Formerly known as Lil Herb,
G Herbo relates his experiences in coarsely grained, urgent, and often pained form as one of Chicago's noted drill artists. He represents his city's South Shore neighborhood -- more specifically, an area nicknamed Terror Town. He debuted with Welcome to Fazoland in 2014, later rising on the Billboard 200 with 2017's
Humble Beast and 2018's
Swervo and continuing his streak of mainstream success with subsequent albums like 2020's
PTSD and the next year's
25, each of which cracked the Top Ten.
Active since the early 2010s, the rapper, born Herbert Wright III, appeared on a pair of tracks off Free Crack, a release by close associate
Lil Bibby, in 2013. The next year,
Common,
Young Chop, and
Earl Sweatshirt sought him out for verses, and he also issued his first two mixtapes: Welcome to Fazoland and Pistol P Project.
Wright subsequently signed with Cinematic Music Group and made his debut there in 2015 with a mixtape,
Ballin Like I'm Kobe, titled in tribute to a friend who had been murdered two years prior. The following year,
Wright appeared on the
Lil Yachty track "Up Next 3." In 2017, he delivered his full-length studio album,
Humble Beast, featuring the singles "Red Snow," "I Like," and "Everything." The album peaked just outside the Top 20 of the Billboard 200. A deluxe edition of the album arrived a year later, featuring fellow Chicago emcee
Chance the Rapper on "Everything (Remix)."
In 2018,
G Herbo joined with Atlanta trap producer
Southside for the collaborative effort
Swervo (Epic Records), which featured appearances by
Young Thug,
21 Savage,
Chief Keef, and others, debuting at number 15 on the Billboard 200 upon release. 2019 was bookended by third LP
Still Swervin, which debuted just outside the Top 40 that February, and December's
Sessions. In February 2020,
Herbo released his fourth studio album,
PTSD. The star-studded project featured cameos from
Lil Uzi Vert,
Polo G,
Juice WRLD,
A Boogie wit da Hoodie, and many others and peaked at number seven on Billboard's Top 200 chart.
Herbo said much of the album's content came out of therapy sessions he underwent trying to sort through his troubled upbringing. In December of that year, he and several associates were indicted on various federal fraud charges which he denied later in the month in the stand-alone single "Statement." Throughout the early months of 2021,
Herbo released singles like "All Black," "Really Like That," and "Break Yoself," some of which ultimately appeared on fourth studio album
25. Released in July of 2021 and titled for
Herbo's age at the time,
25 debuted at the number five slot in Billboard's Top 200 chart. ~ Andy Kellman