Martin served as a
ghostwriter for other hip hop artists prior to gaining recognition as a rapper himself. He was credited on the 2008 single "Head of My Class" by rapper Scooter Smiff featuring
Chris Brown, and made his first mainstream recording appearance on
Snoop Dogg's album
Malice N Wonderland (2008). He launched his independent record label, Diamond Lane Music Group that same year. Six years later, he rebounded with his guest appearance alongside
YG and
Iamsu! on
E-40's 2012 single "
Function" which received gold certification by the
Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and moderately entered both the
Bubbling Under Hot 100 and
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs charts. Since then, Martin has worked with numerous artists such as
Jamie Foxx,
the Game,
Kendrick Lamar,
Bobby V,
9th Wonder,
Chris Brown,
Wiz Khalifa,
Nipsey Hussle,
Warren G,
Childish Gambino,
Pharrell Williams,
Jim Jones,
Travis Barker, and
John Legend, among others. On February 13, 2013, Martin released
Million Dollar Afro, a collaborative mixtape with Iamsu! that contains guest appearances from
Juvenile,
Too Short and
Omarion. A song from the mixtape, "Do It Big" featuring Bad Lucc and
Sage the Gemini was featured in the 2013 video game
Grand Theft Auto V by
Rockstar Games, on its radio station,
Radio Los Santos. On June 13, 2013, he released the mixtape
The Separation, which contains guest appearances from
Wale,
T.I., Snoop Dogg,
Game,
Chris Brown,
Tank,
Tyga and Wiz Khalifa, among others. His 2013 song "
Like Whaaat", featuring Bad Lucc, peaked at number 20 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 singles chart; it remains his most commercially successful song as a lead artist. On July 23, 2013, he released "Say That Then", featuring
Glasses Malone. In November 2013, Martin announced that he would release his debut album independently through his Diamond Lane label. He revealed that he would be primarily producing the album along with League of Starz. On December 10, 2013, Martin released the commercial
extended play Understand Me, which was supported by the aforementioned singles along with its eponymous lead single. Martin appeared in a branded music video alongside
Neil Patrick Harris for the drink product Neuro in February 2014. Martin partnered with the
Los Angeles Rams to create the team's theme song, "My Squad", for the 2016-17 NFL season. The release included an official music video that was shot to resemble
Snapchat. After gaining regional success on the mixtape circuit, Martin released his debut album,
Selfish, in November 2017. He followed up with his second album,
S2 on November 30, 2018. On April 4, 2020, Martin released the
short film,
A Compton Story. It is narrated by comedian
Mike Epps, and contains appearances from
Snoop Dogg,
Slink Johnson, and Jackie Long.
Terrence "Punch" Henderson is credited as the
executive producer on the project. In May 2023, Martin released his third album
I Owe Myself. In November 2023, Martin released the companion soundtrack to
A Compton Story. Martin is featured on the track "All That" along with Thirsty P, released on 18 October 2024, as the second single off
Ab-Soul's sixth album
Soul Burger. On
19 June 2024, Martin performed his hit song "
Like Whaaat", for Kendrick Lamar's concert
The Pop Out: Ken & Friends at the
Kia Forum in
Inglewood, California, closing the first set by DJ Hed, titled the
Act I – DJ Hed & Friends. ==Diamond Lane Music Group==