Kodak Black, is an American rapper. He gained initial recognition with his single “No Flockin”, released in 2014. His debut album, Painting Pictures (2017), peaked at number 3 on the US Billboard 200 and included the Billboard Hot 100 top ten single “Tunnel Vision”.
Kodak Black was born Dieuson Octave on June 11, 1997, in Pompano Beach, Florida, the son of a Haitian immigrant, Marcelene Octave. He later legally changed his name to Bill Kahan Kapri. Kodak Black was raised by his mother in Golden Acres, a public housing project in Pompano Beach.
Kodak Black started rapping in elementary school and began to go to a local trap house after school to record music. He spent his youth reading thesauruses and dictionaries to further his vocabulary. Kodak Black frequently participated in brawls and breaking and entering with his friends.
He was expelled from school in the fifth grade for fighting and was arrested for auto theft while in middle school. About his upbringing, he said that he was given two options: “sell drugs with a gun on his hip or rap”.
From the age of six, Kodak Black used the nickname “Black”. He also used the nickname “Lil’ Black”. When he joined Instagram he chose the username “Kodak Black”, “…’cause you know Kodak, that’s pictures and all that.” This later became his stage name when he started to rap and a name favored by his fans.
Full Name: Bill Kahan Kapri (born Dieuson Octave
Date of Birth: June 11, 1997
Age: 24
Birth Place: Pompano Beach, Florida, U.S.
Nationality: American
Profession: Rapper, Singer, Songwriter
Net-worth: $600,000
Career:
In 2009, at age 12, Kodak Black joined a rap group called Brutal Youngnz, under the stage name J-Black. He then joined a local rap group called The Kolyons.
In December 2013, Kodak Black released his first mixtape, Project Baby,[16] followed in December 2014 with the mixtape Heart of the Projects, and in December 2015 with the mixtape Institution.
In October 2015, Canadian rapper Drake posted a video of himself dancing to one of Kodak Black’s songs, “Skrt”, which helped him gain popularity despite objections from other rappers such as Earl Sweatshirt. That same month, he signed a deal with Atlantic Records.
In May 2016, Kodak Black and rapper and label-mate Lil Uzi Vert announced their intention to partner for a national tour called the “Parental Advisory Tour”; however, Kodak Black did not appear on the tour.
On December 14, 2018, Kodak Black released his second album Dying to Live. The album was led by the successful single “Zeze” which featured rappers Travis Scott and Offset, as well as “If I’m Lyin, I’m Flyin”, “Take One” and “Calling My Spirit”.
The album also featured rapper Lil Pump on “Gnarly”, rapper Juice WRLD on “MoshPit”, and paid tribute to deceased rapper XXXTentacion. “Zeze” peaked at number 2 on the Hot 100, then “Calling My Spirit”, also from the album, peaked at number 46. Dying to Live as a whole was on the Billboard 200 chart for 15 weeks, and peaked at number 1 for a week.
Kodak released a mixtape titled Haitian Boy Kodak on May 14, 2021. The project’s cover art pays tribute to his Haitian pride.
Kodak released his next project, Happy Birthday Kodak, on June 11, 2021, his twenty-fourth birthday.
On November 1, 2021, Kodak released a music video for the song “Super Gremlin”, from Syko Bob and Snapkatt’s Halloween-themed mixtape, Sniper Gang Presents Syko Bob & Snapkatt: Nightmare Babies, an 11-track project, of which Kodak appears on eight tracks.
Personal Life:
In 2014, Kodak Black stated that he was working towards his high school diploma at Blanche Ely High School in Pompano Beach.
During his incarceration, Kodak Black began to identify as a Hebrew Israelite after a priest who conducts prison ministry studied scripture with him.
He later filed to change his name to Bill Kahan Blanco, with Kahan supposedly being an alternative spelling of kohen, a term used in Judaism to refer to priests who descend from the prophet Aaron, the brother of Moses.
On May 2, 2018, he legally changed his name from “Dieuson Octave” to “Bill Kahan Kapri”.
In June 2018, Kodak Black earned his GED while in prison.
On February 12, 2022, Kodak Black was shot during a fight outside a Los Angeles Italian restaurant where Justin Bieber was hosting a Super Bowl-week party.
On October 1, Kodak Black donated $10,000 to the Jack and Jill Children’s center, which is a provider of early children’s education. In November 2018, Kodak Black announced that he was building a school in Haiti.
Studio albums
Painting Pictures (2017)
Dying to Live (2018)
Bill Israel (2020)