2009-11: Career beginnings and NOFVCKSGIVEN Following his recovery Lopez would practice writing, rapping, and recording one song a day for two years before releasing his first solo project. On November 4, 2011, Lopez would release "NOFVCKSGIVEN." Lopez described his approach to the project in an interview with VICE as, "I'm just gonna go in on a bunch of beats, make some random crazy shit and see what the fuck happens." When he began to rap himself, Lopez primarily studied the flow and musical patterns of
Eminem, also citing
Jay-Z,
Lil Wayne,
G-Unit, and
The Diplomats as direct influences to his style.
2011-12: Cutthroat Boyz and Versace Ragz After forming Cutthroat Boyz with rising west coast rap artist Vince Staples and Joey Fatts, Yams would go on to manage Lopez and oversee his next project entitled "Versace Ragz." On November 6, 2012, Lopez released a remix to the project's lead single "Mini Van Dan" featuring
A$AP Nast,
Danny Brown, and
Flatbush Zombies. A week later on November 12, 2012, Lopez would release an official video to "Hell in a Cell". Since Versace Ragz release, Lopez has been regarded as being a pioneer in experimental gangster rap as his subject matter reflected a mixture of gang life and the implementation of WWE Wrestling references. Eddie Guerrero's Hologram, in tribute to
Eddie Guerrero, and Latino Heat, also in tribute to Guerrero.
2013-14: A$ton 3:16 and Touring Following the success of Versace Ragz, Lopez would join
A$AP Rocky on the European leg of his
Live.Love.A$AP Tour in May 2013. Lopez was then announced to make a feature appearance on
A$AP Ferg's debut album
Trap Lord before joining his first nationwide tour 'Turnt x Burnt' as a supporting act the following Fall. On January 16, 2013, Lopez sold out his first show at
The Roxy alongside Staples and Fatts, marking the group's first performance and appearance together on stage as The Cutthroat Boyz. On May 1, 2013, Lopez released an official video to "Mack 11," also announcing he was currently working with legendary hip-hop producers
Alchemist and
Evidence (of Dilated Peoples). In June 2013, it was announced Lopez was working on a new project entitled 'A$ton 3:16' which he would describe as a departure from his former projects, "Showcasing [my] rap ability across the board." Two weeks later on October 16, 2013, Lopez released an official video to "Like This" the video quickly became a viral sensation garnering over 500,000 YouTube views upon release. On December 16, 2013, Lopez released an official video to "Free Wavy Crockett II" an official followup to "Free Wavy Crockett" off his NOFVCKSGIVEN project, both songs and video pay homage to incarcerated New York rap artist
Max B whom frequently went by the moniker 'Wavy Crockett'. On January 29, 2014, Lopez debuted a single off the project entitled 'T.L.C.' which featured
Action Bronson, Flatbush Zombies, and A$AP Yams. The song is Lopez's most streamed song on SoundCloud to date, garnering over 1,000,000 streams to date. On February 10, 2014, Lopez released an official video to "Praey". Two weeks later on February 24, 2014, released an official video to "What You Need" directed by
Andy Hines, the video features a cameo by A$AP Rocky. On February 20, 2014, Yams tweeted a flyer confirming Lopez's appearance at
SXSW Music Festival, one month later on March 14, 2014, Yams would post footage of Lopez performing a verse over an early version of
A$AP Mob's single "
Hella Hoes", to his Tumblr. Lopez would later perform his verse in its entirety alongside the group at SXSW's House of Vans stage sponsored by
Vibe Magazine and
Vans. On March 16, 2014, Lopez released A$ton 3:16 via SoundCloud. The title acted as an ode to
WWE Wrestler Stone Cold Steve Austin, and featured 19 songs in total. The album's cover art pays homage to
Ice Cube's Death Certificate, Lopez has said in interviews his father was an
Ice Cube fan and frequently played his albums growing up. On May 2, 2014 Lopez joined Danny Brown's
OLD Tour, making his first appearance at
University of California, San Diego. On July 7, 2014, Lopez released an official video to "Lit". Nearly two months later on August 27, 2014, Lopez released an official video to "The Other Side" featuring
Kap G. Both song and videos have been released as non-album promotional singles. On September 9, 2014, during an interview with
XXL Magazine, Vince Staples announced Lopez would be one of two features alongside
Teyana Taylor on his upcoming "
Hell Can Wait" EP. Lopez would later make a cameo performing an interlude in the music video of Staple's lead single, "Screen Door." One month later on December 10, 2014, Lopez appeared alongside
Young Thug on
Noisey's Rap Monument, a 42-Minute song consisting of over 40 rappers including
Raekwon,
Pusha T,
Nipsey Hussle,
Danny Brown, and
YG among others. Noisey, the music division of
Vice Magazine, regarded Lopez as, "West coast gangsta rap's best kept secret." After a hiatus from social media, on April 1, 2015, Lopez released an official video to "Chapo" featuring Vince Staples. The video quickly became Lopez's most watched music video with over 1,000,000 YouTube views to date. Lopez is seen wearing a T-shirt honoring Yams throughout. On May 2, 2015, Lopez would return to London for the first time in two years to perform, selling out the legendary
100 Club alongside frequent collaborator Da$h. Upon his return to the United States May 30, 2015, Lopez would go on to sell out Los Angeles' Los Globos alongside frequent collaborator Bodega Bamz. Lopez also appears in the music video of the album's lead single "
Senorita". In Lopez's August 28, 2015 interview with XXL Magazine he explained overcoming depression following Yams passing, and announced working with New York producer
Velous on his upcoming project entitled "Chapovelli." Lopez described the project's conception as, On December 21, 2015, in celebration of the life and legacy of Yams, the ASAP Mob announced Lopez would perform at the first annual Yams Day Music Festival at
Terminal 5 in New York City on January 18, 2016. Lopez would go on to perform at the second annual Yams Day Music Festival at
Madison Square Garden in New York City the following January 18, 2017. On April 26, 2016, in part of the Wavy Wednesday series, ASAP Mob released a remix version of 'Hella Hoes' featuring Lopez and Danny Brown in addition to the group's original verses on both SoundCloud and YouTube. Lopez performed his verse three years prior at The House of Vans Stage at SXSW alongside the group, as well as on a leaked video version posted by Yams the week of the performance. On August 22, 2016, Lopez joined
OG Maco's nationwide T.L.C. Tour. On October 18, 2016, Lopez released 'Coldest Night In Hell' Produced by Velous, the song heavily samples
Ghostface Killah's 2000 song '
Mighty Healthy' and details the events of '100 Days, 100 Nights' a period of sustained gang warfare in retaliation to the death of a 27-year-old man in Los Angeles in the summer of 2015.
2017-Present: Resurgence and Chapovelli On June 20, 2017, in an Instagram post celebrating the life and legacy of the late rap artist
Prodigy of the Queensbridge rap duo
Mobb Deep, Lopez revealed they had recorded an unreleased collaboration 'months' prior to his passing. On January 30, 2018,
Billboard premiered the posthumous collaboration entitled, '1 Minute To Pray.' In an interview with Billboard, the collaboration is described by Lopez as, On September 15, 2017, Lopez announced he would be performing for the first time in
Seoul, South Korea at The Henz Club. The performance would mark Lopez's first appearance in an Asian territory. A week later, Lopez announced on September 25, 2017, that a collaboration with up-and-coming producer
Pi'erre Bourne was in the works. On November 1, 2017, Lopez premiered the collaboration with hip-hop magazine XXL entitled 'BRAZY' reviving talks of his long-awaited album
Chapovelli across the internet. Two weeks later, on November 13, 2017, Lopez debuted a music video for 'BRAZY' citing its release in honor of Yams birthday of which fell on the same day. The music video showcases Lopez's travels throughout
Seoul, South Korea. == Personal life ==