Huey (rapper)

Lawrence Franks, Jr. (January 1, 1989- June 25, 2020) better known by his stage name Huey, was an American rapper from St. Louis, Missouri. Originally signed to Jive Records, Franks was best known for his 2006 debut single, "Pop, Lock & Drop It".

Early life

Huey was born on New Year's Day of 1989 in Kinloch, Missouri, where he was raised. He moved to Walnut Park neighborhood of St. Louis when he was five and returned to St. Louis County as a teenager. In an interview, he remembered his community as having "a lot of drugs going on and, of course, a little bit of violence" and said that his experiences growing up in a tough area inspired his rap lyrics.

Music career

Music beginnings

At age 15, Jimelle began creating hip hop beats. His older brother referred Franks to producer Angela Richardson, who was creating a rap group. Franks began performing as Huey, and his songs "Oh" and "Pop, Lock & Drop It" became local favorites among DJs and promoters. Huey was featured on a series of mixtapes, one of which, Unsigned Hype, sold out of its run of 8,000 copies and was noticed by producer TJ Chapman, who introduced the rapper to Vice President of A&R at Jive Records, Mickey "MeMpHiTz" Wright, in 2006.

2006-07: Notebook Paper

Huey's debut album for the label, Notebook Paper, was released in mid-2007, described by Allmusic as sounding like a mixture of Nelly, Chingy, and Ludacris. 

The album reached #26 on the Billboard 200 chart and #10 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. "Pop, Lock & Drop It", its lead single, peaked at #6 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming his biggest hit to date. Nelly's refusal to work with Huey on his debut album prompted 2 diss tracks "Down, Down, Baby" featuring Tha Camp Boyz and "Back at Cha'" 

Notebook Paper's next single is "When I Hustle" featuring singer Lloyd.

2010: Redemption

Huey's second album, Redemption, was released on September 14, 2010 after many delays. The first official single from the album was "Smile and Wave", which features Dorrough and was released on June 15, 2010. In "Smile and Wave", Huey criticizes his critics.

2013-present: TBA

In 2013 Huey announced that he had officially signed with Waka Flocka Flame's label Brick Squad Monopoly & is currently working on his third album. On May 14, 2014 Huey released his mixtape entitled Project H.

Death

Huey was shot and killed on June 25, 2020, in St. Louis, Missouri. He was 32 years old.

The shooting happened just before midnight in front of a home in the 8100 block of Martin Luther King Boulevard near Maple Avenue in Kinloch.