Faraji Omar Wright, also known as Rexx Life Raj, is an American rapper and singer. He has released five albums, including the ''Father Figure'' trilogy, and four EPs.

Early life

Faraji Omar Wright grew up 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 ...

. His mother was in a gospel group called The Marshall Quartet with his aunts, uncle, and grandmother. His father was a Black Panther. In middle school, Wright began recording his own music, making the beats on a Casio keyboard and singing with a karaoke machine, making CDs he sold at school. Wright went to middle and high school with

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 ...

. In 2010, he played offensive tackle and guard for the

Fiesta Bowl The Fiesta Bowl is an American college football bowl game played annually in the Phoenix metropolitan area. From its beginning in 1971 until 2006, the game was hosted at the Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona. Since 2007, the game has been playe ...

-winning

Boise State University Boise State University (BSU) is a public research university in Boise, Idaho. Founded in 1932 by the Episcopal Church, it became an independent junior college in 1934 and has been awarding baccalaureate and master's degrees It became a publ ...

football team. After graduation, Wright returned home to California to pursue music while working at his parents' package delivery business. "Neo-soul music became my favorite when I could begin to appreciate it. I was into Lauryn Hill, Erykah Badu, and Musiq Soulchild. id Cudi's''Man on the Moon: End of Day'' is one of, if not my favorite album of all-time", he told

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Career

Wright adopted the professional stage name Rexx Life Raj for his rap and singing career. He released his first EP for sale, ''Hidden Clouds'', in 2014, which featured the single "Put On". That same year, he released the ''Portraits'' EP with producer Tele Fresco. In 2015, he released another two projects, the full-length album, ''The Escape'', with guests

Iamsu! Sudan Ameer Williams (born November 16, 1989), better known by his stage name Iamsu! (stylized as IamSu! or IAMSU!), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is also a part of the production team The Invasion and lead ...

, Will Fraker, City Shawn, and the EP, ''Dreamland: Telegraph Ave.'', with YMTK, Ellen Purtell, and

Lolo Zouaï Laureen Rebeha Zouaï (; born on March 5, 1995), better known as Lolo Zouaï, is a French-born American R&B and pop musician. Born to a French mother and an Algerian father in Paris, France; Zouaï moved to San Francisco, California when she w ...

. In 2016, with his second album, ''Father Figure'', Raj developed his sound, combining rhymes with singing "confessional" and political lyrics in tracks like "Handheld GPS" and, the album's first single, "Moxie Java" featuring another Vallejo-area rapper

Nef the Pharaoh Tonee Hayes (born January 11, 1995), better known by his stage name Nef the Pharaoh, is an American rapper from Vallejo, California. In 2014 he was selected by fans as the "Bay Area Freshman of the Year" in a yearly contest held by Thizzler.com. ...

. Raj's sequel album, ''Father Figure 2: Flourish'', came out in 2017 with features from G-Eazy, Russ, and Iman Europe. That year he toured with Mr. Carmack. In 2018, he released EP ''California Poppy'', produced entirely by Kyle Betty, and toured twice in support of both

Marc E. Bassy Marc Griffin, known professionally as Marc E. Bassy, is an American singer and songwriter from the San Francisco Bay Area. He is the former vocalist of the Los Angeles-based pop band 2AM Club. His solo works include his 2014 mixtape ''Only the Po ...

and

Bas Bas may refer to: People * Bas (name), a given name and a surname * Bas (rapper) (born 1987) Chemistry * Boron arsenide (BAs), a chemical compound * Barium sulfide (BAs), a chemical compound Other uses * ''bas'' (French for "low"), as in bas- ...

, as well as his first headlining tour in Europe in 2019. In 2019, Raj released ''Father Figure 3: Somewhere Out There'' produced by Sango,

Kenny Beats Kenneth Charles Blume III, known professionally as Kenny Beats, is an American record producer, audio engineer, and songwriter. Early life Kenneth Blume III was born and raised in Greenwich, Connecticut. He has been studying music since the age ...

, JULiA LEWiS, Avedon and Bay Area producers Kyle Betty, DTB, Wax Roof and Drew Banga. Songs included "Burgundy Regal," about his two childhood best friends, one of whom was eventually killed, the other incarcerated; "Your Way", an acoustic duet with

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 ...

that also featured.

Russ Russ is a masculine given name, often a short form of Russell, and also a surname. People Given name or nickname * Russ Abbot (born 1947), British musician, comedian and actor * Russ Adams (born 1980), American retired baseball player * Russ B ...

, and was premiered on

Zane Lowe Alexander Zane Reid Lowe (born 7 August 1973) is a New Zealand radio DJ, live DJ, record producer, and television presenter. After an early career in music creation, production and DJing, he moved to the UK in 1997. He came to prominence thro ...

Beats 1 Apple Music 1, previously branded as Beats 1, is a 24/7 music radio station owned and operated by Apple Inc. It is accessible through iTunes or the Apple Music app on a computer, smartphone or tablet, smart speaker (such as the Apple HomePod), ...

show. ''Father Figure 3: Somewhere Out'' was recorded most of the vocals in hotels and Airbnbs on the road touring as opening act for Bas. Raj did a headline tour of the United States in 2019. In 2022, he released his fifth album ''The Blue Hour'' with features from Wale, Larry June, Russ, and Fireboy DML''.''

Discography

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Raj, Rexx Life Rappers from California Living people Musicians from Berkeley, California Year of birth missing (living people)