Compton Av

Freestyling West Coast rapper Compton Av is named after the southern California street on which he grew up. It’s also a moniker that nods to his home city’s hip-hop heritage, as it was the notorious Compton group N.W.A. that provided him with early inspiration. Later, Kurupt & Snoop Dogg chose one of his tracks for a 2013 mixtape, and he capitalized on this attention with a 2014 breakthrough single, “Run Me My Money!” This made a name for him in L.A. and its environs, but it was the success of 2016′s “Money Dance” which further boosted his profile. Compton Av remained industrious and entrepreneurial in subsequent years, sustaining independence while adding frequently to his catalog. He distilled this experience into a business-themed album, NET 30, in May 2022.
He was born in Compton in 1984, to a mother enthusiastic about hip-hop. Years of listening to music from the back of her car led Av to make his first recordings at the age of 10. Through his teens he was keen on sports but he was shot in the leg at the age of 17, preventing his expected entrance into college basketball. Instead, he became fully focused on music, throwing parties to give himself a performance platform before making professional recordings. After Snoop and Kurupt picked up “Wonder Why They Call You B*tch,” Compton Av started his own label, Rich Off Rap, on which he ultimately released “Run Me My Money!” Around this time — up until around 2015 — he also occasionally performed and released as Av LMKR. He shared this acronym — which stood for Loyalty, Music, Knowledge and Respect — with members of his crew, but eventually decided to drop this name and retain Compton Av, when his late mentor, Nipsey Hussle explained the branding benefits of using one moniker.
“Money Dance” was a slow burner commercially but ultimately achieved over two million streams within a few years of its release. Early mixtapes issued between 2014 and 2017 included C.O.M.P.T.O.N. (Compton Only Makes Progress Through Our Nobility), Compton to Riches, and Tru 2 the Streetz before he decided to spend 2018 away from music. In April 2019, Compton Av returned with Kept It 2 Real, an album which included numerous guest appearances from artists close to his heart such as O.T. Genasis, Kalan.FrFr, and Rucci. After a comparatively quiet 2020, February 2021 brought another album, All In. Hot on the heels of this release were the first singles from his next project, including “Slid’N,” a collaboration with Snoop Dogg and Steelz which achieved multi-million streams. On its release in 2022, Compton Av marketed NET 30 as a lesson in finance for his fan base. ~ James Wilkinson