Hykeem Carter Jr. was born in Carson and raised in Las Vegas, first getting noticed writing for Kendrick Lamar's Black Panther: The Album and Beyoncé's The Lion King: The Gift before "Orange Soda" broke out as a sleeper hit in 2019. His 2021 debut The Melodic Blue went platinum and hit No. 5 on the Billboard 200, and "family ties" — the cousin-duet cut with Kendrick — won Best Rap Performance at the 2022 Grammys. Part of Kendrick's pgLang roster and one of the more distinct new voices to come out of the extended West Coast family tree.
