Lil Pump

Biography

Gazzy Garcia, known professionally as Lil Pump, was born on August 17, 2000, in Miami, Florida. He is an American rapper who became a prominent figure in the SoundCloud rap scene in the late 2010s. Garcia's parents are from Colombia and divorced when he was six years old. At the age of 13, he was introduced to Omar Pineiro, who is professionally known as Smokepurpp, and they became frequent collaborators. Garcia had a troubled educational history, having been expelled from multiple schools. He was eventually expelled from an opportunity high school in the tenth grade for fighting and inciting a riot.

Career Beginnings and Rise to Fame

Lil Pump's music career began in 2016 when Smokepurpp produced a track and asked him to freestyle over it. The resulting single, "Lil Pump," was released on SoundCloud and was followed by other tracks like "Elementary," "Ignorant," "Gang Shit," and "Drum$tick," each gaining millions of streams. This success on the platform earned him recognition in the South Florida underground rap scene. In 2017, he gained significant attention with the singles "D Rose" and "Boss," which became major hits on SoundCloud. The popularity of "D Rose" led to a music video directed by Cole Bennett.

In June 2017, just before his seventeenth birthday, Garcia signed a record deal with Tha Lights Global and Warner Records. His mainstream breakthrough came with the release of his single "Gucci Gang" in August 2017. The song peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 and was certified quintuple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). His debut self-titled studio album, Lil Pump, was released in October 2017 and featured artists such as Smokepurpp, Gucci Mane, and Lil Yachty. The album peaked at number three on the Billboard 200.

Continued Career and Musical Style

Following his initial success, Lil Pump released his second album, Harverd Dropout, in 2019, which debuted at number seven on the Billboard 200. This album included collaborations with artists like Kanye West on the track "I Love It". He later released a collaborative mixtape with Ronny J titled No Name in December 2021, which was a commercial failure. His third studio album, Lil Pump 2, was released in March 2023. His musical style is often characterized as minimalist "SoundCloud rap" with a punk rap influence.

Recent Years and Controversies

In recent years, Lil Pump's career has been marked by both new music releases and controversies. In 2020, he briefly announced he was quitting music but quickly returned. Throughout his career, Garcia has faced legal issues, including an arrest in 2018 for discharging a weapon in an inhabited place. He has also been involved in public disputes, including a controversy in 2018 over lyrics and gestures in a music video that were seen as racist towards the Chinese community. More recently, in October 2024, Lil Pump was named in a lawsuit alleging assault and battery. He has also engaged in public feuds with other artists, such as Eminem. In a 2023 interview, he spoke about focusing on a healthier lifestyle.