Smino (born Christopher Smith Jr. on October 2, 1991) is an American rapper and singer from St. Louis, Missouri. He is the founder of the musical collective Zero Fatigue with Bari Allen, Monte Booker, Jay2, and Ravyn Lenae. He is also a member of the hip-hop supergroup Zoink Gang, with JID, Buddy, and Guapdad 4000, as well as the supergroup Ghetto Sage, with Saba and Noname. Smino is signed to Downtown Records and Interscope. Smino is from a musical family, with his father playing keys, his mother singing, and his grandfather being a famous blues bassist. He began his musical career at seven when his father gave him a set of drums, which he played in his church’s band. He also started rapping around this time, forming the rap duo “Young Dumb and Outta Control” (YROC) with his friend Bari Allen. The duo released a self-titled mixtape and began to gain local popularity but had difficulties getting their music out into the world. In 2012, Smino released his first solo mixtape, Smeezy Dot Com, and then moved to Chicago, Illinois, for college at Columbia College Chicago. While in Chicago, he met engineer Chris “Classik” Inumerable, who became his closest friend and is now his manager. In 2015, he released two EPs: S!Ck S!Ck S!Ck and blkjuptr. His debut studio album blkswn was released to critical acclaim on March 14, 2017, and his second studio album, NØIR, was released on November 8, 2018. His third studio album, Luv 4 Rent, was released on October 28, 2022.
