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Lil Kee
The talented rapper Lil Kee (not to be confused with the early 2010s Florida rapper of the same moniker) was born on 4th January 1999 in Prichard, Alabama, USA, and later moved to Marietta, Georgia, where he’s currently based. Some sources state that the recording artist was actually born in 2001; his exact height and weight are also unknown.
Childhood/Family
In his only interview to date, with DGB Media, Kee – whose birth name is unknown – described his childhood as ‘straight’ and said that he had a lot of brothers and sisters. When asked if he was the oldest, youngest, or somewhere in the middle, the rapper deadpanned: ‘There was about eight of us, I don’t even know.’
At just 13 or 14 years old, the musician turned to the streets in hopes of a better life. Along the way, he learnt many painful but valuable lessons, such as the importance of keeping your circle small and not making too many so-called friends.
Despite not revealing much in interviews, Kee uses his music as an outlet and previously provided his fans with some insight into his childhood with the song “Hear Me Out”. If the rapper’s lyrics are to be believed, his mother was an alcoholic and his father a drug addict.
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Career
Known for his hazy, lo-fi inspired beats and hard-hitting lyrics, Kee began releasing music in 2019, and built up his loyal fanbase with hits such as “Swing My Way” and “Hear Me Out”. The artist was inspired to get into the studio after learning that one of his cousins in Alabama had died, as he wanted to keep his name and memory alive by any means possible. At first, one of Kee’s older brothers helped him write his lyrics. However, the rapper soon found it easier to just hop in the booth and start freestyling.
By 2020, Kee’s singles had amassed hundreds of thousands of streams, and he’d signed with 4PF, the record label founded by fellow Atlanta rapper Lil Baby. From then on, Kee would frequently collaborate with other 4PF signees such as Rylo Rodriguez, and he also joined forces with Baby’s peer Lil Durk for the catchy 2022 track “Bop Him”.
No love?out now pic.twitter.com/rYbCtDDjWv
— Lil kee ⚡️ (@l1lkee) November 25, 2020
The death of Kee’s older brother Lamar, who was the provider of the family, left a long-lasting impact on the Alabama native. Since the tragic incident in September 2020, he has made sure to mention Lamar in all his projects, such as his first full-length album “Letter 2 My Brother”, which was released in 2022.
Lamar’s legacy not only lives on in Kee’s music, but on his social media – and the rapper even tattooed his name above his eyebrow. According to online sources, Lamar was found dead in his house and had been shot several times; some believe that this was a premeditated homicide due to Lamar’s gang affiliations.
Although the exact terms of Kee’s contract with 4PF were never revealed, in August 2023 it was announced that the rapper had been dropped by Lil Baby’s label. Some netizens speculate that Baby is merely trying to stay out of legal trouble, following reports that he and his imprint were being investigated by federal prosecutors for a possible racketeering – RICO – charge; this would make sense, as Kee is known to brag about his gang lifestyle, flash guns on social media, and taunt his dead enemies.
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As it happens, 4PF as a label appears to be defunct, perhaps to avoid further association with the Atlanta street gang of the same name. In August 2023, Lil Baby launched Glass Window Entertainment in partnership with Motown Records and Capitol Music Group; Rylo Rodriguez was the first official signee, but no other signees have been confirmed just yet.
In any case, Kee continues to steadily release music with or without Baby’s backing. The rapper, who started off 2024 with the track “Hangin’ Out Tha Window”, has been keeping himself busy in the studio and is constantly teasing new singles. In early 2023, he also released an EP with contributions from Lil Meechee, Noodah05, and Rylo Rodriguez.
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A post shared by PayrollKee (@lilkeebackup_)
Personal Life
Despite Kee’s dating life being a total mystery, we can confirm that he is a devoted father to his young daughter, who appeared in the music video for “Feelings Everywhere”. It is unclear whether or not the rapper is in a relationship with his child’s unnamed mother.
Moving on to Kee’s gang affiliations and rivals, in 2018 a young man who went by the name of Meko was shot outside a store in Marietta, and later that night passed away at a local hospital – and it didn’t take long for Kee to diss him in his music with lines such as: ‘I might post up at the store where Meko died… If God gave you a chance at life again, I’d still wish you dead.’
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At the time of his death, Meko was part of a small Atlanta gang known as the Muchobabies, and Kee’s song obviously didn’t go down well with its remaining member: in fact, some believe that Lamar’s death was a direct consequence of the diss.
In “Letter 2 My Brother”, Kee mourned the loss of Lamar while continuing to taunt his rivals and warning them that he’d get his revenge sooner or later. This is when Meko’s associate and smalltime Atlanta rapper Lil Crank joined the conversation, rapping in the song “Murder She Wrote”: ‘Yeah we did that on purpose, this here won’t take us 20 years, gon’ do him like the first one.’ Later on in the song, Crank added that when Meko died, he hadn’t posted anything on social media – he’d just ‘slid’ (killed someone).
Lil Crank has been active in the streets since 2017, which is when he dropped out of high school and joined the Muchobabies. In April 2020, he returned home after spending eight months in prison for gang activity, and somehow got in touch with the producer DJ Holiday, who surprised Crank by booking him a studio session with his favorite rapper, Lil Durk.
Crank and Durk never released anything, perhaps due to Durk’s connection to Lil Baby, who had by then signed Kee to 4PF. In any case, the beef between the Muchobabies and Kee’s gang has shown no signs of slowing down, as Crank himself was shot in 2023 – and even shot a music video in the hospital while he was meant to be recovering.
Regarding Kee’s net worth, he’s believed to be worth just $250,000, due to his current situation as an independent artist who relies on tours for the bulk of his income.
