Polo G

Bartlett was born in the Old Town area of Chicago and is a member of the Almighty Vice Lord Nation gang.[1] He is the second of 4 children, and has an older sister, a younger brother and a younger sister.[2]

Bartlett's first song ever recorded was titled "ODA". Upon creating a SoundCloud account in 2018, he released the track "Gang With Me", which quickly racked up millions of plays. He continued gaining traction with his songs "Welcome Back" and "Neva Cared". Bartlett went on to release "Finer Things", a song he wrote while incarcerated, in the later half of 2018 and quickly gained millions of views. In early 2019, Bartlett released "Pop Out" featuring Lil Tjay which peaked at number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song's music video gained over 200 millions views on YouTube and led to him signing a record deal with Columbia Records. Bartlett also released videos for his songs "Deep Wounds", "Through Da Storm", "Effortless", and "Dyin' Breed" from his critically acclaimed debut studio album Die a Legend, which was released on June 7, 2019, and peaked at number 6 on the Billboard 200.[3] "Heartless", a single released later in 2019, featured production from Mustard, and was later featured on his second album.

On February 14, 2020, Polo G released the track "Go Stupid", with rappers Stunna 4 Vegas and NLE Choppa with featured production from Mike Will Made It and co-production from Tay Keith.[4] "Go Stupid" became his second song on the Hot 100 (after "Pop Out"), peaking at number 60 on the Hot 100, number 29 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, and number 20 on Hot Rap Songs.[5] Polo G released his second studio album, The Goat, on May 15, 2020.[6] The album debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 and ten songs from the album hit the Hot 100, including "Flex" featuring Juice Wrld and "Be Something" featuring Lil Baby, peaking at numbers 30 and 57, respectively. In July, Polo G was featured on Juice Wrld's posthumous album Legends Never Die on the song "Hate the Other Side". The song peaked at number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100, Polo G's first top-ten single and highest charting overall song. On August 11, 2020, Polo G was included on XXL's 2020 Freshman Class.[7] Later that month, he released the music video for his single "Martin & Gina", which peaked at number 61 on the Billboard Hot 100. In September, he released the single "Epidemic", which peaked at 47 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Polo G was honored in the 2021 Forbes 30 Under 30 listing under the music category.[8]

Bartlett has a son named Tremani. In August 2019, he nearly died after an overdose at a club.[9] He has since quit ecstasy and Xanax.[10]

Polo G was originally known for his Chicago drill sound, but eventually transitioned to a more melodic style.[11] He has been noted for his "vivid and explicit storytelling"; his lyrics often involve tough subjects, including racism and mental health. He also regularly pays homage to his hometown, and, as noted by Ayana Rashed of Respect, "he is also quick to acknowledge the common injustice and frequent police brutality he and so many others face on the daily".[12] He has stated that American rapper Lil Wayne and hip-hop icon Tupac Shakur are his biggest influences.[13][14] He also grew up listening to Gucci Mane, as well as Chicago rappers Lil Durk, G Herbo and Chief Keef.[15]