Latto

Alyssa Michelle Stephens (born December 22, 1998), known professionally as Latto or Big Latto (formerly known as Mulatto), is an American rapper from Atlanta, Georgia.

Alyssa Michelle Stephens was born in Columbus, Ohio, on December 22, 1998, to Misti Pitts and Shayne Stephens.

She attended Lovejoy High School in Clayton County, Georgia.

She credits Clayton County as the place that gave her street credibility.

Her mother is white and her biological father is African American.

Stephens was bullied in school for being "light-skinned" which inspired her to later adopt the stage name Miss Mulatto when she began her rapping career, after the "Mulatto" racial classification.

At the age of ten, Stephens decided to become a rapper and began writing her own rap songs.

Prior to doing music, she participated in drag racing.

The song samples Gucci's 2007's single, "Freaky Gurl".

She first appeared on Jermaine Dupri's reality television series The Rap Game in 2016, where she was known as Miss Mulatto and won the show's first season, but rejected signing to Dupri's So So Def Recordings label of which was offered as a result.

In 2016, Stephens became a contestant on the Lifetime reality series The Rap Game, produced by Jermaine Dupri and Queen Latifah.

The boot camp-style series followed young aspiring rappers in a competition against one another over a span of eight weeks.

Latto, under the stage name "Miss Mulatto" at the time, was the overall winner of the competition.

She was offered a recording contract from Dupri with So So Def Records but ultimately turned down the deal claiming it was not enough money, opting to be an independent artist.

Stephens' second mixtape, Latto Let 'Em Know, was released in April 2017.

The tape featured artists like Molly Brazy, Lil Key, Crucial, and Silentó.

The single "Response Diss" is a diss song directed toward Young Lyric, a fellow competitor from The Rap Game.

The ongoing feud between the two resulted in diss tracks from both parties with insults about drug use, homosexuality, and past experiences from the show.

Latto rose to prominence after releasing her 2019 single "Bitch from da Souf," which received double platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and marked her first entry on the Billboard Hot 100.

In January 2019, Latto released the song "Bitch from da Souf".

In May 2019, she was invited to perform at the Rolling Loud, an annual hip hop festival, located in Miami, Florida.

In June 2019, she released her second extended play, titled Big Latto, which was preceded by "Bitch from da Souf".

The single became her breakout hit, peaking at number 95 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in the United States.

The song later received a remix, featuring rappers Saweetie and Trina, which was later included on Mulatto's third EP, Hit the Latto, which was released on December 12.

Upon signing with RCA Records, it was issued as the lead single for her debut studio album Queen of da Souf (2020), which performed moderately on the Billboard 200 and spawned the platinum-certified single "Muwop" (featuring Gucci Mane).

In 2021, she was named as MTV's "Global Push Artist of the Month".

Following a name change to Latto, she reached wider mainstream recognition following the release of her 2021 single "Big Energy."

The song peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100, received triple platinum certification, and landed at number seven on the Year-End Hot 100 chart; its live performance received a Grammy Award nomination.

"Big Energy" served as the lead single for her second studio album 777 (2022), which trailed commercially at number 15 on the Billboard 200.

Latto was named Variety's "Breakthrough Artist" of 2022, and received a Grammy Award nomination for Best New Artist the following year.

Her guest appearance on Jungkook's 2023 single "Seven" became her first song to peak atop both the Billboard Hot 100 and Billboard Global 200, while her single "Put It on da Floor Again" (featuring Cardi B) peaked at number 13 on the former chart that same year.

In addition to her two Grammy Award nominations, Latto received nominations for Best New Hip Hop Artist at the 2020 BET Hip Hop Awards and Top Rap Female Artist at the 2022 Billboard Music Awards.

She was a part of the XXL Freshman Class in 2020, and won the BET Award for Best New Artist in 2022.

Latto received nominations for Best New Artist, Video For Good, and Best Hip Hop at the 2022 MTV Video Music Awards.

"Big Energy" won Song of the Year, and 777 was nominated for Hip Hop Album of the Year at the 2022 BET Hip Hop Awards.

In March 2020, it was officially announced that Latto had signed with RCA Records.

On April 23, Latto released the promotional single, "No Hook".

On May 21, she released the second promotional single, "He Say She Say".

In July 2020, Latto recreated some of rapper Gucci Mane's album covers, starting with 2009 The State vs. Radric Davis, to which Gucci reacted positively.

Latto then revealed the release of her single "Muwop", featuring Gucci Mane, which was released on July 30.