Kirk Jerel Randle (born August 20, 1989), better known by his stage name Kirko Bangz, is an American rapper from

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

. He is best known for his single, " Drank in My Cup" which was released in 2011 and peaked at number 28 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. His name is derived from

grunge rock Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is an alternative rock genre and subculture that emerged during the in the American Pacific Northwest state of Washington, particularly in Seattle and nearby towns. Grunge fuses elements of p ...

singer

Kurt Cobain Kurt Donald Cobain (February 20, 1967 – April 5, 1994) was an American musician who served as the lead vocalist, guitarist and primary songwriter of the rock band Nirvana. Through his angst-fueled songwriting and anti-establishment persona ...

Early life

Kirko Bangz was born Kirk Jerel Randle in Houston, Texas. Bangz started rapping at the age of fifteen, due in part to witnessing his mother struggle as a single parent; using his mother's pain as motivation. He graduated from North Shore High School in Houston and would later go on to attend

Prairie View A&M University Prairie View A&M University (PVAMU or PV) is a public historically black land-grant university in Prairie View, Texas. Founded in 1876, it is one of Texas's two land-grant universities and the second oldest public institution of higher lear ...

where he would major in communications.

Career

2009–2012: Career beginnings and mixtapes

At Prairie View he was able to focus on his music, and in 2009 he released his first mixtape ''Procrastination Kills''. He got the attention of a fellow student and now manager D Will. His stage name is a play on late singer

's name. Bangz released his first official single titled " What Yo Name Iz?" on February 7, 2011. His first major hit actually began as a freestyle. It has since peaked at number forty-one on the chart. A remix was released on June 24, 2011, and features

Big Sean Sean Michael Leonard Anderson (born March 25, 1988), known professionally as Big Sean, is an American rapper. Anderson began his music career in 2007 and gained popularity in 2010 with his third mixtape '' Finally Famous Vol. 3: Big''. He then s ...

, Wale and

Bun B Bernard James Freeman (born March 19, 1973), known professionally as Bun B, is an American rapper. He is best known as one half of the southern rap duo UGK (UnderGround Kingz), a group he formed in 1987 alongside Pimp C. Aside from his work wit ...

. He released a mixtape shortly after on March 1, 2011, titled ''Procrastination Kills 3''. His second single titled " Drank in My Cup" was released on September 16, 2011. During the week of February 25, 2012, the single debuted at number ninety-six on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. It has since peaked at number 28 on the chart and at number one on the

Hot Rap Songs Hot Rap Songs (formerly known as Hot Rap Tracks and Hot Rap Singles) is a chart released weekly by ''Billboard'' in the United States. It lists the 25 most popular hip-hop/rap songs, calculated weekly by airplay on rhythmic and urban radio stati ...

chart. The song spawned many remixes and freestyles featuring hip-hop artists

J. Cole Jermaine Lamarr Cole (born January 28, 1985) is an American rapper and record producer. Born on a military base in Germany and raised in Fayetteville, North Carolina, Cole initially gained recognition as a rapper following the release of his d ...

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, a ...

Tyga Michael Ray Nguyen-StevensonMicheal Ray Stevenson ...

, Bow Wow,

Kid Ink Brian Todd Collins (born April 1, 1986), known professionally as Kid Ink, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer from Los Angeles. He released his debut independent album ''Up & Away (Kid Ink album), Up & Away'' in 2012, f ...

Chamillionaire Hakeem Temidayo Seriki (born November 28, 1979), better known by his stage name Chamillionaire (), is an American rapper. He was the founder and an original member of The Color Changin' Click from 2001 until the group split in 2005. He began his ...

and singer

Trey Songz Tremaine Aldon Neverson (born November 28, 1984), known professionally as Trey Songz, is an American R&B singer and rapper. His debut album, ''I Gotta Make It'', was released in 2005 through Atlantic Records. His follow-up album, ''Trey Day'', ...

. Bangz released a new mixtape called "Procrastination Kills 4" on September 4, 2012. His third single from his debut album titled " Keep It Trill" was released on November 30, 2012.

2013–present: Atlantic Records and 300 Entertainment

On March 26, 2013, it was announced that Bangz would be a part of XXL Magazine's 2013 Freshman Class. Three days later he would announce the title of his debut album to be, ''Bigger Than Me''. On July 4, 2013, Bangz announced that he would release another mixtape, ''Progression 3'' on August 1, 2013, prior to his debut album. He has also revealed the cover for the mixtape. However he would announce that it would be pushed back a week later. The mixtape was released on August 12, 2013. Guest appearances came from Wale, Nipsey Hussle,

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. ...

Z-Ro Joseph Wayne McVey IV (born January 19, 1977), better known by his stage names Z-Ro and the Mo City Don, is an American rapper from Houston, Texas. He was named one of America's most underrated rappers by '' The New York Times'' in 2007. Early ...

Paul Wall Paul Michael Slayton (born March 11, 1981), better known by his stage name Paul Wall, is an American rapper and DJ. He has spent much of his career affiliated with Swishahouse Records, and has released several albums under the label and collabor ...

, YG and

Slim Thug Stayve Jerome Thomas (born September 8, 1980), better known by his stage name Slim Thug, is an American rapper. He initially gained mainstream attention for his contribution to the hit single by rapper Mike Jones, " Still Tippin'". In July 2005, ...

among others. Production was handled by K.E. on the Track,

DJ Mustard Dijon Isaiah McFarlane (born June 5, 1990), known professionally as Mustard (also known as DJ Mustard), is an American record producer and beatmaker. He is a frequent collaborator of fellow California-bred artists YG and Ty Dolla Sign; among var ...

and

Jahlil Beats Orlando Jahlil Tucker (born February 8, 1988), better known by his stage name Jahlil Beats, is an American hip hop producer. He is currently signed to Jay Z's Roc Nation. He has produced for artists such as Puff Daddy, Lil Wayne, Fabolous, Mee ...

among others. He was moved to

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most im ...

another subsidiarity of Warner Music Group. Then on January 28, 2014, Bangz released the album's first single "Hoe" featuring 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 ...

. His debut album will be released during 2014 by Atlantic Records. From March 6 to April 17, 2014, Kirko Bangz went on The Trillest

concert tour A concert tour (or simply tour) is a series of concerts by an artist or group of artists in different cities, countries or locations. Often concert tours are named to differentiate different tours by the same artist and to associate a specific to ...

which was co-headlined by frequent collaborator Bun B. On December 16, 2014, Bangz released the ''Progression V: Young Texas Playa'' mixtape, which was produced primarily by Austinite Kydd Jones and

Sound M.O.B. Sound M.O.B. (The Sound Of Magnificently Orchestrated Beats) is a music production and songwriting duo consisting of Brandon Tillman, better known as Pyro, and Raul Gonzalez, also known as DJ Ryu. They are best known for producing Kirko Bangz' ...

(who produced Kirko's previous No. 1 hit "Drank in My Cup); the mixtape featured artists such as Texas heavyweights Bun B and Riff Raff. On July 21, 2015, it was announced that Bangz signed with

300 Entertainment Theory Entertainment LLC, doing business as 300 Entertainment, is an American record label founded by Lyor Cohen, Kevin Liles, Todd Moscowitz, and Roger Gold. The label's roster includes acts across multiple genres such as hip hop, rock, pop, el ...

. Although he released a few singles to promote his debut album ''Bigger Than Me,'' the album would go unreleased. Bangz stated in an interview that some of his unreleased material is owned by Warner Music Group, therefore being unable to release it. On August 31, 2015, Bangz released his first EP titled ''Fallin' Up Mix.'' On February 19, 2016, Bangz released his second

Extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

, titled '' Playa Made''. Then on August 26, 2016, Bangz released brand new mixtape titled ''Back Flossin'.'' On August 10, 2017, Bangz released another mixtape of the ''Progression'' series titled ''Progression 17.'' He is currently working on a new album titled ''Soul Food.''

Personal life

Kirko Bangz is of African American, Mexican and Dominican descent.

Discography

*'' Playa Made'' (2016) * ''Back Flossin'' (2016)

References

External links

Kirko Bangz
at YouTube
Interview with Boi-1da.net
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bangz, Kirko 1989 births Living people African-American male rappers American male rappers American hip hop singers American rappers of Mexican descent American rappers of Dominican Republic descent Atlantic Records artists Prairie View A&M University alumni Rappers from Houston Southern hip hop musicians Warner Records artists African-American record producers American hip hop record producers Singers from Texas Songwriters from Texas North Shore Senior High School (Texas) alumni 21st-century American rappers Record producers from Texas 21st-century American male musicians African-American songwriters 21st-century African-American musicians 20th-century African-American people American male songwriters