Inspired by his older brother, Dukes began rapping when he was 8 and recording at 10. At 12, simultaneous to the release of his first tracks and videos, he joined a gang. In 2015, Dukes was shot in the chest, and while in the hospital, he was arrested on gun charges. At 16, he was sentenced to five years in a juvenile detention center. Committed to keeping away from the streets when he was freed, he focused on music for the duration of his incarceration, writing rap as well as songs influenced by pop and R&B. In 2018, he put 8 new songs on
SoundCloud, and in 2019, he released
Hood Bible, a collection of 14 songs that came out one by one.
Hood Bible included his first hit, "Changed Up". The video for "Changed Up" received more than 20 million views on YouTube over the course of several months.
Pitchfork attributed Osama's success to "relatable struggles in his lyrics" and "a realness that resonated". In August 2019, Dukes signed with
Warner Records. Among other songs, he has since released "Like a Pimp", a collaboration with
Stunna 4 Vegas, "Rumors", "Ride 4 Me" featuring
Jackboy and "61st to 64th". His mixtape,
Trench Baby, was released on February 19, 2021. His fourth mixtape,
Trench Baby 2, was released on November 12, 2021. The mixtape contained songs featuring EST Gee, Mook6340, Benny The Butcher, Luh Kel, and Sean Kingston. ==Discography==