ShooterGang Kony

Coming up as a key member of the ShooterGang collective, Oak Park rapper ShooterGang Kony fused the California bounce of his roots with a variety of modern styles. His narratives, inspired by the work of legends like Snoop Dogg and 2Pac, painted candid pictures of his neighborhood and its attitudes, loaded with the violence and hopelessness he'd experienced from a young age. Born and raised in Oak Park, Sacramento, rapper ShooterGang Kony spent his early teens involved in street activity, dipping in and out of legal issues from the age of just 13. A founding member of the ShooterGang rap collective, Kony kicked off his career by collaborating with members like ShooterGang JoJo and Jerm. He made his solo debut with 2017's "My City (Free JoJo)," and his debut album, Still Kony, was quick to follow. Arriving in September 2017, the Cali-centric LP provided grimy bangers and bounce-driven anthems in equal measure. Influenced particularly by the ground-level storytelling of Snoop Dogg, Kony's writing was recognizable through its visualization, with street situations captured candidly amidst more traditional braggadocio. Propelled by the kick-start of Still Kony, 2018 saw the rapper release four further projects: May's March Madness, August's Ginobli, November's Vice Versa EP (with Nef the Pharaoh), and December's 6:12. With collaborations from OMB Peezy, ALLBLACK, and Nef the Pharaoh alongside ShooterGang's own, these projects combined cleaner mixing and alternate production styles with the Oak Park ethos of his debut. After releasing the 194 EP in April 2019, the rapper's next full-length arrived in July's Second Hand Smoke, a surprisingly introspective offering that placed piano-driven odes and reflective tales amid Kony's signature anthems. This approach was weaved more cautiously into 2020's Red Paint Reverend; the rapper's sixth full-length project added trap flair and diverse sampling to the rapper's narratives while retaining key elements of Second Hand Smoke's morbid reflection. ~ David Crone, Rovi