A Boogie wit da Hoodie Bio
Artist Julius Dubose, known professionally as A Boogie wit da Hoodie (or simply A Boogie), is an American rapper and actor born on December 6, 1995, in the Highbridge neighborhood of the Bronx, New York City. He began rapping at age twelve, drawing early inspiration from artists such as Kanye West and 50 Cent, and rose to national prominence after releasing his debut mixtape Artist in 2016 and signing with Atlantic Records. Over the following years, he built a streaming-heavy catalog anchored by the Billboard 200-topping album Hoodie SZN and the top-two hit Artist 2.0, while also founding the independent imprint Highbridge the Label.
Beyond music, A Boogie has expanded into acting, including a voice role in the Disney+ animated series The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder, and has remained active in community efforts tied to the Bronx. He is the father of two children and is in a long-term relationship with social media personality Ella Rodriguez. His discography now spans five studio albums, multiple EPs, and a steady run of festival, tour, and soundtrack appearances that have carried his career from a SoundCloud upload to international stages.
Early Life and Background
Artist Julius Dubose was born on December 6, 1995, in the Highbridge neighborhood of the Bronx, New York City, and raised in the same community that would later inspire his independent record label. As a child, he gravitated toward rap, spending hours refining rhymes in a large notebook and listening to artists such as Kanye West and 50 Cent. By age twelve, he was actively writing and performing, eventually expanding his practice into lunchtime cyphers at school where he tested original verses in front of his peers.
Dubose attended DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx, where classmates remembered him as a quiet presence who kept to himself. Growing up, he frequently found himself in legal trouble, largely tied to the sale of cannabis and narcotics, and after his parents discovered his activities, they sent him to Florida as a form of discipline. He enrolled at Fort Pierce Central High School in Fort Pierce, where a period of house arrest gave him the structure to focus on music. He built an amateur studio inside the apartment and began treating rap as a serious pursuit, continuing that work after graduation while holding down jobs in construction and pizza delivery.
Path to Rap
A Boogie’s professional catalog began with the single “Temporary,” uploaded to SoundCloud when he was nineteen, recorded with a producer named Myster Whyte who introduced him to his first professional studio environment. The experience was a turning point: working with a vocal trainer and quality recording equipment convinced him that rap could be a full-time career rather than a side pursuit. He has described the leap from recording over a phone speaker to a proper studio as a revelatory moment that reshaped his sound and confidence.
In 2015, Dubose moved back to New York with the goal of making hip hop his livelihood. He linked with Don Q, Quincy “QP” Acheampong, and Sambou “Bubba” Camara to launch Highbridge the Label, setting up a home studio and laying the groundwork for a collective that would later partner with Atlantic Records. The stage name “A Boogie wit da Hoodie” grew out of two pieces of personal history: the “Ace Boogie” character from the 2002 film Paid in Full, and a reputation for constantly wearing hoodies that earned him the nickname from friends.
A Boogie wit da Hoodie Career
Early Career (2015–2016)
A Boogie released his first full-length project, the mixtape Artist, in February 2016, a release that landed him on Forbes’s list of up-and-coming rappers and established his melodic trap-leaning style. He followed it with a collaborative tape, Highbridge the Label: The Takeover Vol. 1, alongside Don Q, which arrived in May 2016 and signaled the collective’s arrival. The buzz from those tapes led to three opening dates on Drake and Future’s Summer Sixteen Tour and a public co-sign from Drake, giving A Boogie a national platform just months into his career.
In July 2016, A Boogie signed a deal with Atlantic Records, formalizing a partnership that would shape his commercial trajectory. That September, he appeared on the BET Hip Hop Awards cypher alongside Don Q, Russ, Kent Jones, and Nick Grant, further raising his profile. He closed the year with the release of his debut EP, TBA, which served as an acronym for “The Bigger Artist,” debuted at number 63 on the Billboard 200, and was named one of Rolling Stone’s 40 Best Rap Albums of 2016.
Breakthrough (2017–2018)
In June 2017, A Boogie was named to XXL’s 2017 Freshman Class, a traditional marker of an artist breaking into hip hop’s mainstream. On September 29, 2017, he released his debut studio album, The Bigger Artist, which featured guest appearances from Chris Brown, Trey Songz, Kodak Black, 21 Savage, PnB Rock, and YoungBoy Never Broke Again. The album’s lead single, “Drowning” with Kodak Black, peaked at number 38 on the Billboard Hot 100 and remains one of the rapper’s signature songs.
A Boogie’s second album, Hoodie SZN, arrived on December 21, 2018, with contributions from 6ix9ine, Juice Wrld, Offset, and others. The project debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 with 90,000 copies sold in its first week and climbed to number one on January 14, 2019. Hoodie SZN became one of the most-played albums of 2019, finishing number 10 on the Billboard 200 Year-End chart and later appearing on Billboard’s Decade-End chart at number 69.
Sustained Success (2019–2024)
Throughout 2019, A Boogie featured on more than 20 songs with artists including Ed Sheeran, Rick Ross, Khalid, and Summer Walker, while building toward his third album. Artist 2.0 was released on February 14, 2020, and debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 with 111,000 album-equivalent units. The deluxe edition arrived in June 2020 with the single “Bleed.” After a roughly year-long hiatus, A Boogie returned with a slate of collaborations and the EP B4 A Boogie vs. Artist, eventually releasing his fourth studio album, Me vs. Myself, on December 9, 2022, which peaked at number six on the Billboard 200.
In 2023, A Boogie launched the sold-out Me vs Myself Tour across North America and Europe, including dates at Barclays Center, Coca-Cola Coliseum, and Alexandra Palace, and performed at Coachella and Lollapalooza. That same year, he was featured on “Calling,” a soundtrack single for Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse alongside Swae Lee and Nav, which he performed at the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards. On May 17, 2024, he released his fifth studio album, Better Off Alone, which debuted at number 18 on the Billboard 200 and was supported by a global headlining tour.
Notable Works and Milestones
Among A Boogie’s signature releases, The Bigger Artist (2017), Hoodie SZN (2018), and Artist 2.0 (2020) anchor his commercial peak, with “Drowning,” “Look Back at It,” and “Numbers” standing as his biggest-charting singles. In 2022, he expanded into acting with a voice role in The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder, and in 2024 he was the subject of the Facebook Watch documentary The Rise of Artist Dubose. In December 2023, the city of New York honored him by co-naming a Bronx intersection “Artist (A Boogie) Dubose Drive,” a recognition of his community work alongside his chart success.
A Boogie wit da Hoodie Award Nominations
Across his career, A Boogie wit da Hoodie has received recognition from a small number of major industry ceremonies, with nominations that reflect his early breakthrough rather than a deep awards haul. He was nominated for Best New Artist at the 2018 BET Awards, a nod that aligned with the run-up to his debut studio album. Additional nominations tied to specific singles, collaborations, and visual releases have been documented in industry coverage of his catalog.
A Boogie wit da Hoodie Awards Won
Verified reports of major competitive award wins for A Boogie wit da Hoodie remain limited; public recognition for his work has largely come in the form of chart placements, streaming milestones, and civic honors rather than trophies from major music ceremonies. In December 2023, the city of New York honored his contributions by co-naming a Bronx street “Artist (A Boogie) Dubose Drive,” and he has also received citations recognizing his community work in the borough where he grew up.
A Boogie wit da Hoodie Family
Julius Dubose, known publicly as A Boogie wit da Hoodie, has spoken openly about the central role his parents played in shaping his path, including their decision to send him to Florida during his teenage years in an effort to redirect him away from legal trouble. He has credited that period, including a stretch of house arrest, with giving him the time and focus to develop his craft inside a homemade studio. He has also highlighted his Bronx upbringing and the Highbridge community as foundational to his identity and his decision to co-found an independent record label rooted in the neighborhood.
Personal Life
A Boogie has been in a long-term relationship with social media personality Ella Rodriguez, who has appeared alongside him in music videos and on his singles. The couple share two children: a daughter, Melody Valentine Dubose, born on Valentine’s Day, February 14, 2017, and a son, Artist Dubose Jr., born on June 27, 2020. He resides in Demarest, New Jersey, and has frequently cited his children and his Bronx roots as central motivations for his work and community engagement.