A skateboarder first and a rapper second, the Atlanta-based
Lil Gnar nonetheless took quickly to his second outlet, and within a year of making his informal debut scored a major-label recording contract that led to the release of the mixtape
Gnar Lif3 (2018).
Gnar has collaborated with some notable players in the rap game, working with
Lil Skies and
YBN Nahmir on his 2019 album
Fire Hazard, and going on to release joint singles with
Lil Uzi Vert and
Trippie Redd.
Born Caleb Sheppard,
Lil Gnar rapped for fun as a teenager, then got involved on a deeper level with skateboarding and, eventually, his Gnarcotic apparel line. Among his fellow Atlantan skaters was Germ, whose rap aspirations provoked
Gnar to take the form more seriously himself. He gained significant traction in 2017 after an early track, "Ride Wit Da Fye" -- featuring Germ and production by SS.Kev -- approached half a million streams within a couple weeks of being uploaded.
Gnar swiftly attracted major-label interest and signed in 2018 with Capitol. That June, Capitol commercially released
Gnar's "Drop Top Benz," a collaboration with
Lil Skies, as the rapper's proper debut. The track highlighted the mixtape
Gnar Lif3, which arrived three months later with appearances from
IDK and
Skies as well as
Travis Barker and
Zillakami, the last two of whom helped to add an aggressive rock edge to the predominantly low-key (if intense) material. 2019 album
Fire Hazard included guest spots from
Rob Bank$,
Lil Yachty,
YBN Nahmir and others. Throughout 2020,
Lil Gnar worked again with Germ, first on a series of singles and then with the EP Big Bad Gnar Shit 2. 2020 also saw the release of "Diamond Choker," a collaborative track with
Lil Uzi Vert, and "HEY!," a single from
Gnar and
Lil Keed. The next year followed a similar path, with
Gnar releasing new songs like the
Lil Skies collaboration "Not the Same," the
Trippie Redd-assisted "Missiles," and group track "New Bugatti," which featured
Gnar,
DJ Scheme,
Chief Keef, and
Ski Mask the Slump God.
Lil Gnar continued focusing on stand-alone songs into 2022, including tracks made with
Torey Lanez and
Yung Bans. ~ Andy Kellman