit'' ...

" (featuring

Cardi B Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar Cephus (, ; born October 11, 1992), known professionally as Cardi B, is an American rapper and songwriter. She first gained popularity as an influencer on Vine and Instagram. From 2015 to early 2017, she appeared as ...

and

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 ...

), which reached number 4 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100.

Early life

When Gillum was in the first grade, his mother left his father, an associate professor of art at CSU Fresno. Gillum moved in with his grandparents in

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and Emer ...

. They later moved to North Oakland, although Gillum continued to attend school in Berkeley. Gillum attended

Loyola University New Orleans Loyola University New Orleans is a Private university, private Jesuit university in New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana. Originally established as Loyola College in 1904, the institution was chartered as a university in 1912. It bears the name o ...

, where he graduated with a BA in music industry studies in 2011.

Career

2008–14: Career beginnings

Starting out as a

record producer 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 ...

, G-Eazy began working on singles while he was still a student at the Loyola University at New Orleans with his producer Christoph Andersson who also was a student there. He gained some recognition for being a part of the new hip hop scene back in the

East Bay Area The East Bay is the eastern region of the San Francisco Bay Area and includes cities along the eastern shores of the San Francisco Bay and San Pablo Bay. The region has grown to include inland communities in Alameda and Contra Costa counties ...

, joining with such artists as

Lil B Brandon Christopher McCartney (born August 17, 1989), professionally known as Lil B and as his alter ego The BasedGod, is an American rapper. Lil B has recorded both solo and with Bay Area group The Pack. His solo work spans several genres, ...

, Crohn and

The Cataracs The Cataracs were an American hip hop record production project and duo formed in Berkeley, California, United States, consisting of David Benjamin Singer-Vine (born March 9, 1988) and Niles Hollowell-Dhar (born October 6, 1988). The duo starte ...

.Hildebrand, Lee
Hip hopper G-Eazy on the brink
''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. de ...

'', November 19, 2014. He became a member of a local hip hop group called "The Bay Boyz", who had released several songs on their Myspace page. In 2010, G-Eazy was given an opportunity to open for some well-known artists, most notably

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), ...

and

Snoop Dogg Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. (born October 20, 1971), known professionally as Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg and briefly Snoop Lion), is an American rapper. His fame dates back to 1992 when he featured on Dr. Dre's debut solo single, " ...

. G-Eazy's mixtapes at this period of time were met with limited success. In August 2011, he released ''

The Endless Summer ''The Endless Summer'' is a 1966 American surf documentary film directed, produced, edited and narrated by Bruce Brown. The film follows surfers Mike Hynson and Robert August on a surfing trip around the world. Despite the balmy mediterranea ...

'', with an updated version of the 1961 hit song "

Runaround Sue "Runaround Sue" is a rock and roll song (in a modified doo-wop style), originally a US No. 1 Hot 100 hit (No. 4 on the Hot R&B chart) for the singer Dion during 1961, after he split with the Belmonts. It was written by Dion with Ernie Mares ...

", which garnered over four million views via YouTube. The music video was directed by Tyler Yee. The mixtape features guest appearances from Greg Banks, Erika Flowers and Devon Baldwin. In November 2011, Gillum embarked on a nationwide tour with

Shwayze Aaron Smith, better known as Shwayze (born May 29, 1985), is an American rapper. His first single " Buzzin'" peaked at No. 46 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. His second single "Corona and Lime," reached No. 23 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in th ...

. "My Life Is a Party" was featured in the game '' Saints Row: The Third'' on an in-game radio station. G-Eazy 2013

On June 16, 2012, G-Eazy performed all United States dates on the annual

Vans Warped Tour The Warped Tour was a traveling rock tour that toured the United States plus three or four stops in Canada annually each summer from 1995 until 2019. It was the largest traveling music festival in the United States and the longest-running touring ...

. On July 25, 2012, the Excellent Adventure Tour was announced, which featured

Hoodie Allen Steven Adam Markowitz (born August 19, 1988), better known by his stage name Hoodie Allen, is an American rapper, singer and songwriter from Plainview, New York. After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania, he began working at Google befo ...

and G-Eazy. The two performed in cities across the U.S., including Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Columbus, Des Moines, New Orleans, Atlanta, Austin, and Philadelphia. On September 26, 2012, G-Eazy released his first full-length album, '' Must Be Nice''. The album, which was completely independent of a label, landed at number 3 on the

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...

Hip-Hop Chart. On July 9, 2013, G-Eazy, alongside

2 Chainz Tauheed K. Epps (born September 12, 1977), known professionally as 2 Chainz (or Tity Boi), is an American rapper. Born and raised in College Park, Georgia, he initially gained recognition as one-half of the Southern hip hop duo Playaz Circle, al ...

, opened for Lil Wayne's "America's Most Wanted Tour". On December 15, 2013, G-Eazy and Master Chen B performed "Lotta That" from '' These Things Happen'' in New York City. On January 15, 2014, G-Eazy announced his "These Things Happen Tour" with Rockie Fresh,

KYLE Kyle or Kyles may refer to: Places Canada * Kyle, Saskatchewan, Canada Ireland * Kyle, County Laois * Kyle, County Wexford Scotland * Kyle, Ayrshire, area of Scotland which stretched across parts of modern-day East Ayrshire and South Ayrshir ...

, and

Tory Lanez Daystar Shemuel Shua Peterson (born July 27, 1992), known professionally as Tory Lanez, is a Canadian rapper, singer, songwriter, and convicted felon. He received initial recognition from the mixtape ''Conflicts of My Soul: The 416 Story'', rel ...

accompanying him. The tour ran for 40 stops throughout the United States and Canada from February until April 2014.

2014–16: ''These Things Happen'' and ''When It's Dark Out''

On June 23, 2014, G-Eazy released his major-label debut album, '' These Things Happen''. The album topped the US ''Billboard'' Hip-Hop/R&B and Top Rap Albums charts, also earning him the number 3 spot on the US ''Billboard'' 200 and the Top Digital Albums Chart. The album has sold nearly 265,000 copies to date. On October 21, 2014, Gillum embarked on his sold-out "From the Bay to the Universe" tour. The tour traveled across the globe to countries like Australia and New Zealand. This was his first headlining tour overseas. During the summer of 2015, G-Eazy played some of the main stages at a series of notable music festivals, including

Lollapalooza Lollapalooza (Lolla) is an annual American four-day music festival held in Grant Park in Chicago. It originally started as a touring event in 1991 but several years later made Chicago the permanent location for the annual music festival. Musi ...

Electric Forest Electric Forest is a multi-genre music festival produced by Madison House Presents and Insomniac Events with a focus on electronic music and jam band genres. Original named Rothbury Festival in 2008, it is held in Rothbury, Michigan at the ...

Bonnaroo The Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival is an American annual four-day music festival developed and founded by Superfly Presents and AC Entertainment. Since its first year in 2002, it has been held at what is now Great Stage Park on a farm in M ...

Outside Lands Outside Lands was the name used in the 19th century for the present-day Richmond District, San Francisco, California, Richmond District and Sunset District, San Francisco, California, Sunset District in San Francisco, California. With few roads an ...

, Made in America, and

Austin City Limits ''Austin City Limits'' is an American live music television program recorded and produced by Austin PBS. The show helped Austin become widely known in the United States as the "Live Music Capital of the World", and is the only television show t ...

. With the rise of his music career, Gillum has also taken up in interest in fashion by releasing a collaboration with Rare Panther in the fall of 2015 and being named

GQ Magazine ''GQ'' (formerly ''Gentlemen's Quarterly'' and ''Apparel Arts'') is an American international monthly men's magazine based in New York City and founded in 1931. The publication focuses on fashion, style, and culture for men, though articles on ...

's top 10 most stylish at

New York Fashion Week New York Fashion Week (NYFW), held in February and September of each year, is a semi-annual series of events in Manhattan typically spanning 7–9 days when international fashion collections are shown to buyers, the press, and the general publ ...

. Gillum's second album, ''

'', was released on December 4, 2015. On January 6, 2016, G-Eazy launched his second world tour. The tour saw G-Eazy tour the United States, Europe, and Australia. His single " Me, Myself & I", in collaboration with

, peaked at number 7 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100. He co-headlined the Endless Summer tour with American rapper

Logic Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the science of deductively valid inferences or of logical truths. It is a formal science investigating how conclusions follow from premises ...

, along with YG and

Yo Gotti Mario Sentell Giden Mims (born May 19, 1981), known professionally as Yo Gotti, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record executive. In 1996, Gotti released his debut album ''Youngsta's On a Come Up'' under the alias Lil Yo. He went on to re ...

as supporting acts, from June to August. Before the tour, he announced his new

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 ...

, Endless Summer II. He cancelled the tape due to problems with sample clearance. In May 2016, G-Eazy confirmed that he would be featured on

Britney Spears Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the " Princess of Pop", she is credited with influencing the revival of teen pop during the late 1990s and early 2000s. After appearing in stage productio ...

' single " Make Me...". The single was released on July 15, 2016, and serves as the lead single from Spears' ninth studio album. G-Eazy performed "Make Me..." and "Me, Myself & I" with Spears at the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards and the 2016

iHeartRadio Music Festival The iHeartRadio Music Festival is a two-day music concert festival held every year in September since 2011 by iHeartRadio along the Las Vegas Strip in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. From 2011 to 2015, the festival was held at the MGM Gran ...

2017–18: ''Step Brothers'' and ''The Beautiful & Damned''

Gillum released an EP with Guatemalan DJ Carnage called '' Step Brothers'' on March 27, 2017. G-Eazy released his new single, a collaboration with American singer

Kehlani Kehlani Ashley Parrish (born April 24, 1995) is an American singer, songwriter, and dancer. Kehlani is originally from Oakland, California, and achieved initial fame as a member of the teen group Poplyfe in 2011. In 2014, Kehlani released thei ...

called " Good Life", which is a part of the eighth installment of the film franchise ''

Fast & Furious ''Fast & Furious'' (also known as ''The Fast and the Furious'') is a media franchise centered on a series of action films that are largely concerned with street racing, heists, spies, and family. The franchise also includes short films, a t ...

'', titled ''

The Fate of the Furious ''The Fate of the Furious'' (alternatively known as ''F8'' and titled on-screen as ''Fast & Furious 8'' internationally) is a 2017 American action film directed by F. Gary Gray and written by Chris Morgan. It is the sequel to ''Furious 7'' (2 ...

''. He was also featured in the new

Dillon Francis Dillon Hart Francis (born October 5, 1987), also known by the stage name DJ Hanzel, is an American electronic music producer and DJ. Early life Francis was born in Los AngelesAhmed, Insanul (March 13, 2012Who Is Dillon Francis?Complex. Retri ...

single titled " Say Less". On June 14, 2017, G-Eazy announced through

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

and

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

that his next studio album, '' The Beautiful & Damned'', would be released in the fall of 2017. On November 8, 2017, the official release day was announced as December 15, as well as an accompanying short film. On December 5, 2017, G-Eazy released his second single from ''The Beautiful & Damned'' titled "

Him & I "Him & I" is a song recorded by American rapper G-Eazy and American singer Halsey. It was written by G-Eazy, Halsey, Edgar Machuca, Jim Lavigne, Dakarai Gwitira, Madison Love, and production duo The Futuristics. The song was released via RCA Rec ...

" with Halsey, with whom he was in a relationship. They performed the song together on

Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve ''Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve'' (''NYRE'') is an annual New Year's Eve television special broadcast by ABC. The special broadcasts primarily from New York City's Times Square and prominently features coverage of its annual ball drop ev ...

of 2017. On February 27, 2019, G-Eazy released the single, "West Coast", featuring

Blueface Johnathan Jamall Porter (born January 20, 1997), known professionally as Blueface, is an American rapper. In October 2018, after releasing the music video for his song "Respect My Cryppin'", he became a viral meme due to his offbeat style of rap ...

and released the video on March 28, 2019, adding ALLBLACK and YG.

2019–present: ''B-Sides'', ''Scary Nights'', ''Everything's Strange Here'' and ''These Things Happen Too''

G-Eazy released an EP ''B-Sides'' on June 25, 2019, which contained the songs that wouldn't make it onto his upcoming album. This EP spawned the song "Bang" with American rapper

Tyga Michael Ray Nguyen-StevensonMicheal Ray Stevenson ...

. He later updated the EP on August 22 and September 19. Gillum released the single "I Wanna Rock", featuring American rapper Gunna, as the lead single of his EP ''Scary Nights'', on October 16. The EP was released on October 18. In March 2020, G-Eazy announced a new project featuring an indie rock sound titled '' Everything's Strange Here.'' The album was officially released on June 26, 2020. G-Eazy released his long anticipated fourth studio album '' These Things Happen Too'' on September 24, 2021. It was supported by the singles "Running Wild (Tumblr Girls 2)" and "Breakdown" featuring

Demi Lovato Demetria Devonne Lovato ( ; born August 20, 1992), known as Demi Lovato, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. After appearing on the children's television series ''Barney & Friends'' (2002–2004), Lovato rose to prominence for pl ...

in the weeks leading up to the release date.

Discography

* ''The Epidemic LP'' (2008) * '' Must Be Nice'' (2012) * '' These Things Happen'' (2014) * ''

'' (2015) * '' The Beautiful & Damned'' (2017) * '' These Things Happen Too'' (2021)

Philanthropy

In 2018, G-Eazy headlined a concert for Bay Area fire relief that raised $15 million, pulled out of H&M sponsorship deal after blowback about a sweatshirt advertisement that some considered to be racist, performed at an Everytown fundraiser on the eve of

March For Our Lives March for Our Lives (MFOL) was a student-led demonstration in support of gun control legislation. It took place in Washington, D.C., on March 24, 2018, with over 880 sibling events throughout the United States and around the world, and wa ...

, and used his platform to speak out against gun violence. Also that year, G-Eazy launched the Endless Summer Fund, which is a non-profit dedicated to helping young people reach their full potential and strengthening the Bay Area community. In 2022, G-Eazy joined the ownership group of Purpose-driven, professional soccer team Oakland Roots

Legal issues

On May 2, 2018, Gillum was arrested in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

, Sweden on suspicion of assault, possession and use of drugs, after he allegedly punched a security guard and was found to have

cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly recreational drug use, used recreationally for its euphoria, euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from t ...

in his pocket. Gillum pleaded guilty to violent resistance, drug possession, and assault against an official in court on May 4. He was sentenced to

probation Probation in criminal law is a period of supervision over an offender, ordered by the court often in lieu of incarceration. In some jurisdictions, the term ''probation'' applies only to community sentences (alternatives to incarceration), such ...

, and ordered to pay a fine of $10,000 and a $900 compensation fee to the security guard he assaulted. On September 13, 2021, Gillum was arrested and charged with assault in New York City. It was reported that he assaulted two men at the Boom Boom Room at the Standard.

Awards

MTV Europe Music Awards

, - , , 2016, , G-Eazy, , Best Hip-Hop Artist, ,

People's Choice Awards

, - , , 2017 , , G-Eazy , , Favorite Hip-Hop Artist , ,

References

External links

Official G-Eazy website

Official YouTube page
{{Authority control 1989 births Living people American male rappers Loyola University New Orleans alumni Rappers from Oakland, California West Coast hip hop musicians 21st-century American rappers 21st-century American male musicians Pop rappers