Meek Mill

Rapper Meek Mill became as famous for his controversies-shuttling in and out of prison repeatedly on a variety of charges and parole violations, beefing with other rappers, breaking up with girlfriend Nicki Minaj-as he was for his music, but he nevertheless enjoyed major success in the first few years of his career.

Born Robert Rhimeek Williams in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on May 6, 1987, he started rapping as a teenager, initially using the name Meek Millz. He was arrested for the first time at the age of 18, ending up on probation. In 2008 he self-released his first mixtape, Flamers. Several others would follow over the next couple of years, but though he became involved with Atlanta rapper T.I.'s Grand Hustle label, which put out Flamers 2 in 2009, his continuing brushes with the law kept him from releasing a proper debut LP with the label. By 2011 things really started to take off for him when he signed to Rick Ross's Maybach Music Group, distributed by Warner Bros. Records.

Meek was prominently featured on the label's compilation Self Made Vol. 1, and he scored a pair of hits with "Tupac Back" and "Ima Boss," the latter going Gold. It was at this time that he really started turning up on everyone's radar, and the following year he released his first real album, Dreams and Nightmares. The record was a huge hit, and it gave Meek two more Gold singles, "Amen" and "Young & Gettin' It." His second LP, Dreams Worth More Than Money, appeared in 2015 and became even more successful than its predecessor, going Platinum and pulling the hat trick of hitting the top spot on the pop, hip-hop, and R&B charts.

The album gave Meek a pair of Platinum singles as well: "All Eyes on You," featuring his then-girlfriend Nicki Minaj and Chris Brown, and "R.I.C.O." featuring Drake, with whom he would soon start a well-publicized feud. Meek's third album, Wins & Losses, appeared in 2017 and became a big success as well, giving Meek another Gold record, though it didn't contain any major hit singles.