Yella Beezy paved his way from underground to mainstream with the help of a thick Texan twang that sizzles over booming beats whether he’s singing, rapping, or blurring the two. The Dallas artist born Markies Deandre Conway (1991) began exploring hip-hop as a preteen, but kept his talents to himself out of anxiety. “I rapped, but I wasn’t the type that just ran up and rapped in front of everybody,” he tells Apple Music. “I had a little fear of that. A lot of people didn’t know I rapped until 10th grade.” That’s when he dropped his first mixtape with a local group, but Beezy soon went solo, putting his pliable vocals on full display through a series of self-released tapes and grinding his way toward regional fame. His breakthrough single, “That’s On Me” from 2017’s Lite Work, Vol. 2, was both magnetic and relatable, with stylishly slung lines about overcoming being overlooked. The song landed Beezy a deal, and inspired a cross-generational Southern-rap roundtable of a remix featuring OGs like 2 Chainz, T.I., Jeezy, and Boosie Badazz alongside young guns like Rich The Kid and Trapboy Freddy. Bona fides proven, he released 2019’s Baccend Beezy led by “Restroom Occupied,” a wickedly carnal cut featuring trap&B king Chris Brown. Though he’s charismatic on his own, there’s something about pairing Beezy with a master that highlights his gifts as an MC. In 2020, he teamed up with Young Thug for “Headlocc,” a menacingly minimal banger about competitive dominance that affirmed Beezy’s vocal flexibility and revealed a newfound ferocity.
