Lil Tracy

Lil Tracy
Lil Tracy in January 2019
Background information
Birth name	Jazz Ishmael Butler
Also known as	Yung Dude, Yung Bruh, Souljahwitch, Young Black Monkey Negro, Eblis the Persian Dolphin, Yung Karma, Tracy Minaj
Born	(1995-10-03) October 3, 1995 (age 29) Teaneck, New Jersey, U.S.[1]
Origin	Virginia Beach, Virginia, U.S. Seattle, Washington, U.S.
Genres	Hip hop Trap SoundCloud rap emo rap cloud rap alternative rock[2]
Occupations	Rapper singer songwriter
Years active	2012–present
Labels	Virgin Music[3][4]
Member of	GothBoiClique
Website	liltracymusic.com
Parents	Ishmael Butler Cheryl "Coko" Gamble

Jazz Ishmael Butler (born October 3, 1995),^[5] professionally known as Lil Tracy, is an American rapper and singer-songwriter. He was also known under the name Yung Bruh during the beginning of his career. Tracy is best known for his collaborations with the late rapper Lil Peep,^[6][7] specifically "Awful Things", which peaked at 79 on the Billboard Hot 100,^[8] and for being a prominent member of the "SoundCloud rap" and underground rap scene.^[9][10][11]

Jazz Butler was born on October 3, 1995, in Teaneck, New Jersey, to Ishmael Butler of Digable Planets^[12] and Cheryl Gamble, known professionally as "Coko" from SWV.^[13] When talking about growing up in Virginia Beach, Butler said "it sucked but I love it." He grew up listening to punk rock music and Southern hip-hop artists who inspired him to make music.^[14] Butler's parents split up when he was young and he would spend time between his mother and father's homes. Butler lived in Seattle, Washington during his adolescent years and attended McClure Middle School and Garfield High School, and chose to be homeless at age 17.

Butler started to make music when he was 15^[2] before moving to Los Angeles at 18 (without alerting his parents) to focus more on his music career and due to being homeless.^[15] Butler originally started rapping under the name "Yung Bruh" taking heavy influence from the artist "90's bambino" and going as far as releasing dozens of songs with her, then releasing several mixtapes under the Thraxxhouse collective, which both were a part of. Some members of Thraxxhouse, including Tracy eventually started their own group, the collective GothBoiClique.^[16] Through the group, Butler met New York rapper Lil Peep, the two quickly collaborated on the song "White Tee" from Peep's Crybaby mixtape, which gathered attention through the hip-hop underground. He also released a single "Overdose", which escalated his career further.^[17][18][2]

In mid-2016, Butler changed his stage name from Yung Bruh to Lil Tracy due to discovering that there was already another artist using the "Yung Bruh" moniker.^[15] Under his new name he released his long-awaited mixtape Tracy's Manga on February 1, 2017.^[16] Butler went on to release XOXO two months later on April 3.^[19] Butler was featured on the single "Awful Things" from Lil Peep's debut album Come Over When You're Sober, Pt. 1^[20] and it peaked at number 79 on the Billboard Hot 100.^[8]

Butler released Life of a Popstar on July 31, 2017.^[21][22]

In 2018, Lil Tracy released two EPs: Designer Talk on October 5^[23] and long-awaited Sinner on November 2.^[24] Lil Tracy released his debut album, Anarchy, on September 20, 2019, with two singles "Bad For You" and "Beautiful Nightmare" promoting it. Additional the music video for "Shame" released the same day on his Youtube channel. The album is dedicated to his late friend and frequent collaborator Lil Peep.^[25] The tracklist was later updated due the song "I Love My Fans" having been omitted on the first release, although it was listed on the album back cover.^[26][27]

On November 13, 2020, Lil Tracy released his second album, Designer Talk 2.^[28]

On June 3, 2022, Lil Tracy released his third album, Saturn Child.