Smino

1991-2014: Early life

Chris Smith Jr. was born in St. Louis, Missouri into a musical family: his father plays keys, his mother sings, and his grandfather played bass guitar for Blues Hall of Fame musician Muddy Waters. Both his father and grandfather were given opportunities to take their music far, but they gave up their success to be with their families. When he was seven, his father gave him a set of drums, which he played in his church’s band, and also began rapping. He later moved to Chicago, Illinois for college under the wing of his older cousin, singer Drea Smith.

In St. Louis, Chris Smith was in a rap duo with his friend Bari Allen called "Young Dumb and Outta Control" (YDOC), and released a self-titled mixtape. They started to gain popularity locally but had a hard time getting their music out into the world. Smino then released his first solo mixtape, SMEEZY DOT COM, and moved back to Chicago. At Columbia College Chicago, he met engineer Chris "Classik" Inumerable, who became his closest friend and is now his manager.

2015-present: Various projects and Zero Fatigue

Smino is part of a musical collective called "Zero Fatigue" with producer Monte Booker, and artists Jay2, Bari, and Ravyn Lenae. On October 2, 2015 Smino released his first EP, S!Ck S!Ck S!Ck. On December 11, he released his second EP titled Blkjuptr. On July 31, 2016, Smino appeared on Noname's mixtape, Telefone, with Saba and Phoelix on the track "Shadow Man". On August 17, it was announced that Smino will be alongside Mick Jenkins on the A Quest For Love Tour. On October 27, he made another guest appearance on Bucket List Project on the song "World in My Hands".

His debut album, blkswn, was released on March 14, 2017. The release date holds a special significance to the St. Louis rapper because 314 is the area code of his hometown. The album includes guest appearances from Ravyn Lenae, Bari, theMIND, Jay2, Via Rosa, Drea Smith, and Akenya, with production coming from Monte Booker, THEMpeople, Sango, Phoelix, and J. Bird.

Influence

Smino describes his sound as futuristic funk and soulful rap. He grew up listening to a lot of jazz, gospel, and hip hop. Smino names Kanye West as his biggest influence, as well as his cousin, Drea Smith, who was signed to Lupe Fiasco and was on tour with Kanye West.