Smino

North Side Upbringing

Smino was born Christopher Bjorn Smith Jr. on October 2, 1991, in St. Louis, Missouri, and grew up in North St. Louis in a musical family. His father played keys, his mother sang, and his grandfather played bass for Muddy Waters. His father gave him drums at age seven, and he played in his church band while learning to sing, absorbing jazz, gospel and hip hop. He wrote his first rap at 11 and received Fruity Loops production software at 14. He graduated from Hazelwood Central High School in Florissant, in north St. Louis County, in 2010.

Zero Fatigue and Chicago

As a teenager he rapped as C. Smi alongside Bari in the duo Young Dumb and Outta Control, and he released his first solo mixtape, Smeezy Dot Com, in 2012. He moved to Chicago to attend Columbia College Chicago, following his older cousin, singer Drea Smith, and there met engineer Chris "Classick" Inumerable, who became his manager. Smino founded the collective Zero Fatigue with Classick, producer Monte Booker, Bari, Jay2, Ravyn Lenae and others. His 2015 EPs S!Ck S!Ck S!Ck and blkjuptr built his early following.

blkswn and NØIR

His debut album, blkswn, came out on March 14, 2017, through Zero Fatigue under license to Downtown Records. Largely produced by Monte Booker and recorded at Classick Studios, it included "Anita," "Netflix & Dusse" and "Wild Irish Roses," and landed on year-end lists from BET, Rolling Stone and Complex. NØIR followed on November 8, 2018, on Zero Fatigue, Downtown and Interscope, with the singles "L.M.F." and "Klink," and reached No. 191 on the Billboard 200. In October 2019 he formed the group Ghetto Sage with Saba and Noname.

Luv 4 Rent and Beyond

In November 2021 he signed with Motown Records in partnership with Zero Fatigue. Luv 4 Rent, released October 28, 2022, featured J. Cole on "90 Proof" and Doechii and Fatman Scoop on "Pro Freak," and peaked at No. 50 on the Billboard 200 and No. 28 on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. That December, at his annual Kribmas holiday concert in St. Louis, Mayor Tishaura Jones proclaimed December 18 Smino Day. His fourth album, Maybe in Nirvana, was released on December 6, 2024.