Kari Rose Johnson (born June 11, 1992) better known by her stage name Kari Faux, is an American rapper, singer-songwriter and record producer from

Little Rock, Arkansas (The Little Rock, The "Little Rock") , government_type = council-manager government, Council-manager , leader_title = List of mayors of Little Rock, Arkansas, Mayor , leader_name = Frank Scott Jr. , leader_ ...

. She is best known for her flamboyant dress, and conversational style of rap. Her songs are most commonly characterized as "internet rap" with repetitive hooks, minimal production, and an emphasis on clever wordplay.

Early life and education

Faux was born June 11, 1992 to a single teenage mother. She was adopted by a couple that had a 10-year-old son, and raised in Little Rock, Arkansas. Her father worked for the

Skippy Peanut Butter Skippy is an American brand of peanut butter spread manufactured in the United States and China. First sold in 1932, Skippy is currently manufactured by Hormel, Hormel Foods, which bought the brand from Unilever in 2013. It is the best selling bra ...

factory in Little Rock, and her mother was a minister. She attended

Little Rock Central High School Little Rock Central High School (LRCHS) is an accredited comprehensive education, comprehensive public high school in Little Rock, Arkansas, Little Rock, Arkansas, Secondary education in the United States, United States. The school was the Littl ...

. After graduating she moved to

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, Georgia and enrolled in the

Art Institute of Atlanta The Art Institute of Atlanta is a private art school in Atlanta, Georgia. It is owned by Education Principle Foundation. The school is one of eight Art Institutes. It awards associate's and bachelor's degrees, including Bachelor of Fine Arts ( ...

, to study audio engineering, but dropped out after a while, declaring: "It sucked. The school is a scam, and I only had one real friend. That was just a bad time. I was so sad. I was smoking a lot of weed, trying to find myself, it was not working, so I took my ass back home.”

Career

In 2014, Faux released her debut mixtape, ''Laugh Now, Die Later,'' which had been received somewhat well from critics, landing a spot on Pitchfork's "Most Overlooked Mixtapes of 2014. The EP would most notably gain the attention of rapper

Donald Glover Donald McKinley Glover Jr. (; born September 25, 1983), also known by his stage name Childish Gambino (), is an American entertainer, writer, director, and producer. After working in Derrick Comedy while studying at New York University, Glove ...

, also known as Childish Gambino. Glover remixed Faux's "No Small Talk," and featured it on his own mixtape, '' STN MTN''. Kari was also featured on Glover's 2016 album, ''

"Awaken, My Love!" ''"Awaken, My Love!"'' is the third studio album by American recording artist Donald Glover, under his stage name Childish Gambino. It was released by Glassnote Records on December 2, 2016. Consisting of tracks being sung rather than rapped, its f ...

'' She released the EP '' Cry 4 Help'' in 2019 and the mixtape ''Lowkey Superstar'' in 2020. ''Lowkey Superstar'' was recorded in London, United Kingdom, with producer Danio.

Personal life

In the fall of 2014 Faux moved to Los Angeles, California with friend and collaborator Malik Flint, in order to further develop her career and produce more music, but went back to Little Rock in 2016. As of 2020, Faux resides again in Los Angeles.

Discography

Studio albums

*''Lost En Los Angeles'' (2016) *'' Lowkey Superstar (Deluxe)'' (2021,

Don Giovanni ''Don Giovanni'' (; K. 527; Vienna (1788) title: , literally ''The Rake Punished, or Don Giovanni'') is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. Its subject is a centuries-old Spanis ...

/Lowkey Superstar)

EPs

*''Primary'' (2017) *'' Cry 4 Help'' (2019)

Mixtapes

*''City Limits'' (2012) *''Sophisticated Rachetness'' (2012) *''No Sleep Til Atlanta'' (2013) *''Laugh Now, Die Later'' (2014) *''Lowkey Superstar'' (2020)

Guest appearances

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Faux, Kari 1992 births Living people Rappers from Arkansas Singers from Arkansas 21st-century African-American women singers American women rappers American women singers 21st-century American women musicians African-American songwriters 21st-century American rappers Record producers from Arkansas African-American women rappers Don Giovanni Records artists 21st-century women rappers