stage name A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...

Fresno, California Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, makin ...

Boy Meets World ''Boy Meets World'' is an American coming-of-age sitcom created by Michael Jacobs and April Kelly that aired on ABC for seven seasons between September1993 and May2000. The series centers on Cory Matthews (Ben Savage) and his friends and famil ...

Exile Exile is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons and peoples suf ...

Nas Nas (born 1973) is the stage name of American rapper Nasir Jones. Nas, NaS, or NAS may also refer to: Aviation * Nasair, a low-cost airline carrier and subsidiary based in Eritrea * National Air Services, an airline in Saudi Arabia ** Nas Air ( ...

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 ...

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 200 ...

Evidence Evidence for a proposition is what supports this proposition. It is usually understood as an indication that the supported proposition is true. What role evidence plays and how it is conceived varies from field to field. In epistemology, evidenc ...

Murs Murs may refer to: People * Marc Athanase Parfait Œillet des Murs (1804-1878), French ornithologist * Olly Murs (born 1984), English singer-songwriter * Murs (rapper) (born 1978), American rapper Places * Murs, Indre, France * Murs, Vaucluse, ...

Aloe Blacc Egbert Nathaniel Dawkins III (born January 7, 1979), known professionally by his stage name Aloe Blacc (), is an American singer, songwriter and rapper. He is best known for his singles "I Need a Dollar", " The Man", which topped the charts in th ...

Blu Blu or BLU may refer to: Businesses and brands *Blu (Italian company), a telecommunications company *Blu Manga, an imprint of Tokyopop * blu eCigs, a brand of electronic cigarette owned by Imperial Tobacco *BLU Products, an American mobile phone m ...

Big Mike Big Mike is a nickname of: People with the nickname * Stormzy (born 1993), British grime artist and rapper * Mike Abrams (criminal) (died 1898), American underworld criminal * Michael Clemente (1908-1987), American mobster * Michael Clarke Dunc ...

Brother Ali Ali Douglas Newman (born Jason Douglas Newman, July 30, 1977), better known by his stage name Brother Ali, is an American rapper, community activist, and member of the Rhymesayers Entertainment hip hop collective. He has released seven albums, ...

The Alchemist An alchemist is a person who practices alchemy. Alchemist or Alchemyst may also refer to: Books and stories * ''The Alchemist'' (novel), the translated title of a 1988 allegorical novel by Paulo Coelho * ''The Alchemist'' (play), a play by Be ...

9th Wonder Patrick Denard Douthit (born January 15, 1975),
better known as 9th Wonder, is a WBO welterweight champion

Timothy Bradley Timothy Ray Bradley Jr. (born August 29, 1983) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 2004 to 2016. He held multiple world championships in two weight classes, including the WBC light welterweight title twice between 2008 an ...

's rematch against

Manny Pacquiao Emmanuel Dapidran Pacquiao Sr. (; born December17, 1978) is a Filipino politician and former professional boxer. Nicknamed "PacMan", he is regarded as one of the greatest professional boxers of all time. He served as a Senator of the Philip ...

. On June 9, 2014, Fashawn signed with

Nas Nas (born 1973) is the stage name of American rapper Nasir Jones. Nas, NaS, or NAS may also refer to: Aviation * Nasair, a low-cost airline carrier and subsidiary based in Eritrea * National Air Services, an airline in Saudi Arabia ** Nas Air ( ...

' new label

Mass Appeal Records Mass Appeal Records is an American independent record label founded in 2014. The label is the music division of the Mass Appeal Media Group. In May 2014, it was announced that American rapper Nas was launching an indie label with Mass Appeal ...

. After years of anticipation, Fashawn released his second studio album ''

The Ecology ''The Ecology'' is the second studio album by American hip hop recording artist Fashawn. The album was released on February 24, 2015 by Nas' Mass Appeal Records. Nas serves as executive producer for the album, and guest features include Nas hims ...

'' on February 24, 2015. It ranked among the top 10 most downloaded albums 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 during its first week of release. Since then, songs from ''The Ecology'' have been featured in various forms of popular media.

Life and career

1988–2009: Early life and career beginnings

Santiago Leyva was born on October 19, 1988, in

Fresno, California Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, makin ...

, where he had a rough childhood due to his father being incarcerated for a long period of time, while his single mother also had to deal with drug addiction. When he was 8 years old, Fashawn and his sister were both placed in a group home, before their Uncle Roy took them into his custody as a father figure. Fashawn recalls writing his first rhyme at 8 years old and became fully engrossed in writing by 2000. In 2006, Fashawn released his first mixtape, ''Grizzly City,'' catching the attention of fellow Fresno MC

Planet Asia Jason Cullen Green (born October 24, 1976), better known as Planet Asia, is a rapper from Fresno, California. He is prominent for being one half of the now reunited hip-hop duo the Cali Agents and is currently a member of the groups Gold Chain ...

, who invited him to tour with him. Knowing the opportunity that presented him, Fashawn dropped out of school and pursued his dream. From 2007 to 2008, he established his presence throughout the

Central California Central California is generally thought of as the middle third of the state, north of Southern California, which includes Los Angeles, and south of Northern California, which includes San Francisco. It includes the northern portion of the San J ...

hip-hop scene, working with manager Aren Hekimian and releasing multiple mixtapes, including: ''The Phenom,'' ''Grizzly City 2,'' ''The Phenom 2,'' ''Higher Learning,'' and ''One Shot One Kill,'' which was released by Orisue Clothing. ''One Shot One Kill'' was well received by both fans and hip-hop websites, including OnSMASH and DatPiff, gaining him more attention and momentum as an upcoming artist.

2009–2012: ''Boy Meets World'', ''XXL'' cover, and his collaboration album with Murs

In 2009, Fashawn performed throughout the United States with various hip-hop acts, including separate tours with

Ghostface Killah Dennis Coles (born May 9, 1970), better known by his stage name Ghostface Killah, is an American rapper and a member of the hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan. After the group achieved breakthrough success in the aftermath of ''Enter the Wu-Tang (36 C ...

and The Grouch. On September 24, 2009, he released a project produced entirely by

The Alchemist An alchemist is a person who practices alchemy. Alchemist or Alchemyst may also refer to: Books and stories * ''The Alchemist'' (novel), the translated title of a 1988 allegorical novel by Paulo Coelho * ''The Alchemist'' (play), a play by Be ...

titled '' The Antidote'' to get fans hyped up for his debut solo album. On October 22, 2009, Fashawn released his first full-length album, titled ''

Boy Meets World ''Boy Meets World'' is an American coming-of-age sitcom created by Michael Jacobs and April Kelly that aired on ABC for seven seasons between September1993 and May2000. The series centers on Cory Matthews (Ben Savage) and his friends and famil ...

'', which was produced entirely by

Exile Exile is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons and peoples suf ...

. The album received critical acclaim, and Fashawn was praised for his ability to articulate the inner struggles and dreams of a young kid growing up in a tough environment. XXL Magazine gave the album an XL rating, concluding ''Boy Meets World'' is a strong debut from such a young MC, and it resonates a lot more than the work of some rappers decades his senior." In March 2010, Fashawn appeared on the cover of XXL's Top 10 Freshmen issue, standing alongside

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 200 ...

,

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 ...

,

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 ...

,

Nipsey Hussle Airmiess Joseph Asghedom (August 15, 1985 – March 31, 2019), known professionally as Nipsey Hussle (often stylized as Nipsey Hu$$le), was an American rapper, entrepreneur, and activist. Emerging from the West Coast hip hop scene in the mid- ...

,

Jay Rock Johnny Reed McKinzie Jr. (born March 31, 1983), better known by his stage name Jay Rock, is an American rapper, singer and songwriter from Los Angeles. He signed to indie label Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE), in 2005. Under TDE, Rock secured a rec ...

,

Freddie Gibbs Fredrick Jamel Tipton (born June 14, 1982), better known by his stage name Freddie Gibbs, is an American rapper from Gary, Indiana. After initially being signed to Interscope Records in 2006, Gibbs recorded his debut studio album under the label ...

, and among others. This represented a prestigious benchmark for upcoming rappers who demonstrated great potential and success. Between 2010 to 2011, Fashawn continued to embark on various tours with Wiz Khalifa,

Talib Kweli Talib Kweli Greene (; born October 3, 1975) is an American rapper. He earned recognition early on through his collaboration with fellow Brooklyn rapper Mos Def in 1997, when they formed the group Black Star. Kweli's musical career continued with ...

, and

Brother Ali Ali Douglas Newman (born Jason Douglas Newman, July 30, 1977), better known by his stage name Brother Ali, is an American rapper, community activist, and member of the Rhymesayers Entertainment hip hop collective. He has released seven albums, ...

. He also performed at the

Paid Dues Paid Dues was an annual hip hop festival that took place in California, until the summer of 2006, when it was announced that the festival would travel to multiple locations. The last festival took place in 2013. Paid Dues was an event presente ...

and

Rock The Bells Rock the Bells was an annual hip-hop festival that originally took place in Southern California only, but has since toured throughout the world. The concert featured a line-up of high-profile alternative hip-hop artists, often headlined by a mor ...

festivals alongside

Blu Blu or BLU may refer to: Businesses and brands *Blu (Italian company), a telecommunications company *Blu Manga, an imprint of Tokyopop * blu eCigs, a brand of electronic cigarette owned by Imperial Tobacco *BLU Products, an American mobile phone m ...

and Exile. On February 16, 2011, he released a mixtape called '' Higher Learning Vol. 2'', which spawned two videos, "Down That Road" and "Big Dreams" produced by

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 ...

. On September 25, 2012, Fashawn and underground hip-hop legend

Murs Murs may refer to: People * Marc Athanase Parfait Œillet des Murs (1804-1878), French ornithologist * Olly Murs (born 1984), English singer-songwriter * Murs (rapper) (born 1978), American rapper Places * Murs, Indre, France * Murs, Vaucluse, ...

released a collaborative album called '' This Generation''. Fashawn and Murs performed many tracks together at various shows to help promote the album, including Rock The Bells 2012. On November 17, 2012, Fashawn organized a hip-hop festival in his hometown of Fresno, California called Grizzly Fest 2012, which featured performances by himself, Murs,

Husalah James "Husalah" Ratliff (born May 13, 1979), is an American rapper from Pittsburg, California. He began his career with the Pittsburg group the Mob Figaz, whose first album, ''C-Bo's Mob Figaz'', was released in 1999. Like his late close frien ...

, Strong Arm Steady and many local talent and skateboarders. On November 20, 2012, he released the mixtape '' Champagne & Styrofoam Cups'' which included the song "Medicine Man" featuring Wiz Khalifa.

2013–2014: His performance at the Pacquiao vs. Bradley II and signing to Nas' record label

In 2013, Fashawn continued to have a notable presence in various musical and mainstream outlets. He performed at various major hip-hop festivals such as Paid Dues, Rock the Bells, and

Hip Hop Kemp The hip hop subculture in the Czech Republic emerged after the Velvet Revolution in 1989. Since then the subculture has become an influential urban phenomenon, with hip hop groups, clubs and festivals appearing across the country. Notable hip hop ...

where he joined

Kendrick Lamar Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper and songwriter. Known for his Progressive rap, progressive musical styles and Social consciousness, socially conscious songwriting, he is often considered one of the most infl ...

on stage for a duo freestyle session. On November 6, 2013, Fashawn released a video for a new song called "The Beginning", produced by Evidence and directed by both Evidence and Punit Dhesi. On December 9, 2013, Fashawn's artistry was the focus feature in a web episode of OTW Perspectives by

Vans Vans is an American manufacturer of skateboarding shoes and related apparel, established in Anaheim, California, and owned by VF Corporation. The company also sponsors surf, snowboarding, BMX, and motocross teams. From 1996 to 2019, the comp ...

. On February 14, 2014, he released a new song "Ladies" for Valentine's Day, dedicating it to the women who struggle to stay strong and raise the next generation of kids. On March 24, 2014, a rap icon

Nas Nas (born 1973) is the stage name of American rapper Nasir Jones. Nas, NaS, or NAS may also refer to: Aviation * Nasair, a low-cost airline carrier and subsidiary based in Eritrea * National Air Services, an airline in Saudi Arabia ** Nas Air ( ...

brought out Fashawn during the Mass Appeal showcase at

SXSW South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Te ...

2014 in Austin, Texas, where Fashawn performed a new song "F.T.W." in front of the sold-out crowd. In 2014, during a

Reddit Reddit (; stylized in all lowercase as reddit) is an American social news aggregation, content rating, and discussion website. Registered users (commonly referred to as "Redditors") submit content to the site such as links, text posts, images ...

"Ask Me Anything" session, Nas mentioned Fashawn as one of two contemporary artists who recently caught his ear (the other artist being

Bishop Nehru Markel Ni'Jee Scott (born August 26, 1996), better known by his stage name Bishop Nehru, is an American rapper and record producer from Nanuet, New York. He also directs and edits music videos. Career 2009–13: Early career At age 13, Nehru ...

). On April 12, 2014, during the infamous WBO welterweight title rematch

Manny Pacquiao vs. Timothy Bradley II Manny Pacquiao vs. Timothy Bradley II, was a boxing welterweight championship fight for the World Boxing Organization, WBO welterweight championship. The bout was held on April 12, 2014, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Paradise, Nevada, Paradise, ...

at the

MGM Grand Garden Arena The MGM Grand Garden Arena (originally known as the MGM Grand Garden Special Events Center) is a 17,000-seat multi-purpose arena located within the MGM Grand Las Vegas on the Las Vegas Strip. Sporting events From its opening on December 18, 1993 ...

, the champion

Timothy Bradley Timothy Ray Bradley Jr. (born August 29, 1983) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 2004 to 2016. He held multiple world championships in two weight classes, including the WBC light welterweight title twice between 2008 an ...

appointed Fashawn to lead him into the ring while performing "Champion" produced by Exile. "What I like about this is that it is real hip-hop," Bradley said in regards to Fashawn's big performance. "It is about heart and character, not about partying it up in a club or all that kind of stuff that so many records are about." On June 9, 2014, a variety of media outlets reported that Fashawn had officially signed to

Nas Nas (born 1973) is the stage name of American rapper Nasir Jones. Nas, NaS, or NAS may also refer to: Aviation * Nasair, a low-cost airline carrier and subsidiary based in Eritrea * National Air Services, an airline in Saudi Arabia ** Nas Air ( ...

'

Mass Appeal Records Mass Appeal Records is an American independent record label founded in 2014. The label is the music division of the Mass Appeal Media Group. In May 2014, it was announced that American rapper Nas was launching an indie label with Mass Appeal ...

. "Fashawn is one of the most underrated in the game," Nas said in a statement. "The world is gonna know soon. We're excited to have him as a part of the family." On December 18, 2014, as a prelude to his upcoming sophomore album, Fashawn released an EP with

The Alchemist An alchemist is a person who practices alchemy. Alchemist or Alchemyst may also refer to: Books and stories * ''The Alchemist'' (novel), the translated title of a 1988 allegorical novel by Paulo Coelho * ''The Alchemist'' (play), a play by Be ...

titled '' FASH-ionably Late''.

2015–present: ''The Ecology''

In 2014, after years of anticipation, it was announced Fashawn's second full-length solo album ''

The Ecology ''The Ecology'' is the second studio album by American hip hop recording artist Fashawn. The album was released on February 24, 2015 by Nas' Mass Appeal Records. Nas serves as executive producer for the album, and guest features include Nas hims ...

'' was in the works. In an interview, Fashawn stated, "''The Ecology'' has been a concept that started at least five years ago for me. I took the time to really work on this project because I knew that it would be important not just for my career, but for hip-hop. There could be no better time for all these blessings to be coming my way, and I'm just so happy to say that ''The Ecology'' will be coming out." In January 2015, Fashawn announced ''The Ecology'' would be officially released on February 24, 2015 under

Nas Nas (born 1973) is the stage name of American rapper Nasir Jones. Nas, NaS, or NAS may also refer to: Aviation * Nasair, a low-cost airline carrier and subsidiary based in Eritrea * National Air Services, an airline in Saudi Arabia ** Nas Air ( ...

'

Mass Appeal Records Mass Appeal Records is an American independent record label founded in 2014. The label is the music division of the Mass Appeal Media Group. In May 2014, it was announced that American rapper Nas was launching an indie label with Mass Appeal ...

, and he would also embark on a nationwide tour, soon after its release. The official track list soon followed, which confirmed guest features by

Nas Nas (born 1973) is the stage name of American rapper Nasir Jones. Nas, NaS, or NAS may also refer to: Aviation * Nasair, a low-cost airline carrier and subsidiary based in Eritrea * National Air Services, an airline in Saudi Arabia ** Nas Air ( ...

(who also served as executive producer),

Aloe Blacc Egbert Nathaniel Dawkins III (born January 7, 1979), known professionally by his stage name Aloe Blacc (), is an American singer, songwriter and rapper. He is best known for his singles "I Need a Dollar", " The Man", which topped the charts in th ...

, BJ the Chicago Kid, and

Dom Kennedy Dominic Ross Hunn (born August 22, 1984), better known by his stage name Dom Kennedy, is an American rapper from Leimert Park, Los Angeles, California. Since 2008, Kennedy has released 5 independent mixtapes, most notably his 2010 critically accl ...

. The production would be handled by

Exile Exile is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons and peoples suf ...

,

The Alchemist An alchemist is a person who practices alchemy. Alchemist or Alchemyst may also refer to: Books and stories * ''The Alchemist'' (novel), the translated title of a 1988 allegorical novel by Paulo Coelho * ''The Alchemist'' (play), a play by Be ...

and

DJ Khalil Khalil Abdul-Rahman Hazzard (born October 16, 1973), professionally known as DJ Khalil, is an American music producer and DJ from Los Angeles. He is the instrumental half of the hip hop duo Self Scientific (along with rapper Chace Infinite) an ...

, among others. On February 20, 2015, Fashawn surprised eager fans by making ''The Ecology'' available for purchase on iTunes ahead of schedule. Physical CD and vinyl copies of ''The Ecology'' maintained the original release date of February 24, 2015. During its first week of release, ''The Ecology'' ranked among the Top 10 Hip-Hop Albums on

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 ...

. Since then, songs from the album, including " Something to Believe In", have been featured in various forms of popular media, including the

Madden NFL ''Madden NFL'' (known as ''John Madden Football'' until 1993) is an American football video game series developed by EA Tiburon for EA Sports. It is named after Pro Football Hall of Fame coach and commentator John Madden and sold more than 130 m ...

,

NBA Live ''NBA Live'' is a series of basketball video games published by EA Sports. The series, which debuted in 1994, is the successor to the previous ''NBA Playoffs'' and ''NBA Showdown'' series. Beginning in the late 2000’s, NBA Live sales had drop ...

, and

WWE 2K ''WWE 2K'', formerly released as ''WWF/E SmackDown!'' and ''SmackDown vs. Raw'', is a series of professional wrestling sports video games that launched in 2000. The premise of the series is to emulate the sport of professional wrestling, and mo ...

video game series. In February 2016, Fashawn joined forces with

Black Thought Tariq Luqmaan Trotter (born October 3, 1973), better known as Black Thought, is an American rapper, actor and the lead MC of the Philadelphia-based hip hop group the Roots, which he co-founded with drummer Questlove (Ahmir Thompson). Regarded ...

,

Murs Murs may refer to: People * Marc Athanase Parfait Œillet des Murs (1804-1878), French ornithologist * Olly Murs (born 1984), English singer-songwriter * Murs (rapper) (born 1978), American rapper Places * Murs, Indre, France * Murs, Vaucluse, ...

, and

Del the Funky Homosapien Teren Delvon Jones (born August 12, 1972), better known by his stage name Del the Funky Homosapien (sometimes stylized as Del tha Funkee Homosapien) or Sir DZL, is an American rapper. Music career 1988–1997: Early life and beginnings Born in O ...

to record a new track called "Rise Up" for the

Capcom is a Japanese video game developer and video game publisher, publisher. It has created a number of List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises, with its most commercially successful being ''Resident Evil' ...

video game

Street Fighter V ''Street Fighter V'' is a fighting game developed by Capcom and Dimps and published by Capcom for PlayStation 4 and Microsoft Windows, Windows in 2016. An Arcade game, arcade version exclusive to Japan was released by Taito in 2019. Similar to th ...

. A music video for the song was released prior to the game's launch date, and includes appearances by Fashawn and his fellow collaborators. On April 28, 2017, Fashawn released a single called "Rant".

Discography

* ''

Boy Meets World ''Boy Meets World'' is an American coming-of-age sitcom created by Michael Jacobs and April Kelly that aired on ABC for seven seasons between September1993 and May2000. The series centers on Cory Matthews (Ben Savage) and his friends and famil ...

'' (2009) * ''

The Ecology ''The Ecology'' is the second studio album by American hip hop recording artist Fashawn. The album was released on February 24, 2015 by Nas' Mass Appeal Records. Nas serves as executive producer for the album, and guest features include Nas hims ...

'' (2015)

References

External links

Fashawn Official Website

Watch Fashawn's "The Ecology" Documentary Fashawn on Instagram Fashawn on Twitter Fashawn on YouTube
{{Authority control Living people 1988 births Musicians from Fresno, California African-American male rappers Rappers from California West Coast hip hop musicians African-American songwriters Songwriters from California 21st-century American rappers 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century African-American musicians 20th-century African-American people American male songwriters