RJMrLA

Rapper RJMrLA, aka RJ, asserts his South Central Los Angeles street-level perspective with equally imposing verses and sing-song hooks. Boosted by close affiliations with Mustard, YG, and Ty Dolla $ign, RJ made his full-length debut with the mixtape O.M.M.I.O (2013), and its sequel made a greater impact two years later with the Mustard-produced "Hoes Come Easy" easily surpassing the popularity of anything he had recorded up to that point. MrLA (2017), RJ's first album, built on the momentum with "Is It Mine," one of his many collaborations with Ty. Since then, RJ has launched his own label, OMMIO, home to projects such as On God (2019), the DJ Drama collaboration OMMIO Grillz (2023), and The Bitch Tape (2024). RJ hit the ground running in 2013. In addition to releasing his first mixtape, O.M.M.I.O ("On My Mama I'm On), on Pushaz Ink -- a label started by Mustard, YG, and Ty Dolla $ign -- he was featured throughout Mustard's Ketchup tape, and shared the mike with YG and Nipsey Hussle on "Been from the Gang." In 2015, after RJ was heard on YG's "When I Was Gone," Mustard's 10 Summers label released the RJ and Royce the Choice tape Rich Off Mackin, as well as RJ's sequel to O.M.M.I.O. The latter's "Hoes Come Easy" raised RJ's profile significantly. Subsequently signed to Mustard and YG's joint 400 Summers venture, RJ issued the full-length MrLA in 2017, and at the end of the year teamed with Mustard for The Ghetto, a set elevated by the Rae Sremmurd collaboration "Hard Way." Just before the end of the 2010s, RJ went independent with the launch of his Empire-distributed OMMIO label. In 2019, around the time he assisted Snoop Dogg on "Ventalation," RJ issued On God, what he promoted as his true debut LP. The album was distinguished by contributions from the likes of ScHoolboy Q, Young Thug, the Game, and G-Eazy. Despite the level of effort put into it, RJ kept moving ahead after its release date, partnering again with Royce the Choice for Rich Off Mackin 2, and following up with another 2020 release, Let Me Talk My Shit. Over the course of 2022 and 2023, RJ offered both Rodney Brown Jr. and OMMIO Grillz, and in early 2024, he continued with The Bitch Tape, a relationship-themed project preceded by the single "Unleashed." ~ Andy Kellman