2016–2018: Career beginnings and The Rap Game In 2016, Alyssa Stephens was a contestant on the
Lifetime reality series
The Rap Game, produced by
Jermaine Dupri and
Queen Latifah. The boot camp-style series followed young aspiring rappers in a competition against one another over a span of eight weeks. Latto, under the stage name "Miss Mulatto" at the time, was the overall winner of the competition. She was offered a recording contract from Dupri with
So So Def Records but ultimately turned down the deal claiming it was not enough money, opting to be an independent artist. Stephens' second mixtape, ''Latto Let 'Em Know
, was released in April 2017. The tape featured artists like Molly Brazy, Lil Key, Crucial, and Silentó. The single "Response Diss" is a diss song directed toward Young Lyric, a fellow competitor from The Rap Game''. The ongoing feud between the two resulted in diss tracks from both parties with insults about drug use, homosexuality, and past experiences from the show.
2019–2020: Breakthrough and Queen of Da Souf In January 2019, Latto released the song "
Bitch from da Souf". In May 2019, she was invited to perform at the Rolling Loud, an annual
hip hop festival, located in
Miami. In June 2019, she released a second
extended play, titled
Big Latto, which was preceded by "Bitch from da Souf". The single became a breakout hit, peaking at number 95 on the
Billboard Hot 100 chart and was certified
gold by the
Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in the United States. The song later received a remix, featuring rappers
Saweetie and
Trina, which was later included on Mulatto's third EP,
Hit the Latto, which was released on December 12. In March 2020, it was officially announced that Latto had signed with
RCA Records. On April 23, Latto released the promotional single, "No Hook". On May 21, she released the second promotional single, "He Say She Say". In July 2020, she recreated some of rapper
Gucci Mane's album covers, starting with 2009
The State vs. Radric Davis, to which Gucci reacted positively. She then announced the release of her single "
Muwop", featuring Gucci Mane, which was released on July 30. The song samples Gucci's 2007 single, "
Freaky Gurl". Latto made a
cameo appearance in American rapper
Cardi B's music video for her single "
WAP", which was released on August 7, 2020. On the same day, Latto was featured on
NLE Choppa's single "Make Em Say", taken from his debut studio album,
Top Shotta. On August 11, she was included in
XXLs 2020
Freshman Class. On August 12, she announced the release of her debut project through RCA, titled
Queen of da Souf and it was released on August 21, 2020. The project was preceded by two singles, which were the remix to "Bitch from da Souf" and "Muwop" featuring
Gucci Mane; as well as the promotional singles "No Hook" and "He Say She Say". The album peaked at number 44 on the US
Billboard 200. On September 4, Latto was featured on the remix of the
Chloe x Halle song "
Do It", alongside
Doja Cat and
City Girls. Also on that day, Latto was featured on
G-Eazy's single, "Down". Music videos for the third and fourth singles from
Queen of da Souf, "On God" and "In n Out" featuring
City Girls, were released in September and October 2020, respectively. On September 29, it was announced that she had been nominated for Best New Hip Hop Artist at the
2020 BET Hip Hop Awards, where she was a performer. On December 11, Latto released the extended version of
Queen of da Souf, which included five new songs and spawned the single "Sex Lies", featuring American rapper
Lil Baby.
2021–2023: Name change and 777 In January 2021, it was announced that Latto would be changing her stage name from "Mulatto" after the controversy about the word being deemed
colorist. In February 2021, it was announced she would be
MTV's Global Push Artist of the month. In March 2021, she became the first female rapper from Atlanta to have a solo record be certified gold and platinum with "Bitch from da Souf" (2019) and "Muwop" (2020). In May 2021, she confirmed she had settled on a new stage name following scrutiny over its racially charged nature. On May 18, it was reported that her name had been changed to Latto on streaming platforms, a change first reflected on her guest appearance on
Toosii's album
Thank You for Believing. She released the single "
The Biggest" alongside the announcement. On September 24, 2021, Latto released "Big Energy", the lead single from her second studio album. The song became her highest-charting entry on the
Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number three. American singer
Mariah Carey appeared on the official remix, released in March 2022. A follow-up single, "Soufside", was released on November 5. On March 9, 2022, Latto announced that the song "
Wheelie" would be released on March 11, and confirmed it would feature fellow Atlanta rapper
21 Savage. All three songs were included on Latto's second studio album,
777, which was released on March 25. On July 15, she released the song "
Pussy". She was featured on
Chloe Bailey's single "
For the Night". In February 2023, Latto was nominated for Best New Artist at the
Grammy Awards. In July, she appeared as a featured artist on South Korean singer
Jung Kook's debut solo single "
Seven". It debuted at number one on the
Billboard Hot 100, becoming her first song to reach the top spot of the chart. She was included in the
Forbes 30 Under 30 list for 2024 music. On October 12, Latto released "Did Somebody Say HipOpera," a
rap opera collaboration with singer
Christina Aguilera.
2024–present: Sugar Honey Iced Tea and Big Mama In January 2024, Latto was featured on the remix of
Jennifer Lopez's song "
Can't Get Enough", the lead single from Lopez's ninth studio album,
This Is Me... Now. On February 5, 2024, Latto announced her single "
Sunday Service" via social media. The cover artwork depicts a collage of prominent women rappers printed on a
cyclorama back. The eyes of Latto and all the featured rappers are concealed by a black box or horizontal black bar. Her third studio album,
Sugar Honey Iced Tea, was released on August 9, 2024. On May 16, 2025, she released the single "
Somebody"; the song interpolates the "I really need somebody, tell me you're that somebody" lyric from American singer
Aaliyah's 1998 single "
Are You That Somebody?". == Other ventures ==