Lil Reese
Birth nameTavares Lamont Taylor[1][2][3]
Also known as
  • Reese Money
  • Grim Reaper
Born (1993-01-06) January 6, 1993 (age 31)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Rapper
  • songwriter
Years active2010–present
LabelsKyyba Music/300 Entertainment Warner Music

Tavares Lamont Taylor (born January 6, 1993), known professionally as Lil Reese, is an American rapper. Hailing from Chicago's drill scene in the early 2010s, he is known for his collaborations with fellow rappers Chief Keef, Fredo Santana, and Lil Durk. In 2012, Taylor was featured on Chief Keef's single "I Don't Like", which peaked at number 73 on the Billboard Hot 100, peaked at number 20 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, and peaked at number 15 on the Hot Rap Songs chart. His debut mixtape, ‘Don't Like’ was released later that year. Since the first mixtape release, Taylor has gone on to release six mixtapes in total, including the 2013 ‘Supa Savage’ mixtape, as well as three EPs, including the 2017 collaborative project ‘Supa Vultures’ EP with Lil Durk.

Early life

Taylor was raised in the Englewood, to a large family. During his formative years growing up in a notorious 16-story high-rise housing project called “Calumet Building”, he became affiliated with the Black Disciples gang early as age five, becoming a member by his preteens after relocating to "64th and Normal" in Englewood where he became close friends with Lil Durk.

Career

Taylor gained recognition when he was featured on Chief Keef's hit "I Don't Like", which garnered widespread international attention. He then began to receive popularity through his music videos, including "Us" and "Beef". He then caught the eye of producer No I.D., who had produced albums or tracks for artists such as Common, Kanye West, and others, which led Taylor to sign with hip hop label Def Jam.[4]

In November 2012, he released a remix for his song "Us" with Rick Ross and Drake which later appeared on Rick Ross' mixtape The Black Bar Mitzvah.[5] Taylor also created many songs with up-and-coming music producers, such as Young Chop. He is also featured on Juelz Santana's song "Bodies". In January 2013, Taylor released a remix to his song "Traffic" featuring Young Jeezy and Twista. On September 2, 2013, Taylor released his second solo mixtape Supa Savage, featuring guest appearances from Chief Keef, Lil Durk, Fredo Santana, Wale and Waka Flocka Flame.[6]

Legal issues

In May 2010, Lil Reese pleaded guilty to burglary charges and was given two years of probation.[7]

On October 24, 2012, a video allegedly showing Lil Reese assaulting a woman was posted to the internet.[2] On April 28, 2013, Lil Reese was arrested by Chicago Police on a warrant issued two days earlier, based on criminal trespass to a residence with persons present, battery, and mob action from the video incident from February 2012.[1][7]

On June 23, 2013, Lil Reese was arrested in Chicago and charged with motor vehicle theft after an incident on April 13, 2013, where he was not able to provide proof of ownership for a BMW 750Li.[8] However, the charge was later dropped. On July 13, 2013, Lil Reese was arrested again in Chicago for marijuana possession, a violation of his probation.[9]

In May 2022 Reese was arrested for aggravated assault in Houston Texas. He was released in January 12, 2023 after serving 7 months in Harris County Jail.[10][11]

Personal life

2019 shooting

On November 11, 2019, Taylor was shot in the neck and critically wounded[12] at a busy intersection in the area of Markham and Country Club Hills. Country Club Hills police responded to 167th Street and Pulaski Road around 2:30 p.m. Witnesses told police Taylor was pursued by a driver of another car during a chase. Witnesses reported hearing as many as 12 gunshots during the chase. The driver of that vehicle got out of his car and shot the man with what witnesses called a small rifle and then fled the scene.[13]

On November 18, Taylor sent out information about being released from the hospital and that he survived the shooting and is "Alive and Well".[14] A day after leaving the hospital, he released a new song "Come Outside".[15]

Twitter racism controversy

In March 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Taylor posted a controversial message on Twitter: "Chinese people nasty asl man got the whole [world] fuck up".[16] Many condemned him, calling his tweets racist. Taylor faced immediate backlash for his comment; many asked him to delete the tweet. After his Twitter account was suspended, he went on Instagram to post a screenshot of the official violation notification from Twitter with the captions, "Lol Look how the Chinese people did my Twitter".[17][better source needed]

2021 shooting

On May 15, 2021, Taylor and two other men were injured in a shootout at a parking garage in Chicago and were taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital.[18] His eye was grazed by a gunshot; he and another one of the men, who was shot in the knee, were later listed in fair to good condition, and the third in critical condition with multiple wounds to the torso.[12] The shooting was reportedly over a stolen Dodge Durango.[19]

Discography

Mixtapes

  • Don't Like (2012)
  • Supa Savage (2013)
  • Supa Savage 2 (2015)
  • 300 Degrezz (2016)
  • Better Days (2017)
  • GetBackGang (2018)
  • GetBackGang 2 (2019)
  • Supa Savage 3 (2021)
  • Demon Time (2022)
  • Ask About Me (2023)

EPs

  • Supa Vultures (w/ Lil Durk) (2017)
  • Normal Backwrds (2018)
  • Lamron 1 (2020)
  • Lamron 2 (2021)

Singles

As a lead artist

List of singles, showing year released and album name
Title Year Album
"Us" 2012 Don't Like
"Traffic"
(featuring Chief Keef)

As a featured artist

List of singles as featured performer, with selected chart positions, showing year released and album name
Title Year Peak chart positions Certification Album
US
[20] 		US
R&B
[21] 		US
Rap
[22]
"I Don't Like"
(Chief Keef featuring Lil Reese) 		2012 73 20 15 Finally Rich
"Bang Like Chop"
(Young Chop featuring Chief Keef and Lil Reese) 		2014 — — — Bang Like Chop

Guest appearances

List of non-single guest appearances, with other performing artists, showing year released and album name
Title Year Other artist(s) Album
"OVA" 2012 Freddie Gibbs —
"Off the Shits" Lil Durk I'm Still a Hitta
"My Lil Ni*gas" Fredo Santana, Chief Keef It's a Scary Site
"Respect" Fredo Santana
"Don't Try It" Frenchie Concrete Jungle 2
"Nobody Move" Jay Stonez —
"Bodies" 2013 Juelz Santana God Will'n
"S.O.S. (Smash on Sight)" Cap1, Lil Durk T.R.U. 2 It
"No Lackin"[24] Funkmaster Flex, Waka Flocka Flame, Wale Who You Mad At? Me or Yourself?
"Competition" Lil Durk Signed to the Streets
"Street Life"
"Gangway (Remix)" Lil Herb —
"On My Soul" 2014 Welcome to Fazoland
"On a T-Shirt" Plies Purple Heart
"Bad Habits" 2015 Fredo Santana, Que Ain't No Money Like Trap Money
"Go to War" Fredo Santana

References

  1. ^ a b Ziezulewicz, Geoff (April 29, 2013). "South Side rapper Lil Reese arrested on warrant". Chicago Tribune.
  2. ^ a b BECKY SCHLIKERMAN (November 2, 2012). "Lil Reese tied to video beating". suntimes.com. Archived from the original on October 27, 2012. Retrieved October 24, 2012.
  3. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on March 27, 2017. Retrieved May 15, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. ^ "Lil Reese, Chicago Rapper Signs With Def Jam Recordings!". islanddefjam.com. July 2, 2012. Archived from the original on June 23, 2022. Retrieved November 17, 2012.
  5. ^ "Rick Ross And Drake remix US". Globalgrind.com. October 9, 2012. Retrieved November 17, 2012.
  6. ^ "Lil Reese Releases 'Supa Savage' Mixtape". XXL Mag. September 2, 2013. Retrieved November 25, 2015.
  7. ^ a b Andres Tardio (April 30, 2013). "Lil Reese Found Sleeping In Car, Arrested On A Warrant". HipHopDX. Archived from the original on July 2, 2013. Retrieved December 11, 2021.
  8. ^ Jake Paine (June 24, 2013). "Lil Reese Arrested, Charged With Auto Theft". HipHopDX. Archived from the original on July 3, 2013. Retrieved December 11, 2021.
  9. ^ Jake Paine (July 14, 2013). "Lil Reese Arrested For Drug Possession". HipHopDX. Archived from the original on May 24, 2015. Retrieved December 11, 2021.
  10. ^ https://balleralert.com/profiles/blogs/rapper-lil-reese-has-been-reportedly-released-from-prison/
  11. ^ https://allhiphop.com/news/lil-reese-arrested-in-texas-for-aggravated-assault/
  12. ^ a b "Rapper Lil Reese Grazed in Eye During Shooting ..." TMZ. May 15, 2021. Retrieved May 16, 2021.
  13. ^ Negovan, Tom (November 11, 2019). "Chicago rapper Lil Reese critically wounded in shooting at Country Club Hills intersection". WGN. Retrieved November 11, 2019.
  14. ^ "Lil Reese Says He Had 'Hella Luck' Discharge From Hospital Following Shooting". Billboard. November 18, 2019. Retrieved November 18, 2019.
  15. ^ "Lil Reese Drops First Song Since Being Shot, 'Come Outside': Listen". Billboard. November 19, 2019. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
  16. ^ "Lil Reese Sends Racist Tweet About Coronavirus". HotNewHipHop. March 12, 2020. Retrieved May 21, 2020.
  17. ^ Dowlatt, Orlando (March 16, 2020). "Lil Reese Twitter Suspended Over Racist Coronavirus Tweet". Urban Islandz. Retrieved May 21, 2020.
  18. ^ Callas, Brad (May 15, 2021). "Lil Reese Reportedly Shot in Chicago". Complex. Retrieved May 15, 2021.
  19. ^ Harris, Christopher (May 15, 2021). "Lil Reese and two others reportedly shot in Chicago". Revolt. Retrieved May 15, 2021.
  20. ^ "Chief Keef Album & Song Chart History: Hot 100". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved August 30, 2012.
  21. ^ "Chief Keef Album & Song Chart History: R&B/Hip-Hop Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved August 30, 2012.
  22. ^ "Chief Keef Album & Song Chart History: Rap Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved August 30, 2012.
  23. ^ "Gold & Platinum". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved August 27, 2020.
  24. ^ "New Mixtape: Funkmaster Flex 'Who You Mad At? Me Or Yourself?'". Vibe. April 13, 2013. Retrieved April 13, 2013.