Lil Zane

Born on July 11th, 1982 in Yonkers, New York before relocating to Atlanta, Georgia, American rapper “Lil” Zane Copeland Jr. rose to prominence in his pre-teens alongside his brother and cousin as the youngest member of the RCA-signed trio Kronic. Creating a buzz around their name in the mid-1990s while working on their debut long-player, the crew found themselves faced with an uncertain future after the subsidiary they were signed to, Kaper, met its untimely demise in 1996. Determined to make it big despite this major setback, Copeland continued to reap the rewards of his proximity to music mogul Kevin Wales, teaming up with another act he managed, the platinum-certified R&B group 112, for the 1999 collaboration “Anywhere”. Released via Diddy’s Bad Boy Records and included on the quartet’s sophomore album, Room 112, the single marked Copeland’s major breakthrough, reaching #15 on the Billboard Hot 100. He subsequently landed a deal with Universal imprint Priority Records, who released his debut album, Young World: The Future, the following year. Preceded by the US #21 hit “Callin’ Me”, which found him once again joining forces with 112, the LP also featured guest appearances from labelmate Da Howg and 2 Live Crew frontman and music mogul Luke. It peaked at #25 on the Billboard 200, later obtaining platinum certification and teeing Copeland up for a number of high-profile collaborations with the likes of Lil Wayne and Bow Wow. Subsequently dropping the ‘Lil’ from his name to indicate a matured direction, Zane returned in 2003 with the comparatively little-known album Big Zane Theory, which reached #191 in the US. Breaking off from Priority and pursuing an acting career in the following years, Copeland has since resurfaced with several non-charting LPs, founding his own label in 2004 and making headlines once more in the early 2010s amidst a high-profile beef with The Game and Tyler, The Creator.