Yo Gotti

Born Mario Mims and raised in the Frayser neighborhood of North Memphis, Tennessee, Yo Gotti began rapping as a teenager under the name Lil Yo and built a grassroots following through a relentless stream of independent mixtapes that chronicled Memphis street life.

After years of regional grind, he broke through with hits like "Down in the DM" and "Rake It Up," and founded Collective Music Group (CMG), which grew into a Southern powerhouse by signing Moneybagg Yo, GloRilla, 42 Dugg, and EST Gee. He has also become an activist on prison-reform issues.

He turned a long independent hustle into a charting major-label career and a successful label empire, earning platinum singles and positioning CMG as one of the most prominent rosters in modern Southern rap.

Yo Gotti became a leading executive and entrepreneurial force in modern Memphis and Southern hip-hop, mentoring the next generation of the city's stars.