Metro Boomin

St. Louis Beginnings

Metro Boomin, born Leland Tyler Wayne on September 16, 1993, in St. Louis, Missouri, is a record producer, songwriter and DJ rather than a rapper, and one of the most prominent hitmakers raised in the St. Louis area. He is the son of Lamont and Leslie Joanne Wayne and attended Parkway North High School in St. Louis County. He began making beats at 13, in seventh grade, after his mother bought him a laptop with FL Studio. Largely self-taught, he produced about five beats a day in high school, and his mother often drove him more than eight hours to Atlanta to work with artists he had met online.

Atlanta Breakthrough

In 2012 he enrolled at Morehouse College in Atlanta to study business management but left after one semester. He co-produced iLoveMakonnen's "Tuesday" (No. 12 on the Hot 100) in 2014, and by 2016 and 2017 his credits included Drake and Future's "Jumpman," Migos' "Bad and Boujee," his first No. 1 as a producer, Future's "Mask Off" and 21 Savage's "Bank Account." He also co-produced The Weeknd's "Heartless," his second No. 1, in 2019. In June 2017 he founded the Boominati Worldwide imprint through Republic Records.

Albums Under His Own Name

Without Warning, a collaboration with 21 Savage and Offset, arrived on October 31, 2017, and included "Ric Flair Drip." His solo debut, Not All Heroes Wear Capes, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in November 2018. Savage Mode II with 21 Savage (2020) and Heroes & Villains (2022) also debuted at No. 1. He executive produced the Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse soundtrack in 2023, and in 2024 released two collaborative albums with Future, We Don't Trust You and We Still Don't Trust You. "Like That," with Future and Kendrick Lamar, was his first No. 1 as a lead performer.

Recognition at Home

He was nominated for the Grammy for Producer of the Year, Non-Classical, in 2024 and received further nominations in 2025 for We Don't Trust You and "Like That." On December 14, 2023, St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones presented him with a key to the city at City Hall. He asked that the day be named Leslie Joanne Day after his late mother and said the honor was "only the beginning" of what he wanted to do for the city.