Young Scooter
Kenneth Edward Bailey, better known by his stage name Young Scooter, is a rapper from Atlanta, GA, signed to his own label Black Migo Gang. Scooter grew to prominence in 2012 after releasing a number of successful mixtapes and collaborating with notable rappers such as Gucci Mane, Future, Waka Flocka Flame and Chief Keef.
Scooter was born in Walterboro, South Carolina. When he was 9, his family moved to the Kirkwood Community (a.k.a. Lil Mexico) of Atlanta, GA. In 2008, after he was charged with drug trafficking, he decided to start pursuing a career in music. Scooter is a childhood friend with fellow Atlanta rapper Future. While his first mixtape Plug Talkin didn’t receive much attention, with his second release Finessin and Flexin’ he made a name for himself, already collaborating with major artists Future, Rocko and Waka Flocka Flame. Scooter put out 2 more mixtapes in 2012 – Married to the Streets and Voice of the Streetz, featuring production from Zaytoven, DJ Spinz, Nard & B, Da Honorable C.N.O.T.E. and guest verses by Gucci Mane and Alley Boy.
Scooter’s real breakthrough came in January 2013 when he released his mixtape Street Lottery. SPIN Magazine named it “Rap Release of the Week” and XXL featured it on its “Best Mixtapes of January” list. Eric Diep of XXL labeled Scooter as “one of the hottest street rappers coming out of Atlanta” and wrote that tracks like the single “Colombia” and “Street Lottery” (featuring Bun B) are “proof of his undeniable talent”. The tape was a viral success, gaining over 100,000 downloads on DatPiff. The official video for “Colombia”, directed by Decatur Dan, premiered on MTV on January 31 in 2013. The song became a hit in the south, especially in Scooter’s hometown of Atlanta. Brandon Soderberg of Spin classified it as a mix of Rick Ross’ “Hustlin’” and Future’s “Tony Montana”. By the end of the month, an official remix with rappers Rick Ross, Birdman and Gucci Mane was released. Lil Wayne also covered the song for his mixtape Dedication 5.
Scooter’s highly anticipated collaboration mixtape with Gucci Mane Free Bricks 2 was released on February 28, 2013. On August 29, 2013, Young Scooter released his mixtape From The Cell Block To Your Block, featuring guest appearances from Future, Gucci Mane, Wale, YG, Lil Boosie, Webbie and Lil Phat, among others.
2016 was a blessed year for Young Scooter as he released Street Lottery 3 which featured Kodak Black, Future, Young Thug, Young Dolph and more. In the first quarter of 2017, Young Scooter released Jugg King distributed by his own label Black Migo Gang, which accumulated over 5 million streams/downloads to date. The first single from that project was “Diamonds” featuring buzzing artists A Boogie & Don Q out of New York City.
Scooter’s lyrical themes are largely about money and drugs. David Drake of Complex compared his “populist, kingpin rapping” to that of Young Jeezy, although he noted that Scooter doesn’t have the “all-encompassing grandiosity” of his fellow Atlanta rapper. Scooter is influenced by famous hip-hop artists such as Jay-Z, 50 Cent and Diddy.
