Bfb Da Packman

Rapper Bfb Da Packman turned heads with explicit, comedic verses on 2020’s “Free Joe Exotic,” a collaboration with Sada Baby. Subsequent collaborations with the likes of Wiz Khalifa, Lil Yachty, and 03 Greedo have further raised his profile in the hip-hop world — a second career bolstered by his job as a mailman when he’s not in the recording studio. Born Tyree Jawan Thomas in Flint, Michigan, in 1995, Bfb (an acronym for “Big F*ckin’ Baby”) harbored dreams of rapping to escape street life. A rocky upbringing included selling drugs and surviving a gunshot wound to his leg; at his lowest point, gun and drug charges resulted in a period of probation. Once that ended, he swore to clean up in 2015, following family to Houston and holding down a job at the Post Office while crafting mixtapes and freestyles. Bfb’s often-unprintable, self-deprecating lyrical turns — and videos in which he gleefully exposed his larger physique without a shirt — finally gained steam with 2018’s “Snack Time,” a track that earned notice from Kanye West, Kodak Black, and others. It appeared on his debut mixtape God Blessing All the Fat N****s, along with a tongue-in-cheek Drake namecheck called “Aubrey I Need You on This Song.” After a second mixtape, 2019’s STD, Packman’s prowess took off further with “Free Joe Exotic,” a humorous collaboration with Detroit rapper Sada Baby released in the immediate wake of the hype around 2020’s Netflix documentary Tiger King. “Free Joe Exotic” was a bona fide viral smash, and became a centerpiece of his 2021 debut album Fat N****s Need Love Too, which was packed with guest appearances by Wiz Khalifa, Benny the Butcher, and Lil Yachty. A spate of well-received singles in 2023 (“Grocery Freestyle,” “Delulu,” “Kentucky Love”) preceded his sophomore album, Forget Me Not, released in 2024. ~ Mike Duquette