# Kodak Black

Source: https://www.popfiltr.com/artist-profile/kodak-black
Published: 2026-09-23T00:28:07.368Z
Language: en

> Pompano Beach rapper Kodak Black turned mixtape buzz into a decade of Billboard hits, including a Billboard 200 No. 1, while his career has run alongside highly publicized legal battles.

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Artist profile

## Kodak Black

Pompano Beach rapper Kodak Black turned mixtape buzz into a decade of Billboard hits, including a Billboard 200 No. 1, while his career has run alongside highly publicized legal battles.

## Quick facts

- **Origin:** United States
- **Genres:** hip-hop/rap, trap, southern hip-hop, gangsta rap
- **Awards:** 2 Grammy nominations listed · 4 Total nominations listed
- **Audience:** 29.8M Spotify monthly listeners, as of April 30, 2026

![Kodak Black official artist profile image](https://www.popfiltr.com/artist-profile-assets/v1/205962/a3bced93008f8dc9acc2c2a293ec326369f406e257e19874566c5ff945b6dc89.jpg)

*[Artist image via Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/artist/46SHBwWsqBkxI7EeeBEQG7)*

- **Spotify monthly listeners:** 29.8M (No. 213 by Spotify monthly listeners)
- **TikTok tracked video views:** 20.6B (No. 261 by TikTok top-video views)
- **YouTube total views:** 8.3B
- **Pandora lifetime streams:** 3.4B
- **Total platform audience:** 39.5M
- **Spotify followers:** 13.1M (No. 241 by Spotify followers)
- **YouTube subscribers:** 9.8M (No. 462 by YouTube subscribers)
- **TikTok followers:** 3M (No. 1893 by TikTok followers)

Figures as of April 30, 2026.

Data

## Audience, reach and discovery

Figures as of April 30, 2026.

### Platform audience

- **Spotify monthly listeners:** 29.8M (No. 213 by Spotify monthly listeners)
- **Spotify followers:** 13.1M (No. 241 by Spotify followers)
- **YouTube subscribers:** 9.8M (No. 462 by YouTube subscribers)
- **Instagram followers:** 12.9M (No. 619 by Instagram followers)
- **TikTok followers:** 3M (No. 1893 by TikTok followers)
- **Deezer fans:** 655.8K (No. 1124 for Deezer fans)
- **Pandora 28-day listeners:** 2M

### Consumption and discovery

- **YouTube total views:** 8.3B
- **YouTube daily views:** 2.9M
- **YouTube monthly views:** 74.5M
- **TikTok likes:** 31.1M (No. 3410 for TikTok likes)
- **TikTok tracked video views:** 20.6B (No. 261 by TikTok top-video views)
- **TikTok track posts:** 25.5M (No. 163 for TikTok track posts)
- **Pandora lifetime streams:** 3.4B
- **Shazams:** 78.7M
- **Genius pageviews:** 35.4M

### Playlist footprint

- **Spotify playlist reach:** 243.2M
- **Spotify editorial playlist reach:** 42.6M
- **Spotify playlists:** 1.3M
- **Spotify editorial playlists:** 407
- **Apple Music playlists:** 951
- **Apple Music editorial playlists:** 297
- **Deezer playlists:** 211
- **Deezer editorial playlists:** 19
- **YouTube playlists:** 294
- **YouTube editorial playlists:** 28

### Top listener markets

Leading cities by Spotify monthly listeners.

| Rank | City | Listeners |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | Chicago US | 618.9K |
| 2 | Los Angeles US | 523.8K |
| 3 | Dallas US | 514.5K |
| 4 | Houston US | 413.9K |
| 5 | New York City US | 409K |

Biography

## Biography

### Roots in Pompano Beach

Kodak Black was born Dieuson Octave on June 11, 1997, in Pompano Beach, Florida, and was raised by his mother, Marcelene Octave, a Haitian immigrant, in Golden Acres, a public housing community in the city. He started rapping in elementary school and, as a teenager, recorded at a local trap house after class, later saying he read dictionaries and thesauruses to build his vocabulary.

He has named Boosie Badazz, Gucci Mane and Chief Keef among his influences and grew up alongside childhood friend Lamar Jackson, who became an NFL quarterback. The Instagram handle he chose — Kodak Black, a reference to pictures — became his professional name, and in 2018 he legally changed his name to Bill Kahan Kapri.

### Mixtapes and the Atlantic Records deal

Performing first as J-Black with the local group Brutal Youngnz beginning in 2009, and then with The Kolyons, Kodak Black released his debut mixtape, Project Baby, in December 2013. Heart of the Projects followed a year later and Institution in December 2015. The freestyle-style anthem No Flockin, drawn from that period, became his calling card and later returned to the charts as a sleeper hit on the Billboard Hot 100.

In October 2015, a video of Drake dancing to Skrt pushed the song — and Kodak Black — into wider view, and he signed with Atlantic Records that same month. Critics quickly framed him as a raw new voice in South Florida street rap: writing around his 2016 XXL Freshman selection, The Ringer's Justin Charity called him one of the most exciting street rappers to debut in recent years and traced his sound to Gucci Mane, Boosie Badazz and Lil Wayne.

### Breakthrough and Painting Pictures

Momentum built quickly in 2016. The mixtape Lil B.I.G. Pac became his first project to chart on Billboard's R&B/Hip-Hop Albums survey, his guest verse on French Montana's Lockjaw reached the same chart's singles ranks, and in June XXL named him one of ten artists on its 2016 Freshman Class cover alongside 21 Savage, Lil Uzi Vert, Lil Yachty and Denzel Curry.

On February 17, 2017, he released Tunnel Vision, which peaked at No. 6 on the Hot 100 and became his first top-10 hit. Painting Pictures followed on March 31, 2017, opening at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 even as he sat in jail on a probation violation; his label staged a New York listening event for press and tastemakers the night before release. The companion mixtape Project Baby 2, issued that August, climbed to No. 2.

### Dying to Live and a Grammy nod

After the Valentine's Day 2018 mixtape Heart Break Kodak, Kodak Black released his second album, Dying to Live, on December 14, 2018. It opened at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with 89,000 equivalent album units — the bulk of them streaming-driven — and was led by Zeze, featuring Travis Scott and Offset, which reached No. 2 on the Hot 100. His Best Rap Song Grammy nomination had arrived a year earlier, in November 2017, for co-writing Cardi B's Bodak Yellow, which contains a sample of No Flockin.

The chart victory did not settle his legal life. In 2019 he was arrested on firearm-related charges and pleaded guilty to federal counts of making false statements on gun purchases, and he was later sentenced to prison while also resolving a border weapons case. His third album, Bill Israel, was released on November 11, 2020, while he was still incarcerated.

### Commuted sentence and the Super Gremlin era

President Donald Trump commuted Kodak Black's federal sentence on January 19, 2021, and he returned to music within days, releasing Last Day In and Every Balmain in early 2021. Later that year, Super Gremlin — issued through Sniper Gang's Halloween mixtape Nightmare Babies — caught fire; by 2022 it had climbed to No. 3 on the Hot 100, and it also drew nominations for Song of the Year at the 2022 BET Hip Hop Awards and Favorite Hip Hop Song at the 2022 American Music Awards.

The song powered Back for Everything, his fourth album, released February 25, 2022. It debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 and No. 1 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and Top Rap Albums charts, sending him to No. 1 on the Billboard Artist 100 for the first time that March. Earlier in 2022 he had appeared on Silent Hill from Kendrick Lamar's Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers, a credit that carried him onto the Album of the Year nomination ballot at the 2023 Grammys. Kutthroat Bill: Vol. 1 closed his Atlantic tenure in October 2022.

### Capitol Records and later albums

Kodak Black moved to Capitol Records after finishing his Atlantic obligations. Pistolz & Pearlz, released in May 2023, was his final album for Atlantic; the largely solo When I Was Dead arrived as a surprise in November 2023 on his new label home. He continued issuing mixtapes and singles through 2024 before returning with Just Getting Started on October 31, 2025, a 20-track album released through Vulture Love/Capitol that features Pharrell Williams, Chance the Rapper, Gunna and Lil Yachty.

### Sound and reception

Kodak Black's music sits in the lineage of Southern gangsta rap and trap, delivered in a loose, slurred drawl that has sometimes been filed under mumble rap. Writing at the time of his XXL Freshman selection, The Ringer praised No Flockin as self-portraiture without a conventional hook and placed him as an heir to Gucci Mane, Boosie Badazz and Lil Wayne within Southern hip-hop's sprawled lineage.

Reviewers have repeatedly noted the tension between his comic public persona and the bleak, confessional detail of his verses. That duality has defined his public life as well: he has remained a fixture of Florida's rap scene while moving in and out of courtrooms, and he has addressed incarceration directly in songs and in albums released while he was behind bars.

Selected moments

## Career highlights

1. 2014 **Breakout single No Flockin** Released in his mixtape period, No Flockin became his early signature, later reaching the Billboard Hot 100 and feeding the sample at the heart of Cardi B's Bodak Yellow.
2. 2016 **XXL Freshman Class** XXL named him one of ten rappers on its 2016 Freshman Class cover, alongside 21 Savage, Lil Uzi Vert, Anderson .Paak, Lil Yachty and Denzel Curry.
3. 2017 **Debut album Painting Pictures** Released while he was jailed on a probation violation, Painting Pictures opened at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 in the spring of 2017.
4. 2017 **Tunnel Vision tops six** The Painting Pictures lead single peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming his first top-10 hit on the chart.
5. 2018 **First Billboard 200 No. 1** Dying to Live opened at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with 89,000 equivalent units and was led by Zeze featuring Travis Scott and Offset.
6. 2018 **Grammy nomination for Bodak Yellow** He received a Best Rap Song Grammy nomination as a co-writer of Cardi B's Bodak Yellow, announced ahead of the 2018 ceremony.
7. 2021-2022 **Super Gremlin surge** First issued in late 2021, Super Gremlin climbed to No. 3 on the Hot 100 and became the defining single of the Back for Everything era.
8. 2022 **First Artist 100 No. 1** The debut of Back for Everything lifted him to No. 1 on the Billboard Artist 100 for the first time in March 2022.
9. 2023 **Album of the Year Grammy nod** As a featured artist on Silent Hill from Kendrick Lamar's Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers, he shared a 2023 Grammy nomination for Album of the Year.
10. 2025 **Just Getting Started released** His eighth official studio album arrived October 31, 2025, via Vulture Love/Capitol with guests including Pharrell Williams, Chance the Rapper, Gunna and Lil Yachty.

Recognition

## Grammy and peer-vote nominations

Kodak Black's major awards recognition in the sources consulted has come through nominations rather than wins. He earned a Best Rap Song Grammy nod for co-writing Cardi B's Bodak Yellow and later shared an Album of the Year nomination as a featured artist on Kendrick Lamar's Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers.

His single Super Gremlin also drew peer-vote nominations at the 2022 BET Hip Hop Awards and the 2022 American Music Awards.

- **Grammy nominations listed:** 2
- **Total nominations listed:** 4

| Year | Award | Category | Work |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2018 | Grammy Awards | Best Rap Song Nominee | Bodak Yellow |
| 2022 | BET Hip Hop Awards | Song of the Year Nominee | Super Gremlin |
| 2022 | American Music Awards | Favorite Hip Hop Song Nominee | Super Gremlin |
| 2023 | Grammy Awards | Album of the Year Nominee | Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers |

Sources

- [Wikipedia — Kodak Black ↗](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kodak_Black)
- [Billboard — Kodak Black Tops Artist 100 for First Time Thanks to 'Back for Everything' Debut ↗](https://www.billboard.com/music/chart-beat/kodak-black-tops-artist-100-1235040912)
- [Billboard — Kodak Black's 'Painting Pictures' Album & 'Project Baby' Documentary Show a Rap Star Hungry to Win ↗](https://www.billboard.com/music/rb-hip-hop/kodak-black-painting-pictures-album-project-baby-documentary-7744338)
- [Billboard — 2023 Grammy Nominations: The Complete List ↗](https://www.billboard.com/music/awards/grammy-nominations-2023-full-list-1235171242)
- [Billboard — BET Hip Hop Awards: Full Winners List: Kendrick Lamar Wins Six Awards ↗](https://www.billboard.com/music/awards/2022-bet-hip-hop-awards-full-winners-list-kendrick-lamar-1235150410)
- [XXL — It's Here: The 2016 XXL Freshman Class ↗](https://www.xxlmag.com/xxl-freshman-class-cover-2016)
- [XXL — Kodak Black's 'Dying to Live' Album Debuts at No. 1 on Billboard 200 ↗](https://www.xxlmag.com/kodak-black-dying-to-live-album-no-1-on-billboard-200)
- [The Ringer — Kodak Black, Healthy Kid: Breaking Down the 'XXL' Freshman's Goofy-Serious Charm ↗](https://www.theringer.com/2016/06/14/music/kodak-black-xxl-freshman-1b9f08607a8d)
- [Rolling Stone — Charts: Kodak Black Captures First Number One With 'Dying to Live' ↗](https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/charts-kodak-black-number-one-772374/)
- [The FADER — Kodak Black scored his first no. 1 on the Billboard 200 With Dying to Live ↗](https://www.thefader.com/2018/12/23/kodak-black-scored-his-first-no-1-on-the-billboard-200-with-dying-to-live)
- [Sun Sentinel — Grammys 2018: Kodak Black, Luis Fonsi nominated for awards ↗](https://www.sun-sentinel.com/2017/11/28/grammys-2018-kodak-black-luis-fonsi-nominated-for-awards)
- [Sun Sentinel — South Florida rapper Kodak Black arrested on drug trafficking charge ↗](https://www.sun-sentinel.com/2026/05/07/south-florida-rapper-kodak-black-arrested-on-drug-trafficking-charge)
- [ABC News — Rapper Kodak Black arrested on drug trafficking charge ↗](https://abcnews.com/US/rapper-kodak-black-arrested-drug-trafficking-charge/story?id=132744926)
- [BET — Hip Hop Awards 2022: 'Song of the Year' Nominee Kodak Black Has Been Working for This Moment ↗](https://www.bet.com/hip-hop-awards/articles/bdrtyw/hip-hop-awards-2022-get-familiare-with-kodak-black-earlier-hits)
- [VIBE — Kodak Black Isn't Happy About Losing This American Music Awards Category ↗](https://www.vibe.com/music/music-news/kodak-black-unhappy-losing-ama-hip-hop-category-1234713240)
- [Apple Music — Just Getting Started by Kodak Black ↗](https://music.apple.com/us/album/just-getting-started/1844512424)
- [Universal Music Canada — Kodak Black Is Just Getting Started on His Vulnerable and Ambitious Eighth Album ↗](https://www.universalmusic.ca/2025/10/31/kodak-black-is-just-getting-started-on-his-vulnerable-and-ambitious-eighth-official-album-out-now)
- [KSL (Associated Press) — Kodak Black pleads not guilty to Florida trafficking charge ↗](https://www.ksl.com/article/51494662/rapper-kodak-black-arrested-in-florida-on-felony-drug-trafficking-charge-pleads-not-guilty)