22Gz

Jeffrey Mark Alexander was born on November 29, 1997, the Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York City.^[9] His father died before he was born. He started his entertainment career on the New York City Subway performing showtime dance routines.^[10] He is Guyanese American.^[11]

He started releasing songs on SoundCloud at the age of 17 in early 2015. After releasing the singles "Blixky" and "Suburban" in 2016, 22Gz gained a following from his YouTube videos. "Suburban", produced by London-based drill producer AXL Beats,^[12] was regarded as one of the first major Brooklyn drill songs to become popular.^[13][3][14] 22Gz gained attention, leading him to signing with Atlantic in 2018 and his label A&R helping him getting noticed by Kodak Black.^[15][16][13] One of his first songs released on the label, "Spin the Block", was a collaboration track with Kodak Black.^[17]

22Gz released his first mixtape with Atlantic, The Blixky Tape, in July 2019.^[18] His follow-up mixtape Growth & Development was released on April 10, 2020, and was co-produced by London-based drill producer Ghosty.^[19] Torsten Ingvaldsen of Hypebeast praised the mixtape, stating, 22Gz has "riotous energy, bringing forth aggressive lyrics and militant deliveries that continue to sculpt out his fast-paced rise".^[5]

In 2014, he was charged with conspiracy to commit murder, however the charges were dropped.^[13] 22Gz spent five months in jail in 2017 on second-degree murder charges related to a shooting in Miami, however these were later dropped.^[20] 22Gz recorded a Facebook Live video from an NYPD holding cell in 2018.^[21]

In 2019, Alexander, along with Casanova, Pop Smoke, Sheff G, and Don Q, was removed from the Rolling Loud concert. NYPD cited "a higher risk of violence" if the artists were to perform.^[22]

On June 12, 2022, 22Gz was arrested in New York City on attempted murder charges over a March shooting in which three people were injured.^[23] He was released on $500,000 bail four days later.^[24]