Lil Skies American Rapper With 3.4M Instagram Followers

Early life

Lil Skies, whose legal name is Kimetrius Christopher Foose, was born on 4 August 1998 in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. His family moved to Waynesboro, in the same state, while he was in third grade, and he attended Waynesboro Area Senior High School, graduating in 2016. He briefly enrolled at Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania before leaving to concentrate on a rap career.

Music was part of his home life. His father worked as a hip hop artist under a stage name that Lil Skies later reworked into his own, and the two collaborated on early projects. He has named Lil Wayne, Eminem, Wiz Khalifa and 50 Cent among his musical influences.

Career

Foose's first public performance of note came in October 2016, when he opened for Fetty Wap at Shippensburg University. In January 2017 he released his first mixtape, Alone. That July he put out "Red Roses", featuring Landon Cube, followed by further songs including "Rude" and "Signs of Jealousy". These releases drew the attention of Atlantic Records, which partnered with his own label, All We Got, and he signed with the company in 2017. He also toured nationally with Lil Uzi Vert that year.

His major-label debut, the mixtape Life of a Dark Rose, came out on 10 January 2018. It entered the Billboard 200 at number 23 and later reached number ten. The singles "I", "Nowadays" and "Red Roses" reached numbers 39, 55 and 69 on the Billboard Hot 100. In May 2018 he released the video for "Lust", which peaked at number 87, and shortly afterward "I Know You", a collaboration with Yung Pinch that reached number 79.

On 1 March 2019 he released his debut studio album, Shelby, named after his mother. It was released alongside a video for the lead single "I", and he also made a short documentary about the record for his YouTube channel. The album reached number five on the Billboard 200. His second studio album, Unbothered, arrived in 2021 and reached number 50. It was preceded by a run of singles through 2020: "Havin My Way" with Lil Durk, "Riot", "On Sight" and "Ok". A deluxe edition followed in 2021, led by "My Baby" with Zhavia Ward. Later singles included "Play This at My Funeral" and "Rage!" in 2022.

In February 2023 Lil Skies released "Make A Toast", his final release for Atlantic Records, and announced on Instagram Live that he had left the label. He then released music independently. He appeared on "This My Life", a track from the Lyrical Lemonade album All Is Yellow, alongside Lil Tecca and The Kid Laroi; the song reached the Bubbling Under Hot 100 and the New Zealand chart.

His first solo release of 2024 was "Thousands", the lead single from the eight-track mixtape Out Ur Body Music, which came out on 29 March 2024. It was his first full-length project since Unbothered. Later that year he released singles including "Runnin Through The Fire", "Pain" and "Pull The Trigger", the last with Masked Wolf. In 2025 he issued "High Maintenance" and then "2Much 2Fast", featuring Landon Cube and produced by John Feldmann, as the lead single from the album The Evolution of the Rose. A second single, "Falling Backwards", followed in April, and the album was released on 27 June 2025 with guest appearances from Landon Cube and Ravenna Golden. Both singles leaned toward a pop rock and rap sound.

Recognition

Several of his releases have received certifications from the Recording Industry Association of America. Life of a Dark Rose was certified platinum, as was the single "Lust", while "I Know You" received a gold certification. His chart placements on the Billboard Hot 100 and Billboard 200 are outlined above.

Personal life

Foose continues to live in Waynesboro, Pennsylvania. He has described "Red Roses" as his favorite of his own songs and has spoken about fishing as his preferred hobby. In interviews he has said that, had he not become a rapper, he would have liked to work in outdoor pursuits.