Closely affiliated with
Bobby Shmurda and the GS9 crew, Brooklyn rapper
Rowdy Rebel's style is characterized by intensity and high-energy bars. After an especially active phase between 2014 and 2016, he entered a period of relative dormancy for several years, but returned in 2020 with an appearance on a
Pop Smoke track and then was back the next year with a new single of his own, "Jesse Owens" featuring
NAV.
Born Chad Marshall in Brooklyn, New York,
Rowdy Rebel took his childhood nickname of "Rowdy" and made it his moniker when he joined his East Flatbush friends and formed GS9. When member
Bobby Shmurda signed a deal with Epic Records in 2014,
Rowdy signed two months later. He appeared alongside
Chris Brown,
Busta Rhymes,
Yo Gotti, and others on the remix of
Shmurda's 2014 hit "Hot Nigga." That same year,
Rebel dropped his debut single, "Beam Jawn," then "Computers" featuring
Shmurda landed at the end of the year.
Shmurda also appeared on
Rebel's 2015 single "She's All About That Shmoney," which also featured veteran rapper
Too $hort. His first solo mixtape Remain Silent appeared in 2015, and he followed it in 2016 with Shmoney Keeps Calling, a guest star-heavy affair that included spots from many of the GS9 crew as well as
Rich the Kid,
A$AP Ferg, and many others.
With the exception of a few miscellaneous songs and appearances,
Rowdy Rebel was silent for several years until he appeared on
Pop Smoke's 2020 track "Make It Rain." In 2021, he offered up "Jesse Owens," a new single under his own name that featured a guest verse from
NAV. ~ David Jeffries & Fred Thomas