Southern Plug Magazine: Leaders of the New School 2017 Volume 2 Issue 1 A | Page 52

Arriving on-stage with a pompadour and a leather jacket, G-Eazy became
known as "the James Dean of rap," but his music is much less troubled than that
name might imply, having crossed over to the mainstream with his
reinterpretation of the rock & roll classic "Runaround Sue." Born Gerald Earl
Gillum in Oakland, California, G-Eazy launched his career while still in college at
Loyola University in New Orleans, heading up a hip-hop crew named the Bay
Boyz while dropping his solo debut, The Epidemic LP, in 2009. Two years later,
his mixtape The Endless Summer landed with that hit redo of Dion's
"Runaround Sue." In 2012 he released his second LP, Must Be Nice, hitting the
road with Hoodie Allen and joining the Vans Warped Tour. In 2014 he returned
with his first major-label release, These Things Happen (RCA). As his popularity
grew in the following year, he embarked on an extensive international tour and
recorded his fourth album. When It's Dark Out was released in late 2015 and
included a hit duet with Bebe Rexha, "Me, Myself & I." Dark would go on to
peak at number five on the Billboard 200 and top the R&B/Hip-Hop chart. In the
summer of 2016, while on tour with Logic, YG, and Yo Gotti, Eazy appeared on
Britney Spears' comeback single "Make Me," which entered the Top 20 of the
Hot 100. "Some Kind of Drug," his single featuring Marc E. Bassy, arrived at the
end of the year and would enter the singles charts in early 2017. At the
beginning of the year, G-Eazy also teamed up with Carnage for the EP Step
Brothers. Months later, he released this single "No Limit," which featured A$AP
Rocky and Cardi B. This was followed by a second single, "Him & I," which
featured Halsey. Both tracks were included on the third studio album, The
Beautiful and Damned, which was released in December 2017.