Ball Greezy

Miami rapper Ball Greezy balances hype party anthems with introspective meditations on life and love. Making his debut in the late 2000s, he released a steady stream of singles and mixtapes through the 2010s, including his long-running Bae Day series, which carried him into the 2020s.

Born Kinta Cox, the MC has a flow and style similar to Flo Rida, serving up similar feel-good tracks as his fellow Floridian with an extra dose of romance and sex. Growing up in a musical family -- Cox would often drum alongside his guitarist father -- he started rapping as a teenager, using a nearby studio that provided a space for a young Cox and his brothers to hone their skills. While he started off as Ball Grimm, Ball Greezy built a following in the Miami scene and worked with the likes of Gorilla Tek, Trina, Luther Campbell, Flo Rida, Pitbull, and DJ Khaled. He scored early hits in 2008 with "I'm the Shit" and "Shone," which peaked in the Top 100 of Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. In 2013, he issued All or Nothing, which featured his two hits and appearances by Rick Ross and Flo Rida. Other notable mixtapes included the introspective Feel My Pain 1 (2015) and 2 (2016), as well as his Valentine's Day-themed, often sexually explicit Bae Day (2017) and Bae Day 2 (2018), the latter of which recruited guests like Pleasure P, Trina, and Snoop Dogg. "Nice & Slow," the lead single with Lil Dred from Bae Day's first installment, gained the most momentum and racked up millions of online streams into 2018. The following year, he issued Dope Boi Greezy, returning to Bae Day in 2021 with a third volume, Bae Day 3, which featured appearances by Snoop Dogg and Lil Duval ("Step On Out"). He maintained his prolific streak with 2022's Summer in Miami, 2023's Bae Day 4, and 2024's Bae Day 5. ~ Neil Z. Yeung