G Herbo American Rapper Born 1995 in Chicago

Early life

G Herbo was born Herbert Randall Wright III on 8 October 1995 in Chicago, Illinois, and grew up in the city. He attended Hyde Park Academy High School but left school at the age of sixteen. He has named Meek Mill, Jeezy, Gucci Mane, Yo Gotti and Lil Wayne as early influences. A close friend since his teenage years is the rapper Lil Bibby, with whom he recorded many songs at the start of both of their careers.

Career

Wright signed to the Chicago label Machine Entertainment Group in 2011, when he was sixteen, and performed at first as Lil Herb. He and Lil Bibby drew wider attention with the song "Kill Shit", which has since passed fifty million views on YouTube, and Drake publicly described the pair as the future of hip-hop.

His first mixtape, Welcome to Fazoland, was released on 17 February 2014 and named after a friend of his who had been killed. It was received warmly by critics. Later that year he appeared with Nicki Minaj on "Chiraq", guested on "The Neighborhood" from Common's album Nobody's Smiling, and was chosen for the Show & Prove section of XXL's 2014 Freshman issue. On 26 December 2014 he released a second mixtape, Pistol P Project, without advance notice. His third, Ballin Like I'm Kobe, followed on 29 September 2015, named in memory of another friend, Jacobi Herring. In September 2015 he signed with Cinematic Music Group and took the name G Herbo. XXL included him in its 2016 Freshman Class, and in 2016 he issued the fourth mixtape, Strictly 4 My Fans.

Humble Beast, his debut studio album, came out through Cinematic Music Group on 22 September 2017 and was well reviewed. It was preceded by the singles "Red Snow", "I Like" and "Everything". In March 2018 a freestyle on a Dallas radio station to the beat of "Who Run It" attracted so much interest that a full version was released days later, and Lil Uzi Vert later appeared on a remix. On 27 July 2018 he released Swervo, a collaborative album produced entirely by Southside and issued with Epic Records. Guests included 21 Savage, Chief Keef, Young Thug and Juice Wrld. A sequel, Still Swervin, followed on 1 February 2019.

PTSD arrived on 28 February 2020 with fourteen tracks and guests such as Lil Durk, Chance the Rapper, Polo G and Juice Wrld, and entered the Billboard 200 at number seven. He then moved to Republic Records. His album 25 was released on 2 July 2021, preceded by the singles "Break Yoself" and "Really Like That", and was followed by Survivor's Remorse in 2022, Big Swerv in 2024 and Lil Herb in 2025. He also appeared in the 2021 documentary Juice Wrld: Into the Abyss.

During these years he featured on tracks by other Chicago artists, including songs by King Von released in 2020, 2022 and 2023.

Public roles

In 2018 Wright helped fund the redevelopment of a former elementary school in Chicago, the Anthony Overton building, planning to equip it for young people interested in making music and to offer free sports and programmes. In July 2020 he started Swervin' Through Stress, a twelve-week programme that gives young Black people access to therapeutic resources for their mental health. He has said it was shaped by his own experience of therapy and by what he saw around him in his neighbourhood.

Personal life

G Herbo has three children.