Lil Zay Osama, born Isiah Dukes on the South Side of Chicago in 1998,
transformed his violent, crime-filled childhood into a series of songs that made
him one of the most authentic rappers of his generation. Though he began
recording as a boy, his activity in Chicago’s gang culture dominated his
childhood and teenage years. He was shot and arrested in 2015. He began serving
time as one of his music began to find an audience on social media. After being
paroled in 2017, he sought to leave behind his legal troubles and began to focus
fully on a music career. Over the course of 2018...