Feddi

Feddi, born Demetrius Robbins, has a story to tell. It’s punctuated by pain, bound by betrayal, and has as much family drama as a Shakespearean play. But the setting isn’t some far-flung European city ruled by kings and nobility. Feddi is from Zone 1, Westside, Atlanta. An infamous neighborhood where life is a gamble, and even if you play your cards right, you can still lose it all. This is the hood that raised him, nurtured his love of music, and where he made his name in the streets. Feddi’s life story is worthy of a feature film–but his music has a documentary quality. And his story doesn’t just represent him. It also describes the voiceless people that grew up in neighborhoods like Zone 1 all over the world.
Tragedy struck Feddi’s family when he was just in second grade. In a story so gruesome that it was depicted on the TV show ATL Homicides, Feddi’s father was kidnapped, tortured, and ultimately murdered by his own cousins. “I stayed outta school for two years,” he recalls. “Like a whole two years, I didn’t go to school. APD sitting outside my house. Cause ain’t nobody locked up. Don’t nobody know what’s going on.”
Feddi’s dad, known affectionately as Deke the Freak from Cairo Street, was a well-known and respected figure in the neighborhood. So even though he was tragically killed, that respect and love extended to his son after his passing. “I had to live up to the name. But just being his son, it had me being taken care of. That led to me not ever having to worry about where I’m sleeping at. Where I’m gonna eat at. It wasn’t not one house in the neighborhood I couldn’t walk into. If I’m hungry, man, I’m finna to eat. It might be a different house every night,” he recalls.
Even having experienced something so heinous as a kid, Feddi never sought traditional therapy. Instead, he used music as an outlet to release his pain.