Lathan Moses Stanley Echols (born January 25, 2002), known professionally as Lil Mosey, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He rose to fame in late 2017 with the release of his single "Pull Up". Mosey's debut studio album Northsbest (2018) included his first Billboard Hot 100 charting single, "Noticed". His second studio album, Certified Hitmaker (2019), peaked at number 12 on the US Billboard 200, and contains his 2019 hit single "Stuck in a Dream". In 2020, Mosey released the highest-charting single of his career, "Blueberry Faygo", which peaked at number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100.
In April 2021, Mosey was charged with second degree rape in Lewis County, Washington. He is currently out on bail, and his trial is expected to start in February 2023.
Early life
Lathan Moses Stanley Echols was born on January 25, 2002, in Mountlake Terrace, Washington, to a white mother and a half-Puerto Rican, half-black father. He was raised by his mother in the north side of Seattle. He began rapping in his early teens and started his music career in the eighth grade. Echols first attended Mountlake Terrace High School, then transferred to Shorecrest High School in the tenth grade. He later dropped out of school following the success of his song "Pull Up", and went on to pursue his career, heading to Los Angeles to record.
Career
2016–2018: Career beginnings and Northsbest
In 2016, Lil Mosey uploaded his first song, titled "So Bad", to the music streaming service SoundCloud, quickly receiving 50,000 views. On November 13, 2016, Mosey competed and placed fourth at the Coast 2 Coast Live Seattle All Ages Edition.
"Pull Up" was Mosey's first released track and served as his debut commercial single. Its music video reached over 25 million views on YouTube in the first 16 months upon its release. On March 14, 2018, Mosey released his second commercial single "Boof Pack". Its music video was released on the WorldStarHipHop channel, and received over 13 million views on YouTube in just over a year after its release. Around four months later, he released "Noticed" as his third commercial single alongside a music video directed by Cole Bennett. The music video has gone on to become one of the most popular videos on Lyrical Lemonade, amassing over 275 million views to date. In the video, "Mosey and his friends live the good life as they relax in a luxury apartment, which overlooks a beautiful beach".
On October 19, 2018, he released his debut studio album titled Northsbest, which includes all three of his previously released singles and eight other tracks. The only artist featured is BlocBoy JB, on "Yoppa", the album's fourth single, which was released two weeks before the album. Northsbest also spawned multiple songs that became sleeper hits after the album's release, such as "Kamikaze", "Burberry Headband" and "Greet Her". "Kamikaze", the album's opening track, was supported by a Lyrical Lemonade music video, which boosted its popularity. The music video has been viewed over 80 million times to date.
2019: Certified Hitmaker
Mosey started off 2019 by releasing the single "Bust Down Cartier" on March 15. Produced by Mosey himself, it was added to the re-release of his debut studio album Northsbest, titled Northsbest (Extended), with that being the only additional song. The song was supported by a Cole Bennett-directed music video on Lyrical Lemonade, which has garnered over 15 million views to date. Three months later, he released "G Walk", the lead single for his upcoming second studio album Certified Hitmaker. The song features American singer Chris Brown. This was followed up by "Stuck in a Dream" on September 17, featuring fellow American rapper Gunna. The song peaked at number 62 on the Billboard Hot 100, overtaking the number 80 peak of "Noticed". The song's music video, which premiered on Mosey's official YouTube channel on the same day, has amassed over 40 million views to date.
On November 8, 2019, Certified Hitmaker was released, containing the two aforementioned singles as well as "Live This Wild", the album's third single which was released three days earlier. The album features additional guest appearances from rappers Trippie Redd and AJ Tracey.
Early 2020: Rise to success with "Blueberry Faygo"
On February 7, 2020, Mosey released the single "Blueberry Faygo", after it garnered traction and went viral after being leaked on streaming platform Spotify throughout 2019. The song debuted at number 62 on the Billboard Hot 100, tying with "Stuck in a Dream". It later became his highest-peaking song on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 8 and charting well internationally. Certified Hitmaker was reissued on the same day to include "Blueberry Faygo", the only addition on the tracklist. The song's music video premiered a month later on Lyrical Lemonade, and has amassed over 275 million views since then. It has also gone on to become one of the most viewed music videos on the channel, together with "Noticed". This was notably Mosey's fourth collaboration with Cole Bennett, after 2018's "Noticed" and "Kamikaze", and 2019's "Bust Down Cartier".
On June 26, Mosey released the single "Back at It", featuring fellow American rapper Lil Baby, in anticipation for the release of the album's deluxe edition. The second single of the deluxe, "Top Gone", was released on August 5, featuring Puerto Rican rapper Lunay. The deluxe edition of Certified Hitmaker, marketed as Certified Hitmaker (AVA Leak), was released on August 14, 2020. It includes the two singles as well as three additional tracks.
Late 2020: Post Certified Hitmaker
On August 30, during an interview with The Hollywood Fix, Mosey teased a new project by playing a snippet of new music. The project was later announced to be a new mixtape titled Universal. The mixtape will act as a transition between Certified Hitmaker, and his upcoming third studio album: The Land of Make Believe. On October 1, 2020, Mosey released a video on his YouTube channel celebrating the world premiere of FIFA 21, which doubles as the trailer for Universal. In it, Mosey wears a custom jersey and performs a medley of his songs "Bands Out Tha Roof", "Blueberry Faygo", and "Live This Wild", respectively.
Throughout 2020, Mosey appeared on various artists' songs, most notably "Wrong" by Australian rapper The Kid Laroi, a song from his debut commercial mixtape F*ck Love. The song's music video premiered on September 18 and was directed by American social media personality Logan Paul. It also starred American pornstar Lana Rhoades, which contributed to the video's popularity, having been viewed over 60 million times. Mosey also appeared on various other songs like "Lost Me", a song by American record label Internet Money, which also features fellow American rappers Iann Dior and Lil Skies, "Only The Team" by Jamaican record producer Rvssian, which also features fellow American rapper Lil Tjay, "Vicious" by Canadian singer Tate McRae, "Thug Kry" by fellow American rapper YG, "No Honorable Mentions" by fellow American rapper Trippie Redd, which also features American rapper Quavo, "Krabby Step", with fellow American rappers Tyga and Swae Lee, from the soundtrack for The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run., as well as "Bussin' Out", a song by American producer DJ Scheme, which also features American singer Ty Dolla $ign.
On November 13, 2020, Mosey released "Jumpin Out the Face", as the originally intended lead single for his upcoming mixtape Universal, along with an accompanying music video.
2021–present: Lead up to Universal
On January 25, 2021, his nineteenth birthday, Mosey celebrated by releasing "Holy Water", as the second single for Universal. Two weeks later, he released the third single, "Enough", which coincided with a Valentine's Day release. On March 15, he released the fourth single, "Try Me". Its music video premiered the next day, and has been viewed over 13 million times. Soon after, on March 26, Mosey was featured on "Jetski", a single by American record label Internet Money. The song also features fellow American rapper Lil Tecca, with whom Mosey had been feuding with since 2019. Thus the song marked the squashing of their ongoing feud. Being Internet Money's first single of 2021, an accompanying music video was released a day later on Internet Money's official YouTube channel to promote the song, which has garnered over 20 million views to date. "Jetski" has gone on to become Mosey's most successful release post "Blueberry Faygo". After Mosey's rape allegations surfaced in April 2021, he took a three month hiatus from music, before returning with "How I Been" and "Problem Solvin" in July, which were two songs uploaded exclusively on his official YouTube channel. Two months later on September 1, he released a standalone single "Pass Out", his first song released without the backing of his label, Interscope Records. On November 9, Mosey uploaded a combined music video for "So Fast" and "Speed Racin", which were two songs from his second studio album Certified Hitmaker, to commemorate the album's two year anniversary. Mosey then released the single "Not The Same God As Mine" on December 10, as his first official single post-allegations.
This was followed up by multiple standalone singles released in early 2022, including "Ain't It A Flex", "Falling", and "Breathin Again". On May 26, 2022, Mosey had a guest appearance on "Bipolar", a single by Argentine rapper LIT killah. On October 6, Mosey announced the release of an EP titled "UNI", marking the start of the rollout for Universal. The 3-track EP was released two weeks later on October 19, containing the songs "Paid Up", "Drop Top", and "Sick Today". All three songs were followed up with individual music videos on Mosey's YouTube channel over the next two weeks. On November 7, Mosey announced the release of a second EP titled "VER". It was surprise released on November 29, containing three songs: "Backpack", "Matte Red/Sum He Said", and "Rocket". The third and final EP of the series, "SAL", is expected to be released in December.
Certified Hitmakers record label
In 2020, Mosey opened his own record label Certified Hitmakers.
His first signee was Jae Lynx, who released his debut single "Bad Girl Vibes" under the label on November 6, 2020. On January 14, 2021, Lynx released his second single "Regrets" with YNW BSlime.
Musical style
Lil Mosey is known for his melodic flow and lyrics that are tailored to his life. When asked if the term "mumble rap" applies to him in an interview with Complex, Lil Mosey says "I wouldn't consider myself a mumble rapper, because I don't know what that is. But when I talk, I mumble." Although Lil Mosey does not consider his sound to be similar to Meek Mill's, he does consider the rapper an influence as in an interview with XXL Magazine, he describes how he would always listen to Meek Mill's song "Dreams and Nightmares" when he was younger. When asked in the same interview about what comparisons he has drawn, Mosey responded "Music-wise, they be comparing me to Drake".
