King Louie (rapper)

Early life

King Louie was born Louis King Johnson Jr. in the Eastside of Chicago, Illinois on December 27, 1987. He attended Hyde Park Academy High School for a while before graduating from alternative school.

Career

After attending high school, King Louie began building a following through one-on-one mixtapes. He would hand out CDs at bus stops and parties. King Louie released his debut mixtape titled Boss Shit in September 2007, and the next year released his second mixtape Cloud 9 in December 2009.

However, his career was put on hold after he was hit by a car. He was hospitalized with both his legs broken with various other injuries and had to learn to walk again after his injuries were healed. He later returned to music, releasing a series of mixtapes that he made available online. Songs from his releases received regular air time, including his song "Too Cool" which was placed in regular rotation at WGCI-FM. To promote his mixtapes, King Louie launched a series of music videos on YouTube. His first video was for the song "I'm Arrogant" which was the lead track from his 2010 mixtape Man Up, Band Up. He released additional music videos and quickly grew a large following. It was his promotional methods on YouTube that helped him be one of the newer Chicago rappers to get noticed nationally.

In 2012, during a trip to Los Angeles, California, Louie met and signed with Epic Records. While on his trip, Kanye West's record label GOOD Music released a remix of a song by Chicago hip-hop artist Chief Keef. During the release, West took time to mention numerous other up and coming artists, including Louie. King Louie was later quoted on MTV's Sucker Free program that he was shocked and not aware that West was a fan. He would later appear on West's Yeezus, performing a verse and the hook on the track "Send It Up". He was shot in the head in Chicago on December 23, 2015, and survived the shooting.

Discography

• Boss Shit (2007)
• Cloud 9 (2008)
• Man Up Band Up (2010)
• More Boss Shit (2011)
• Chiraq Drillinois (2011)
• Hardbody The Mixtape with Bo$$ Who & Sno Boy (2011)
• #ManUpBandUp Pt.1 (2011)
• Man Up Band Up 2 (2011)
• The Motion Picture (2012)
• Showtime (2012)
• Drilluminati (2012)
• March Madness (2013)
• Jeep Music (2013)
• Drilluminati 2 (2013)
• Soprano (2014)
• Tony (2014)
• Drilluminati 3: God of Drill (2015)
• 6 God Tony (2015)
• Play Dat Again (2015)
• Featuring Tony (2016)
• Tony 2 (2016)
• Life With Louie (2022)

Guest appearances

References

References

1. Kramer, Kyle. (May 18, 2012). "Q&A Chicago Rap Artist King Louie". [[RedEye]].
2. Drake, David. (June 25, 2012). "Chicago Rap Blazes Up The Streets". [[Spin (magazine).
3. Drake, David. (October 5, 2011). "King Louie – Dope & Shrimp, Rap and Gumbo". So Many Shrimp.
4. Galil, Leor. (May 18, 2012). "Chicago Rapper King Louie Went From Selling Mixtapes Out of His Trunk To A Deal With Epic Records". Forbes Magazine.
5. (May 10, 2012). "King Louie Was Shocked by Kanye West Shout Out On "I Don't Like" Remix". MTV.
6. "Breaking: King Louie's manager confirms he was shot in the head at 83rd and Pulaski earlier today. He's awake and talking.".
7. (December 25, 2015). "Wounded Chicago rapper King Louie wishes fans Merry Christmas from hospital bed".
8. [http://www.hotnewhiphop.com/king-louie-6-god-tony-new-mixtape.116059.html?song-85013 King Louie – 6 God Tony. Download & Listen [New Mixtape]]. Hotnewhiphop.com. Retrieved on December 7, 2015.
9. "King Louie - Life With Louie". [[Apple Music]].