Lil Mosey Brings a Whole New Style to the Rap Game

Don't let Lil Mosey's age fool you—there's a reason he's a 2019 XXL Freshman. From already having two Billboard Hot 100 singles to playing shows with Juice Wrld, Smokepurpp and others, the young spitter insists he's destined to continue his rise. "Just thinkin' ’bout what I was doing last year and what I'm doing now, it's a big difference," the 17-year-old Seattle native recalls. "Every time it starts gettin' hard, just gotta remember this is better than what I was doin'. I wouldn't want anything else."

Mosey, born Lathan Echols, got his start in music a few years ago when he had his single, "Pull Up," go viral. The 2017 song is a synth-laden, melody-driven take on the latest wave of SoundCloud rap, while the video features an even younger Mosey appearing to smoke weed and sip lean. Quickly amassing millions of views, the clip became a launching pad for his rapid rise. "Pull Up" currently has over 27 million views on YouTube and 57 million streams on Spotify.

But that moment wasn't even close to what soon followed for the rising rapper. In 2018, he dropped his first true hit, "Noticed," which is featured on Lil Mosey's project, Northsbest. The track charted on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at No. 80. Since being released, it has garnered hundreds of millions of streams across major platforms: nearly 250 million on Spotify, over 120 million on YouTube and even more elsewhere. "Noticed" would be a significant moment for any artist, let alone a 17-year-old putting out one of his first releases.

Among both "Pull Up" and "Noticed," Northsbest also features bubbling fan-favorites such as "Kamikaze," "Burberry Headband" and "Greet Her." Altogether, the release has received over 585 million streams on Spotify alone.

Speaking on what he brings to the table as an artist, Mosey isn't indirect. "New melodies, new flows, all that," he explains. "Just a whole new style to the rap game nobody has ever really heard." Mosey isn't slowing down in 2019 either. Just in the year's first half, he has dropped two standalone singles: "Bust Down Cardier" and "G-Walk," the latter of which features Chris Brown. Additionally, he's currently working on his official debut album.

"If you're a Freshman, it means you're ’boutta take off or you're at the point where you're already there," Mosey explains. "Now that I'm a Freshman, I'm gonna keep workin', keep gettin' to the top, keep striving for greatness."

Watch Lil Mosey talk about what becoming a Freshman means to him above and drop a fire freestyle below.

See Photos of Lil Mosey Behind the Scenes at the 2019 XXL Freshman Cover Shoot