After Blac Youngsta turned himself in for his involvement in a shooting targeted towards Yo Gotti's longtime rival, Young Dolph, a "Free Blac Youngsta" grassroots movement was started, with fellow rapper Young Thug releasing a song of the same name on May 17, 2017. In February 2017, Blac Youngsta released Illuminati, his fourth mixtape as a member of CMG, with guest appearances from Kodak Black, Lil Yachty and Slim Jxmmi. 2017–2019: Epic Records and major label debut In March 2016, Blac Youngsta released a mixtape titled Young & Reckless, followed by Fuck Everybody, released in September 2016, with features from Young Thug, Quavo, Jacquees and YFN Lucci.
Blac Youngsta's first mixtape as a member of CMG, I Swear To God, was released on September 24, 2015, and featured guest appearances from Yo Gotti and Boosie Badazz. His breakout song "Heavy" was released in 2015, and gained the attention of Yo Gotti, who appeared on the song's remix and signed Blac Youngsta to his Collective Music Group label. Taking the stage name Blac Youngsta, Benson began taking a career in music more seriously in 2012, releasing three mixtapes as part of his Fast Bricks series, from 2012 to 2014. Career 2012–2016: Early career and signing to CMG Shortly after, he began pursuing a career in music, releasing his debut mixtape Fast Bricks in 2012. In 2012, after serving a year in prison, Benson began hosting local block parties which made him locally popular in South Memphis. After losing his job at the store, Benson began selling drugs and served numerous sentences in prison for drug and gun charges. Benson's grandfather managed to get him a job at a local grocery store when he was just 7 years old, however, he was fired when the manager caught him placing fake orders to the store in order to take the food home for him and his brothers. Despite both of his grandparents having jobs, they earned very little and struggled to put food on the table. Benson and his younger brothers were raised by their grandparents. Sammie Marquez Benson was born on April 8, 1990, and raised in McMillan Street, a poor area on the south side of Memphis, Tennessee. 2.3 2020–present: More charting singles.2.2 2017–2019: Epic Records and major label debut.2.1 2012–2016: Early career and signing to CMG.Following the tour, Gotti decided that Blac Youngsta was ready and signed him immediately.īlac Youngsta’s next mixtape, I Swear To God dropped September 24th. After parlaying his way into one of Gotti’s videos, Blac Youngsta landed a meeting with the CMG team and, within a few weeks, a meeting with Gotti himself, which led to an opportunity to tour with his idol for two months while still independent. The next step for him was to get Yo Gotti’s attention. While still recovering from a drive-by shooting that sidelined him for five months, Blac Youngsta released the street single “Heavy,” which received a huge response from both the streets and the internet. “I was praying Yo Gotti would see me,” he says. An avid Yo Gotti fan, he dropped his first serious offering Fast Bricks as a consecutive trilogy in homage to Gotti’s Cocaine Muzik mixtape series. Growing up in Memphis in the 90s, Blac Youngsta, like many of his peers fell prey to the allure of the street life and gang culture but he always carried an interest in music and shifted to that after coming face to face with the consequences of his lifestyle. An artist whose life story mirrors the King of Memphis’ own quite closely, Blac Youngsta has already made quite a name for himself on the mixtape circuit.