Rubberband OG

Growing up in Alabama, rapper Rubberband OG spent much of his early adulthood working on his own music before he began making an impression when he signed to Think It’s a Game Records. From there, the rapper collaborated with established producers and emcees, working with Zaytoven, YFN Lucci, Q Money, and others on songs that ranged from topics of gun violence and money to loving tributes to his mother, who worked multiple jobs and raised him on her own. Rubberband OG, also known as Cortez Oates, was born and raised in Montgomery and began making music when he was gifted a drum machine on his 13th birthday. He worked independently for several years, posting videos for his early songs online to a growing audience. In 2016, he caught the ear of Think It’s a Game Records and signed with the label, quickly dropping the Zaytoven-produced single “Hood Back” and hosting the Strictly 4 Traps and Trunks Project Baby Edition mixtape for the label. His 2017 mixtape, Bout That Life, included a moody single of the same name as well as guest appearances from YFN Lucci and Eldorado Red, and the next year he followed with subsequent mixtape The Streets Need Me. ~ Fred Thomas