Khalif Malik Ibn Shaman Brown (born June 7, 1993), known professionally as Swae Lee, is an American singer and rapper. Known for his wide vocal range and genre-bending, Swae Lee is one half of the hip hop duo

Rae Sremmurd Rae Sremmurd ( ; "Drummers Ear" spelled backwards) is an American hip hop duo originating from Tupelo, Mississippi, formed by two brothers, Slim Jxmmi and Swae Lee. In 2013, they signed a record deal with Mike Will Made It's EarDrummers imp ...

with his brother Slim Jxmmi. As a member of Rae Sremmurd, he achieved success with the singles " No Flex Zone", " No Type" and "

Black Beatles "Black Beatles" is a song by American hip hop duo Rae Sremmurd featuring American rapper Gucci Mane. Produced by Mike Will Made It, it was released on September 13, 2016, by EarDrummers and Interscope Records as the third single from their s ...

", the last of which topped the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. In 2017, he was featured French Montana's single " Unforgettable", which earned him his first top ten on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 as a soloist, and was later certified

Diamond Diamond is a solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Another solid form of carbon known as graphite is the chemically stable form of carbon at room temperature and pressure, ...

(10× Platinum) by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). He was also nominated for the

Grammy Award for Song of the Year The Grammy Award for Song of the Year is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. The Song of the Year award is one of the four most prestigious categories at t ...

in 2017 for co-writing Beyoncé's single "

Formation Formation may refer to: Linguistics * Back-formation, the process of creating a new lexeme by removing or affixes * Word formation, the creation of a new word by adding affixes Mathematics and science * Cave formation or speleothem, a secondar ...

". In 2018, Swae Lee released his debut solo studio album '' Swaecation'' as part of Rae Sremmurd's third album, ''

SR3MM ''SR3MM'' is the third studio album by American hip hop duo Rae Sremmurd. It was released on May 4, 2018, by Ear Drummer Records and Interscope Records. The triple album also includes the debut solo studio albums by each of the duo, ''Swaecati ...

'' (2018), which was a

triple album A double album (or double record) is an audio album that spans two units of the primary medium in which it is sold, typically either records or compact disc. A double album is usually, though not always, released as such because the recording ...

. In the same year, his single " Sunflower" (with

Post Malone Austin Richard Post (born July 4, 1995), known professionally as Post Malone, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. Known for his variegated vocals, Malone has gained acclaim for blending genres and subgenres of hip ...

) was promotional and lead single to the soundtrack for the film '' Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse'' (2018). The song peaked atop the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, was nominated for two Grammy Awards, and reached Diamond status, being certified 17× Platinum by the RIAA. He was also featured on the single " Close to Me" by Ellie Goulding and Diplo, which reached number one on the US

Adult Top 40 The Adult Pop Airplay (formerly known as Adult Pop Songs and Adult Top 40) chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and ranks "the most popular adult top 40 as based on radio airplay detections measured by Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems ...

airplay chart. In 2020, he released the single " Be Like That" with

Kane Brown Kane Allen Brown (born October 21, 1993) is an American singer. Brown first came to the attention of the public through social media. He released his first EP, titled '' Closer'', in June 2015, and followed it with a new single, "Used to Love Y ...

and

Khalid Khalid (variants include Khaled and Kalid; Arabic: خالد) is a popular Arabic male given name meaning "eternal, everlasting, immortal", and it also appears as a surname.

, which reached the top 20 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100.

Early life

Brown was born in Inglewood, California, to a single mother who worked on tanks in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

. Brown was raised in Tupelo, Mississippi, and began to make music in high school with his brother Slim Jxmmi and local rapper Lil Pantz as "Dem Outta St8 Boyz". After graduating high school, Brown, alongside his brother had a period of homelessness in which they

squatted Squatting is the action of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building, usually residential, that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use. The United Nations estimated in 2003 that there ...

in an abandoned house.

Career

In 2013, he and Slim Jxmmi signed to Mike Will Made It's label EarDrummers Entertainment as

. They have since released three studio albums under EarDrummers, ''

SremmLife ''SremmLife'' is the debut studio album by American hip hop duo Rae Sremmurd. It was released on January 6, 2015, by Ear Drummer Records and Interscope Records. The album was supported by five singles: "No Flex Zone", "No Type", "Throw Sum Mo" f ...

'', '' SremmLife 2'', and ''

''.

In March 2015, Swae Lee was featured on Mike Will Made It's "Drinks on Us", which also featured artists Future and

The Weeknd Abel Makkonen Tesfaye (born February 16, 1990), known professionally as the Weeknd, is a Canadian singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor. Known for his sonic versatility and dark lyricism, his music explores escapism, romance, and ...

, and became his first single as solo artist. In September 2015, he was featured on

Wiz Khalifa Cameron Jibril Thomaz (born September 8, 1987), better known by his stage name Wiz Khalifa, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and actor. He released his debut album, ''Show and Prove'', in 2006 and signed to Warner Bros. Records in 20 ...

's "Burn Slow", which peaked at number 83 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, making it Swae Lee's first solo entry on the chart. In April 2017, Swae Lee was featured on French Montana's " Unforgettable". The song peaked at number three on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, making it Swae Lee's first top ten single on the chart as a solo artist. In September 2018, Jhené Aiko featured Swae Lee on her track "Sativa". Two months later, Swae Lee released a song titled "TR666" alongside

Trippie Redd Michael Lamar White II (born June 18, 1999), known professionally as Trippie Redd, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He is one of the most prominent members of the SoundCloud rap scene, which gained mainstream acclaim in the late ...

. On May 4, 2018, almost two years after its initial announcement in August 2016, Swae Lee released his debut solo album, '' Swaecation'' as a part of a triple album set, which also contained Rae Sremmurd's third studio album, ''SR3MM'' and Slim Jxmmi's debut studio album as a solo artist, '' Jxmtro''. In October 2018, he featured on the song " Close to Me" by Ellie Goulding and Diplo. Swae Lee also collaborated on

XXXTentacion Jahseh Dwayne Ricardo Onfroy (January 23, 1998 – June 18, 2018), known professionally as XXXTentacion, was an American rapper and singer-songwriter. Though a controversial figure due to his widely publicized legal troubles, XXXTentacion ga ...

's song "

Arms Around You "Arms Around You" is a collaborative single by American rappers XXXTentacion and Lil Pump featuring Colombian singer Maluma and American singer and rapper Swae Lee. It was released on October 25, 2018, and is produced by Skrillex, Mally Mall, Jon ...

" after his death, along with

Lil Pump Gazzy Garcia (born August 17, 2000), better known professionally as Lil Pump, is an American rapper. He is one of the most prominent artists of the SoundCloud rap scene and is known for his minimalist music and hyperactive public persona. Li ...

and

Maluma Juan Luis Londoño Arias (born 28 January 1994), known professionally as Maluma, is a Colombian singer, songwriter, and actor. Born and raised in Medellín, he developed an interest in music at a young age, recording songs since age sixteen. ...

. On October 18, 2018, Swae Lee featured on

's song " Sunflower" for '' Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse'', which became Post Malone's third and Swae Lee's first song as a soloist to top the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. He appeared on

Nicki Minaj Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (; born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj ( ), is a Trinidadian-born rapper based in the United States. She is known for her musical versatility, animated Flow (rapping), flow in her rapping, alter e ...

’s 2018 album ''

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

.'' In May 2019, he collaborated on the song " Crave" with Madonna on her album '' Madame X''. In August 2019, Swae Lee released " Won't Be Late" featuring Canadian rapper and singer

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals * A male duck People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family name * Drake (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * ...

, produced by Tekno and Mike Will Made It. In October 2019, he was featured on

88rising 88rising (stylized as 88⬆), formerly known as CXSHXNLY (pronounced “cash only”), is an American music company that founder Sean Miyashiro describes as a "hybrid management, record label, video production, and marketing company". The compa ...

's "Walking", alongside Joji,

Jackson Wang Jackson Wang (; ko, 왕잭슨; born 28 March 1994) is a Hong Kong rapper, singer, dancer, record producer, fashion designer, and music video director. He is the founder of record label Team Wang and is the creative director and lead designer ...

, and

Major Lazer Major Lazer is an American electronic dance music DJ trio, which includes record producer Diplo, and DJs Walshy Fire and Ape Drums. It originates from Kingston, Jamaica, and was founded in 2008 by Diplo and Switch, with Switch leaving after ...

. As of 2020, he released the single "Someone Said", a reworked version of Travis Scott's " Sicko Mode". He also collaborated with

Chloe x Halle Chloe x Halle are an R&B duo composed of sisters Chloe and Halle Bailey. At a young age, the sisters performed in minor acting roles before moving from Mableton, Georgia, to Los Angeles in 2012. The two began posting music covers to YouTube a ...

on the Mike Will Made It-produced "Catch Up", from the former's album '' Ungodly Hour''. He was featured on the remix to

Arizona Zervas Arizona Zervas, (born April 19, 1995) is an American rapper and singer. He is widely known for his song " Roxanne", which reached number four on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in 2019, after being prominently featured in Spotify playlists.

' hit song " Roxanne". On June 18, 2020, Swae Lee released the single, "Reality Check". Swae Lee invested in esports organization

XSET XSET is an American professional esports and entertainment organization based in Boston, Massachusetts. It has rosters competing in Fortnite, Valorant, Rocket League, Call of Duty: Warzone, Call of Duty: Mobile, PUBG Mobile, Madden NFL, Apex L ...

in October 2020. Swae Lee has been working on his upcoming album ''Human Nature'' since 2020. In the same year, he appeared on Pop Smoke’s posthumous album ''

Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon ''Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon'' is the debut studio album by American rapper Pop Smoke. It was posthumously released on July 3, 2020, by Victor Victor Worldwide and Republic Records, and a deluxe edition of the album that incl ...

''. In 2021, he collaborated with

Alicia Keys Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. A classically trained pianist, Keys started composing songs when she was 12 and was signed at 15 years old by Col ...

on the single "

Lala (Unlocked) "Lala (Unlocked)" (stylized as "LALA (Unlocked)") is a song by American singer and songwriter Alicia Keys featuring American recording artist Swae Lee. The song was written by Keys, Darryl Ellis, Khalif Brown, Michael L Williams II, Paul Richm ...

" at the

2021 MTV Video Music Awards The 2021 MTV Video Music Awards were held on September 12, 2021, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York City. This marked the first time in eight years that the venue hosted the show. The show was hosted by hip-hop rapper and singer Doja ...

Artistry

Swae Lee has become known for his hooks and melodies, as demonstrated in collaborations with the likes of Madonna, Ellie Goulding,

Anitta Anitta may refer to: * Anitta (king), Hittite king *Anitta (singer) Larissa de Macedo Machado (born March 30, 1993), known professionally as Anitta, is a Brazilian singer, songwriter and television host. She is regarded as one of biggest Brazi ...

, French Montana, and

, among other artists. He has been described as 'the songbird of our generation', with several of his peers and critics praising his vocal ability. According to a 2017 interview with A Polaroid Story, Swae Lee describes himself more as a singer than a rapper.

Personal life

Brown has a daughter with Brazilian model Aline Martins, who was born in 2020. In 2022, he filed for

joint custody Joint custody is a form of child custody pursuant to which custody rights are awarded to both parents. Joint custody may refer to ''joint physical custody'', ''joint legal custody'', or both combined. In joint legal custody, both parents of a ...

Discography

* '' Swaecation'' (2018) * ''Human Nature'' (TBA)

Awards and nominations

Grammy Awards

The Grammy Awards are annual awards presented by

The Recording Academy The Recording Academy (formally the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences; abbreviated NARAS) is an American learned academy of musicians, producers, recording engineers, and other musical professionals. It is famous for its Grammy A ...

to recognize outstanding achievement in the mainly English-language music industry. ! , - ,

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, "

" (as songwriter) , Song of the Year , , style="text-align:center;", , - , style="text-align:center;" rowspan="2",

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

, rowspan="2", " Sicko Mode" (with Travis Scott and

Big Hawk John Edward Hawkins (November 15, 1969 – May 1, 2006), better known by his stage names Big Hawk and H.A.W.K., was an American rapper from Houston, Texas and a founding member of the late DJ Screw's rap group the Screwed Up Click. Life and ...

) ,

Best Rap Performance The Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance is an honor presented to recording artists for quality rap performances. It was first presented at the 31st Annual Grammy Awards in 1989 and again at the 32nd Annual Grammy Awards in 1990, after which p ...

, , style="text-align:center;" rowspan="2", , - ,

Best Rap Song The Grammy Award for Best Rap Song is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality songs in the rap music genre. Honors in several c ...

, , - , style="text-align:center;" rowspan="2",

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, rowspan="2", " Sunflower" (with

) ,

Record of the Year The Grammy Award for Record of the Year is presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without reg ...

, , style="text-align:center;" rowspan="2", , - ,

Best Pop Duo/Group Performance The Grammy Award for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. According to the 63rd Grammy Awards category rules, "this category ...

, , -

MTVU Woodie Awards

The

MTVU Woodie Awards MTVU (formerly stylized as MtvU and mtvU) is an American digital cable TV channel owned by the MTV Entertainment Group, a unit of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. The channel was first known as VH1 Uno from 2000 to ...

are semi-annual awards presented by

MTVU MTVU (formerly stylized as MtvU and mtvU) is an American digital cable TV channel owned by the MTV Entertainment Group, a unit of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. The channel was first known as VH1 Uno from 2000 to ...

which it states recognizes "the music voted best by college students". ! , - , 2017 , Swae Lee , Songwriter of the Year , , style="text-align:center;",

Soul Train Music Awards

The

Soul Train Music Awards The Soul Train Music Awards is an annual music awards show which previously aired in national broadcast syndication, and honors the best in African-American culture, music and entertainment. It is produced by the makers of '' Soul Train'', the p ...

are annual awards to honor the best in

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ...

music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspe ...

and

entertainment Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and delight. It can be an idea or a task, but is more likely to be one of the activities or events that have developed over thousa ...

. ! , - ,

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

, "

" (as songwriter) , The Ashford & Simpson Songwriter's Award , , style="text-align:center;",

Teen Choice Awards

! , - ,

, " Sunflower" , Choice R&B/Hip-Hop Song , , style="text-align:center;",

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Swae 1993 births Living people 21st-century American rappers 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century African-American male singers African-American male rappers Interscope Records artists People from Tupelo, Mississippi Rappers from Mississippi Singer-songwriters from Mississippi Southern hip hop musicians American hip hop singers People from Inglewood, California Rappers from California Singer-songwriters from California African-American male singer-songwriters Trap musicians OnlyFans creators Pop rappers