There's no shortage of great Memphis rappers, but who's the biggest of all time?
Memphis has no shortage of rap and hip-hop stars.
But if you’re talking about the biggest, in terms of commercial success and relevance among contemporary rappers, then you could make a pretty conclusive case for Moneybagg Yo, the 32 year-old South Memphis native and multi-platinum artist.
Things began to take flight for ‘Bagg in 2019, with the release of his second full-length project, "43va Heartless," which debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard chart. A year later he broke through on an even bigger scale with the album "Time Served." Released in early 2020, the record — a star-studded project featuring collaborations with Future, Da Baby, Lil Baby, Megan Thee Stallion, Summer Walker and Fredo Bang — hit No. 3 on the album charts. A deluxe version was also released, and the two projects have collectively been streamed more than 2 billion times globally.
In 2020, Moneybagg followed up with "Code Red", a collaborative project with Blac Youngsta. The two rappers got their start together in local hip-hop group Memphis Greatest Unrated before going on to solo careers. The joint effort also debuted on the Billboard Top 10.
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His real breakthrough came with his 2021 album, “A Gangsta’s Pain,” which topped the Billboard charts — twice, in fact. The last Memphis artist to achieve the No. 1 spot was pop superstar Justin Timberlake.
In June 2024, Moneybagg released his much anticipated follow-up, “Speak Now.” The record finds 'Bagg expanding his sound and reach, including a collaboration with country superstar Morgan Wallen (on "Whiskey Whiskey," which is already a rap chart hit) and R&B great Chris Brown.
"Speak Now" also had an impressive first-week showing on the album charts, debuting at No. 13 on the Billboard 200 and No. 3 on the R&B/hip-hop charts.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Who is the biggest Memphis rapper?
