Where Lyricism Meets Life. Inside Lee’s Music
Lee
Born and raised in Columbus, Ohio, and now residing in Charlotte, North Carolina, musician and artist Lee came up in a lower-middle-class home where money was tight, but music was constant. Gospel played while his mom cleaned, 90s hip hop filled the room during Lakers games, and the mix of sounds gave him an early education in rhythm and story. His dad leaned toward deeper cuts like the Lost Boyz, while his mom gravitated toward poets and neo-soul voices like Sweet Honey in the Rock and Floetry. By the time Lee hit his own taste, he was locked into Lil Wayne, Dipset, The Game, and the kind of rap that felt larger than life.
He laughs now, but the song that flipped the switch was “Make It Rain” by Fat Joe and Lil Wayne. As a kid watching the video in a basement, he didn’t fully understand its meaning. He just saw spectacle and possibility. More importantly, he realized rap was storytelling. Words could rhyme, repeat, and still move a crowd.
That spark stayed with him, on and off, through middle school, a hip hop class, and early writing phases. The moment it became real came in 2019, when friends asked him to freestyle in a basement studio. No one had heard him rap before. When he finished, the room went silent. That pause told him what he already felt. It was time to take the risk and start recording seriously.
Lee’s releases map that journey. In 2022, he dropped The Project Pt. 1 and Pt. 2 as a way to finally clear the vault, revisiting years of notebooks and phone notes, tweaking lines, and presenting an official introduction. On Pt. 1, the track “Ready Freestyle” rides an iconic New York beat and puts his bars front and center, while “Temptation” shows a calm voice with real edge underneath. Pt. 2 widens the frame. The track “10 AM on Morris” becomes a hometown snapshot with his brother and close friends, and “Freak On” proves he can step into a more club-ready lane without losing himself.
Then came the 2024 album You Got McDonald's Money, a title pulled from a phrase everyone knows, but turned into a statement. Not a question. A reminder that growth means you have options now. Standout tracks include “Push Button Started,” “Ready Freestyle Pt. 2,” and “Ma, I Caught A Body,” which is a personal track that looks back at a hard moment with his mother and asks what strength means at different ages.
His latest EP, Madura Blend, is the clearest version of where he’s headed. The cover is a cup of coffee with the message of maturity. The track “Bolognese Freestyle” addresses fatherhood, stocks, and marriage with the same confidence he once used for brag rap, and “You Can Call Me” leans into grown-and-sexy energy, intentional, bold, and playful.
Lee calls his lane the space between classic hip hop and today’s new wave, and he’s building it on purpose. With more music already in motion and Madura Blend Pt. 2 on the horizon, he’s not chasing a trend. He’s making the songs he wants to hear, then inviting everybody else to catch up.