Before topping the US Billboard charts with his album “These Things Happen”, before having one of the most played songs of last year, before the world knew him as G-Eazy, he was known as Gerald Earl Gillum.
Born May 24, 1989 in Oakland California, he is a child of Ukrainian American parents. At an early age, his parents separated and his mom started dating a woman called Melissa Mills. Initially confused and embarrassed with his mom’s relationship, he grew to accept Melissa and became close to her. One day Gerald came home and found Melissa in their basement. She had committed suicide by a fatal overdose. One of the hardest moment in Gerald’s life, he cites Melissa as a positive in his life through his mom.
His mother, a school teacher, was a big supporter of Gerald and his music pursuits. She introduced him to classics like the Beatles, Bob Dylan and other contemporary rock music. He also cites Tupac, E-40 as well as Mac Dre , another rapper who originated from the Bay Area, as one of his influences. Through high school he worked at a fast food restaurant called Top Dog. It was around this time he started making music.
After graduating high school, Gillum went to Loyola University in New Orleans because of their strong music industry program. There he studied production, business and marketing. When he was not in class or studying, Gerald spent his time perfecting his craft. He would release his music on his Myspace page at the time. In 2009, he released his debut album the “Epidemic.” However, it was not until 2010 that he started gaining popularity. He was given the opportunity to be the opening act for artists like Lil Wayne, Snoop Dogg and Drake who were on tour. In 2011, his songs “Waspy" and "Candy Girl" gained 400,000 plays on Myspace.
Later that year, in August, he released his breakout mixtape, “The Endless Summer.” One song on the mixtape was an updated version of 1961's hit song “Runaround Sue” originally performed by Dion DiMucci. The video gained over 4 million views on YouTube.
In 2012, he announced the Excellent Adventure Tour which featured fellow artists Hoodie Allen. The two performed across the east coast, and later that year, he released his first independent album “Must Be Nice;” It became number three on the iTunes hip-hop chart.
In 2014, he signed on with RCA Records and later released “These Things Happen.” The album topped US Billboard hip-hop and R&B charts and has since sold 265,000 copies. His latest album “When It’s Dark Out” was released on December 4th, 2015.
Gerald has really found his own once voice throughout the years. He has gone from selling mixtapes person to person to selling out tours wherever he goes. He has become one of the hottest artists right now and wants to show the world that he is more than just the generic rapper he started out as.
