Latto

Latto
Stephens in 2018
Background information
Birth name	Alyssa Michelle Stephens
Also known as	Miss Mulatto Mulatto Latto Big Latto
Born	(1998-12-22) December 22, 1998 (age 22) Columbus, Ohio, U.S.
Origin	Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
Genres	Hip hop trap Southern hip hop
Occupation(s)	Rapper songwriter
Instruments	Vocal
Years active	2016–present
Labels	RCA Streamcut Pittstop
Website	www.biglatto.com

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. She first appeared on the reality television series The Rap Game in 2016, where she was known as Miss Mulatto and won the show's first season.

Latto's mainstream breakthrough occurred with her 2019 single, "Bitch from da Souf", and soon afterwards signing with RCA Records. In August 2020, the song entered the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 95. After releasing a remix of the song with rappers Saweetie and Trina, Latto released the follow up single, "Muwop" featuring Gucci Mane, in 2020. Both songs were certified Gold and included on Latto's debut album, Queen of Da Souf, released on August 21, 2020 through RCA.

Latto was nominated for Best New Hip Hop Artist at the 2020 BET Hip Hop Awards. and was included on the 2020 XXL Freshman Class. In February 2021, Latto was named MTV's Global Push Artist of the month.

Early life[]

Alyssa Michelle Stephens was born in Columbus, Ohio on December 22, 1998 to Misti Pitts (née Stephens) and Shayne Pitts. She moved to Georgia at age two. She was raised in Clayton County, where she attended Lovejoy High School. Born from a black father and white mother,^[1] 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.^[2] Prior to doing music, she participated in drag racing.^[3] At the age of ten, Stephens decided to become a rapper and began writing her own rap songs.^[4][5]

Career[]

2016–2018: Career beginnings and The Rap Game[]

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 wasn't enough money, opting to be an independent artist.^[6]

Stephens released her first single, "No More Talking," in February 2016. She collaborated with Lil Niqo, a fellow competitor from The Rap Game, on the 2016 single "Tough on the Internet." She also won the Youth Hip Hop/R&B Award at the 2016 Georgia Music Awards. She released her first mixtape, Miss Mulatto on October 2, 2016.

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.^[7] Stephens has also worked with 2 Chainz, Future, Janelle Monáe, and Jacob Latimore. Stephens closed out 2017 with an EP, Time and Pressure.

In 2018, Stephens changed her stage name to the mononym, Mulatto, and consequently released the self-titled mixtape of the same name that year.

2019–20: Breakthrough and Queen of Da Souf[]

In January 2019, Latto released the song, titled "Bitch from da Souf". In May 2019, Latto was invited to perform at the Rolling Loud, an annual hip hop festival, located in Miami, Florida.^[8] In June 2019, she released her second extended play, titled Big Latto, which was preceded by "Bitch from da Souf".^[9] The single became her breakout hit, peaking at number 95 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and was a 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 extended play (EP), titled Hit the Latto, which was released on December 12.^[10]

In March 2020, it was officially announced that Latto signed with RCA Records.^[11] On April 23, Latto released the promotional single, called "No Hook". On May 21, she released second promotional single, called "He Say She Say". In July 2020, Latto recreated some of rapper Gucci Mane's album covers, starting with 2009's The State vs. Radric Davis, which Gucci himself reacted positively. Latto then revealed the release of her single, titled "Muwop", featuring Gucci Mane, which was released on July 30.^[12] The song samples Gucci's 2007's single, "Freaky Gurl". Latto made a cameo appearance in American rapper Cardi B's music video for her single, called "WAP", which was released on August 7, 2020.^[13] On the same day, Latto was featured on NLE Choppa's single, called "Make Em Say", taken from his debut studio album, titled Top Shotta. On August 11, Latto was included on XXL's 2020's Freshman Class.^[14][15] On August 12, Latto announced the release of her debut project through RCA, titled Queen of Da Souf, which was released on August 21, 2020. The project was preceded by two singles, which was the remix to "Bitch from da Souf" and "Muwop" featuring Gucci Mane; as well as the promotional singles such as "No Hook" and "He Say She Say". The album peaked at number 44 on the US Billboard 200. On September 4, Latto was featured on the remix of the Chloe x Halle song, "Do It", alongside Doja Cat and City Girls. The same day, Latto was also featured on G-Eazy's single, "Down". Music videos for the third and fourth singles from Queen of Da Souf, "On God" and "In n Out" featuring City Girls, were released in September and October 2020, respectively. On September 29, it was announced that she was nominated for Best New Hip Hop Artist at the 2020's BET Hip Hop Awards, where she was also a performer.^[16][17] On December 11, Mulatto released the extended version of Queen of Da Souf, which included five new songs and spawned the single, called "Sex Lies" featuring American rapper Lil Baby.^[18]

2021: Name change[]

In January 2021, it was announced that Latto would be changing her stage name from "Mulatto" following the controversy of the term being deemed as colorist.^[19] In February 2021, it was announced that Latto would be named MTV's Global Push Artist of the month.^[20]

In March 2021, Latto became the first female rapper from Atlanta to have a solo record be certified gold and platinum with "Bitch from da Souf" (2019) and "Muwop" (2020).^[21][22]

In May 2021, Latto confirmed in various interviews that she had officially settled on a new stage name, following scrutiny for the racially charged nature of her name. On May 18, it was reported that on streaming platforms, Mulatto's name had been changed to simply Latto, a change first reflected on her guest appearance on Toosii's album Thank You for Believing, where she was credited as Latto. She released a new single titled "The Biggest", to go with the announcement of her new name.^[23]

Personal life[]

In 2017, Latto opened her own store, Pittstop Clothing, in Jonesboro, Georgia.^[24]

In May 2019, Latto was arrested for theft when she was mistaken for another woman.^[25] She released a track, "Fuck Rice Street", attesting to her innocence and anger toward the police.^[26]

Filmography[]

Discography[]

• Queen of da Souf (2020)

Awards and nominations[]

Tours[]

Headlining[]

• Big Latto Tour (2019)^[27]

References[]