The sweetness of Fredo Bang’s melodies can be deceptive. The Louisiana rapper’s Auto-Tuned singsong delivery veils an unvarnished portrait of street life—one informed by his own hard-luck upbringing. Born Fredrick T. Givens II in 1996, the Baton Rouge native started rapping as a teen and then, at just 20 years old, he was sentenced to more than two years behind bars. Upon his release in 2018, he dropped 2 Face Bang, putting a surprisingly vulnerable spin on his tales from the trap: “I can’t stop sellin’ drugs, ’cause it’s all I know,” he sang over silky synths in “No Mo.” But he showed a more playful side on “Oouuh,” giving free rein to his inner Lothario. On 2019’s Pain Made Me Numb, Fredo bobbed between the poles of his persona, coldly staring down trauma on the title track and getting deep in his feelings on “Still Love You.” He leaned into the contrast on his 2020 Def Jam debut, Most Hated, balancing love songs like “Let Me Tell You (Kianna)” with the street realism of lead single “Get Even,” featuring Lil Baby. “I felt like a rapper,” he told Apple Music of the cosign. “Not everyone can get a verse from Lil Baby.” Unwilling to be held back by anyone, Fredo boils down his philosophy to a single indelible line in “Get Even”: “I can’t be stuck in no box since I got out the box.”
