Meek Mill

Robert Rihmeek Williams (born May 6, 1987), known professionally as Meek Mill, is an American rapper. Born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he embarked on his career as a battle rapper, and later formed the short-lived rap group the Bloodhoundz. He signed with T.I.'s Grand Hustle Records as a solo act in 2008, but parted ways with the label in 2011 without any releases. He then signed with Rick Ross' Maybach Music Group (MMG) later that year, and rose to further recognition following his appearances on the label's Self Made Vol. 1 (2011) compilation album; his song "Tupac Back" (featuring Rick Ross) served as the album's lead single, while its follow-up, "Ima Boss" (featuring Rick Ross), became his first entry on the Billboard Hot 100.

Meek Mill's debut studio album, Dreams and Nightmares (2012)—released in a joint venture with MMG and Warner Bros. Records—peaked at number two on the Billboard 200 and was led by the single "Amen" (featuring Drake). His second album, Dreams Worth More Than Money (2015), debuted atop the Billboard 200, while his third album, Wins & Losses (2016), peaked at number three. His fourth album, Championships (2018), debuted atop the chart once more; its lead single, "Going Bad" (featuring Drake), peaked at number six on the Billboard Hot 100 and remains his highest-charting song. His fifth album, Expensive Pain (2021), also peaked at number three, and his collaborative album with Rick Ross, Too Good to Be True (2023), peaked at number 23. He founded the record label Dream Chasers Records in 2012, which has released his own projects and signed other artists including Yung Bleu, Vory, and Lil Snupe.

In November 2017, Meek Mill was sentenced to two to four years in prison for violating parole, before being released pending appeal after serving five months. All the convictions were eventually overturned. In August 2019, a documentary series about his battle with the criminal justice system, Free Meek, was released on Amazon Prime Video. Jay-Z executive produced the series; he and Meek Mill also co-founded the nonprofit Reform Alliance that same year, which focuses on national prison reform.

Early life

Robert Rihmeek Williams was born on May 6, 1987, in the South Philadelphia area of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of Kathy Williams. He has an older sister, Nasheema Williams. Kathy grew up in poverty and her mother died when she was young. Meek's father was killed when Meek was five years old, apparently during an attempted robbery. His uncle, Robert, described Meek Mill's father as a "black sheep of the family". After her husband's death, Kathy moved with Meek and his sister to North Philadelphia, where they lived in a three-bedroom apartment on Berks Street. Their financial condition was poor and she started cutting hair, doing other jobs, and shoplifting in order to support her family. At home, Meek was shy and rarely spoke. As a kid, he became acquainted with another of his father's brothers, who under the MC name Grandmaster Nell was a pioneering disc jockey (DJ) in the late-1980s Philadelphia hip-hop scene and influenced rap artists Will Smith and DJ Jazzy Jeff. Meek's interest in hip-hop grew as a result of these early influences. He was also influenced by the independent hip-hop artists Chic Raw and Vodka, whom he learned to emulate by watching their DVDs.

During his early teenage years, Meek often took part in rap battles under the pseudonym Meek Millz. He often stayed up well past midnight filling notebooks with phrases and verses that he later drew on. Later he and three friends formed the rap group The Bloodhoundz. They bought blank CDs and jewel cases at Kinkos, encouraging friends to burn them with the group's songs and distribute them.

Career

2006–2010: Career beginnings

The Bloodhoundz lasted long enough to release four mixtapes. From 2006 to 2008 Mill released three solo mixtapes including The Real Me, The Real Me 2, and Flamers. In 2009, Mill released his fourth solo mixtape, Flamers 2: Hottest in tha City, which spawned the promotional singles "I'm So Fly," "Prolli," and "Hottest in the City." Flamers 2 caught the attention of Charles "Charlie Mack" Alston, founder and president of 215 Aphillyated Records. Mack, who previously represented for other Philadelphians Will Smith, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Boyz II Men and Ms. Jade, was so impressed with Mill that he immediately signed him to his management company. During that same year, Meek Mill also met the founder and owner of Grand Hustle Records, Atlanta-based rapper and record executive T.I. T.I. was also impressed by Mill and offered him an opportunity to travel, to meet with him and Warner Bros. Records; within a week both record companies offered him a deal. Although he was offered other record deals, Mill felt collaborating with T.I. was "an opportunity of a lifetime" and thus chose his label. However, a setback occurred, when Mill was sentenced to a stint in jail for a drug and gun charge.

After being released in 2009, he continued working as an artist under Grand Hustle, Mill formed a work relationship with the label's resident disc jockey, DJ Drama. Mill and Drama teamed up to release the third edition of Mill's Flamers series. The mixtape, titled Flamers 3: The Wait Is Over, was released on March 12, 2010, and is helmed as a "Gangsta Grillz mixtape". The mixtape features his promotional single "Rosé Red", which was later remixed with additional verses from fellow American rappers T.I., Rick Ross and Vado. Rick Ross contributed his verse after he was visiting Philadelphia and asked his Twitter followers who he should collaborate with; Meek Mill was the overwhelming response. The remix was included on Mill's following mixtape, Mr. Philadelphia. Due to Mill and T.I.'s respective legal troubles, Mill was never able to release an official album under Grand Hustle and they parted ways in 2010. That same year, a film was released called Streets: a direct-to-DVD crime drama, starring Mill, produced by Alston and directed by Jamal Hill.

2011–2012: Dreams & Nightmares

In February 2011, Rick Ross announced the signing of Mill along with fellow American rapper Wale to his Maybach Music Group (MMG) label. In March 2011, Mill was included in XXL's "Freshman Class of 2011". Later that year, he released his debut single, "Tupac Back", featuring Rick Ross, from his label's compilation album Self Made Vol. 1 (2011). That same year he released his second single, "Ima Boss", also take from the compilation and featuring Ross. The song was later remixed, featuring T.I., Birdman, Lil Wayne, DJ Khaled, Swizz Beatz and Rick Ross. The remix charted on the Billboard Hot 100 and peaked at No. 51, becoming Mill's most successful single at that time. In August 2011, Mill released Dreamchasers, a well received mixtape featuring his urban hit "House Party" and guest appearances from Rick Ross, Yo Gotti and Beanie Sigel among others.

In February 2012, MTV listed Meek Mill as the "#7 hottest MC" in their annual "Hottest MCs in the Game" list. On May 7, 2012, Mill released the second installment to his Dreamchasers series. Within six hours of its release on mixtape website DatPiff.com, Dreamchasers 2 was downloaded 1.5 million times. On May 10, it was announced Meek Mill signed with Roc Nation management.

On June 19, 2012, "Amen" - originally included on Dreamchasers 2, was released as the lead single from Mill's debut studio album. Before releasing his debut studio album Dreams & Nightmares, Mill received co-signs from both Mariah Carey and Nas, with him appearing on Carey's 2012 single "Triumphant (Get 'Em)" and the latter stating, "I got my eyes on him. He's the next one to take this shit over." The album was released on October 30, 2012. The album debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 chart with first-week sales of 165,000 copies. In its second week, the album sold 41,000 more copies, dropping six spots on the chart to number eight.

"Amen" controversy

Following the release of the lead single for Dreams & Nightmares, entitled "Amen", Philadelphia area pastor Rev. Jomo K. Johnson called for a boycott of Mill due to the song's lyrical content. "As a hip-hop fan, I want to encourage every rap fan in Philadelphia who is a believer in Jesus Christ, to boycott Meek Mill until he acknowledges this blatant disrespect. And being a resident of North Philadelphia and a pastor, I revoke Meek's 'hood pass' until this happens," Johnson said in a statement.

On July 17, 2012, in an interview on the BET show 106 & Park, Mill stated, "I don't think no preacher or no church approves of any type of rap music—because rap music, period, is a lot of bad stuff said. But at the end of the day, it's real life. And me, I wasn't trying to disrespect no religion or anything like that."