Bobby Shmurda | |
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 Shmurda in 2021 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Ackquille Jean Pollard |
| Born | (1994-08-04)August 4, 1994 (age 30) Miami,Florida, U.S.[1][2] |
| Origin | Brooklyn,New York City, U.S. |
| Genres | |
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| Years active |
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| Labels |
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Ackquille Jean Pollard (born August 4, 1994),[3] known professionally asBobby Shmurda, is an American rapper. Along withRowdy Rebel, Shmurda is considered a pioneer ofBrooklyn drill music.[4][5] He rose to international fame in 2014 when his single, "Hot Nigga", peaked at number six on theBillboard Hot 100.[6][7] Its success led him to sign withEpic Records to release his debut extended play (EP),Shmurda She Wrote, (2014).
In December 2014,New York City Police arrested Shmurda and charged him, along with several other members ofGS9, withconspiracy to murder, weapons possession, and reckless endangerment.[8] In 2016, he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to seven years in prison, which was reduced to five years after receiving credit for the two years he already served awaiting trial.[9] After over six years in prison, Shmurda was released fromClinton Correctional Facility in February 2021.[10] His release was celebrated.[11]
Ackquille Pollard was born inMiami,Florida.[2] His mother isAfrican-American and his father isJamaican.[12] His mother moved toEast Flatbush, Brooklyn from Florida after his father's incarceration.[13] Pollard had run-ins with the law while living in Brooklyn, including fifteen months spent in detention for probation violation and being arrested ongun charges that were later dropped. According to his 2014 indictment, Pollard was the ringleader of a criminal enterprise called "GS9" that regularly entered into disputes with criminal gangs, was responsible for murders and non-fatal shootings, and engaged indrug trafficking[14] alongKings Highway to East Flatbush.[15]
The first song Shmurda remixed wasCrime Mob's "Knuck If You Buck";[13] however, he did not receive any attention until 2014, with the release of his song "Hot Nigga".[1] The song uses the instrumental fromLloyd Banks' 2012 song "Jackpot".[16] The song and its accompanying music video went viral shortly after being uploaded to YouTube in the spring of 2014.[13] Shmurda's signature "Shmoney dance", which he performs in the video, soon became an internet meme and was featured in numerous popularVines from the latter half of 2014;[17] it was also replicated byBeyoncé andJay-Z during theirOn the Run Tour[18] and by Canadian rapperDrake while hosting the 2014ESPY Awards, among other celebrities.[19][20] Freestyles over the instrumental were made by a number of rappers after its release, includingJuicy J,[21]French Montana,[22]Lil' Kim,[23]Gunplay,[24] andT.I.[25] Following the song's viral success, Shmurda was signed toEpic Records, and the song was officially released as his debut single under Epic.[26] The song topped theHot R&B/Hip-Hop songs chart, and peaked at number 6 on theBillboard Hot 100, eventually being certified platinum by theRecording Industry Association of America. The music video received over 649 million views on YouTube as of July 2020.[27] The song's official remix—featuring guest vocals fromFabolous,Chris Brown,Jadakiss,Rowdy Rebel,Busta Rhymes, andYo Gotti—was released on September 4, 2014.[17][28] Areggae remix of the song was also released in August 2014 that featuredJunior Reid,Mavado,Popcaan, and Jah X.[29] Shmurda also became known for his song "Bobby Bitch" which peaked at number 92 on theBillboard Hot 100. His debut EP,Shmurda She Wrote, was released on November 10, 2014.
Shmurda's debut studio album withEpic Records was scheduled for release in 2016 and was going to be produced byJahlil Beats.[16] It was postponed, however, due to his imprisonment. In February 2017, he freestyled for rapperMeek Mill and claimed that he was still writing music while in prison.[30] The following year, he featured on6ix9ine's single "Stoopid",[31][32] phoning in his verses over the prison telephone. The single peaked at number 25 on theBillboard Hot 100.
Shmurda made his first concert performance appearance since being released from prison at Rolling Loud Festival in Miami, Florida on Friday, July 23, 2021.[33]
On September 3, 2021, Shmurda released his first single since his release from jail, "No Time for Sleep (Freestyle)".[34] On March 27, 2022, after years of conflict with Epic Records, his request for release was approved and finalized.[35][36]
On June 3, 2014, Shmurda was arrested and charged with felony criminal possession of a weapon. Police say they saw him flashing the gun in an apartment, and when they went to investigate he tried to hide it in a couch. He was set free on US$10,000 bail.[37] On December 17, 2014, police arrested Shmurda and charged him with conspiracy,reckless endangerment, and drug and gun possession; charges against the others included murder, attempted murder, assault, and drug dealing.[8] Shmurda pleaded not guilty and was held on $2 millionbail.[38] Police said they had been investigating the gang for murder and shooting indiscriminately at crowds in public places long before Shmurda rose to fame. Police said Shmurda was "the driving force" in a gang also known as GS9 (standing for "Grimey Shooters," "Gun Squad" or "G Stone Crips."),[39] the name of his label, as they dealtcrack cocaine and waged deadly battles with rivalgangs for territory. He faced a maximum sentence of 8–25 years.[40][41]
James Essig, head of theNYPD unit that made the arrests, said Shmurda's songs and videos were "almost like a real-life document of what they were doing on the street."[40] In his song "Hot Nigga", Shmurda rapped that "I been selling crack since like the fifth grade" because "Jaja taught me"; Shmurda also rapped about his crew's past and future murders.[42] Shmurda has asserted that the lyrics represent his real life in several interviews, though theSupreme Court of New Jersey recently ruled that lyrics cannot be read at trial as evidence unless they have a "strong nexus" to a specific crime.[8] During his jail time, Shmurda was involved in a fight suspected to be related to theBloods vs. Crips rivalry.[43]
Between late June and early July 2015, the rapper and his ex-girlfriend were caught by officials after smuggling a knife into Rikers Island jail.[44] Both were charged with two counts of promoting contraband, in addition to one count of criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree, which could result in an additional seven-year sentence. Shmurda appeared in the Bronx Supreme Court to face his charges of prison contraband plus 25 years for his previous charge in late 2014. He and his ex-girlfriend pleaded not guilty to the contraband charge, but Shmurda was still facing a maximum sentence of 25 years for the drug and gun charges.[45][46]
On September 9, 2016, as part of aplea deal, Shmurda pleaded guilty to one count of third-degree conspiracy and one count of weapons possession, and was sentenced to seven years in prison. Under the deal, Shmurda could not appeal the sentence, but was to be given credit for two years served, leaving five years left on his sentence, followed by five years of probation.[47] His lawyer,Alex Spiro, expected that with good behavior Shmurda would only serve approximately three and a half years.[48] In early 2017, Shmurda was given a four-year sentence for sneaking a makeshift knife (shiv) into his cell. The sentence was to run concurrently to his ongoing seven-year sentence, so that he would not face any additional prison time.[49]
Shmurda was first imprisoned inRikers Island.[50] He was involved in numerous incidents while incarcerated. In May 2015, he took part in a brawl that included members from the Bloods and Crips street gangs.[51] In November 2016, Shmurda was involved in a brawl between several inmates that led to him losing phone privileges for an unnamed period of time and being subject tosolitary confinement for a month.[52] In 2017, he was moved toClinton Correctional Facility in upstate New York, to finish his sentence inprotective custody.[53]
Images of Shmurda while incarcerated surfaced online after three years served of the five-year sentence.[54]
A hearing in the week of August 18, 2020 denied Shmurda parole.[55][56]
Shmurda's conditional release date was set to December 11, 2020, after serving his full sentence, by his parole board.[57][58] However, after a review by the Department of Corrections, his credit for good institutional behavior was restored, qualifying him for conditional release on February 23, 2021, with the rest of his sentence to be served on parole.[59][60]
Shmurda was released on February 23, 2021, under supervision by fellow community members inKings County, New York.[61] He will be under supervised release until February 23, 2026.[62] RapperQuavo picked up Shmurda from prison on February 23, 2021.[63][64]
| Title | Mixtape details |
|---|---|
| Shmoney Shmurda(with GS9)[65] |
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| Shmurdaville |
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| SHMURDAGOTCASH(with lougotcash)[66] |
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| Title | EP details | Peak chart positions | Certifications | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [67] | US R&B/HH [68] | US Rap [69] | |||||
| Shmurda She Wrote |
| 79 | 7 | 5 | |||
| Bodboy | — | — | — | ||||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | |||||||
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [7] | US R&B/HH [72] | US Rap [73] | CAN [74] | FRA [75] | NZ Hot [76] | UK [77] | |||||||
| "Hot Nigga" | 2014 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 34 | 131 | — | 74 | Shmurda She Wrote | ||||
| "Bobby Bitch" | 92 | 25 | 21 | — | — | — | — |
| |||||
| "No Time for Sleep (Freestyle)"[79] | 2021 | —[A] | — | — | — | — | 35 | — | TBA | ||||
| "Shmoney"[81] (featuringQuavo andRowdy Rebel) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | |||||||||||||
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [7] | US R&B/HH [72] | AUS [82] | AUT [83] | CAN [74] | NZ Hot [84] | UK [85] | |||||||
| "How Can I Lose" (YT Triz featuring Bobby Shmurda) | 2014 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Tales from Crime Hill | ||||
| "Body Dance" (Uncle Murda featuring Bobby Shmurda) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | non-album single | |||||
| "Computers"[86] (Rowdy Rebel featuring Bobby Shmurda) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Shmoney Shmurda | ||||
| "Bodies" (Chinx featuring Bobby Shmurda and Rowdy Rebel) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | non-album single | |||||
| "Stoopid"[32] (6ix9ine featuring Bobby Shmurda) | 2018 | 25 | 15 | 63 | 48 | 22 | 5 | 34 |
| Dummy Boy | |||
| "Tata (Remix)"[89] (Eladio Carrión,J Balvin andDaddy Yankee featuring Bobby Shmurda) | 2021 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | TBA | ||||
| "Cool Like That" (Loud Luxury featuring Bobby Shmurda)[90] | 2024 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | non-album single | ||||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | |||||||||||||
| Title | Year | Other artist(s) | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Hit Em Hard" | 2014 | The Game,Freddie Gibbs,Skeme | Blood Moon: Year of the Wolf |
| "24 Hours (Remix)" | TeeFLii,Ty Dolla $ign | — | |
| "On My Way" | Rich the Kid,Rowdy Rebel | Rich Than Famous | |
| "Celebration" | Shy Glizzy | Law 3: Now or Never | |
| "Block Boy" | Foolie Tha Prince, Gusto Tha Animal | — | |
| "Shmoney Never Stop" | 2015 | Migos | Migo Lingo |
| "Right Now" | 2016 | Rowdy Rebel,French Montana | Shmoney Keeps Calling |
| "She All About Her Shmoney" | Rowdy Rebel,Too $hort | ||
| "Time Ticking" | Juelz Santana,Dave East, Rowdy Rebel | — | |
| "Ngannou" | 2024 | Kalash Criminel | Bon Courage |
select "Singles" tab
| International | |
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| National | |
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