Jazz Ishmael Butler (born October 3, 1995),[5] professionally known as Lil Tracy, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. Butler 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]
Early life
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.
Career
2012–2016: Career beginnings
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]
2017: Tracys Manga, XOXO, and Life of a Popstar
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]
2018–2019: Designer Talk, Sinner, and Anarchy
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]
2020–present: Designer Talk 2 and Saturn Child
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.
Under Your Spell (with Horse Head and Nedarb Nagrom)
Released: June 2, 2023
Label: Self-released
Format: Digital download, streaming
Compilation albums
Title
Compilation album details
S Q U A R E P A N D A S
Released: September 13, 2014
Label: Self-released
Format: Digital download, streaming
Angels Get High Too
Released: June 5, 2015
Label: Self-released
Format: Digital download, streaming
Vintage LSD Compilation (as Yung Bruh)
Released: August 19, 2015
Label: Self-released
Format: Digital download, streaming
Free Tracy! Campaign
Released: February 4, 2016
Label: Self-released
Format: Digital download, streaming
ATS001
Released: April 24, 2016
Label: Self-released
Format: Digital download, streaming
Tracy's World
Released: May 29, 2020
Label: Self-released
Format: Digital download, streaming
References
^Ezra Marcus (Spring 2019). "Lil Tracy's Third Life". Retrieved April 30, 2020. Lil Tracy was born Jazz Butler in Teaneck, New Jersey, in 1995, the son of hip-hop and R&B royalty.
^ abcAndrew Matson (July 17, 2017). "When Will Lil Tracy Break Out Of SoundCloud Purgatory?". Archived from the original on December 29, 2018. Retrieved June 16, 2018. Tracy has been (..) While his style only partly conforms to genre conventions, he has become a leader in the Gen Z category of "SoundCloud rap,"