August Alsina

August Alsina

Alsina performing in May 2015
Background information
Birth name August Anthony Alsina, Jr.
Born (1992-09-03) September 3, 1992[1]
New Orleans, Louisiana, United States
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • singer
  • songwriter
  • record producer

[2]

Instruments Vocals
Years active 2007–present
Labels Def Jam
Associated acts
Website augustalsina.com

August Anthony Alsina, Jr.[3] (born September 3, 1992) is an American recording artist from New Orleans signed to Def Jam Recordings.[4][5] He is best known for his single "I Luv This Shit" with Trinidad James. His debut studio album Testimony was released on April 15, 2014.

Early life

Alsina was born in New Orleans, Louisiana.[6] He attended middle school in New Orleans.[7] Although no one in his family was musically inclined, he was inspired to sing by Lauryn Hill in Sister Act 2. Alsina first uploaded videos to YouTube in 2007 at age 14, starting with a cover of "Hypothetically" by Lyfe Jennings.[8]

With both his father and stepfather battling crack cocaine addiction, Alsina's mother moved him to Houston, Texas in search of a fresh start after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Then, Alsina's father died.[6][7] Alsina had disagreements with his mother at some point and was "kicked out." After his older brother, Melvin La'Branch III, was shot and killed on August 31, 2010, he became more committed to his music, and relocated to Atlanta in 2011.[9][10][11]

Musical career

2012–14: Downtown: Life Under The Gun and Testimony

His first mixtape The Product was released in April 2012,[12][13] though an "Untitled" mixtape with six acoustic covers premiered in October 2011.[14] His single "I Luv This Shit" featuring Trinidad James was released in January 2013, and[15][16] his mixtape The Product 2 followed in May 2013.[17][18]

The EP Downtown: Life Under the Gun was released on August 20, 2013, with a video for "Hell on Earth" released the following month.[19] On December 9, 2013, the third single from his EP Downtown: Life Under the Gun, "Ghetto" featuring Rich Homie Quan, was serviced to urban contemporary radio[20] and it was the most added song on urban radio the week ending December 12, 2013.[21] On January 14, 2014, Alsina released "Make It Home" featuring Jeezy, as the lead single from his debut studio album. Along with the release, it was revealed that the album would be titled Testimony, which was released on April 15, 2014.[22] He was named part of the 2014 XXL freshmen class.[23]

2015–present: This Thing Called Life

On December 11, 2015, Alsina released his second studio album, This Thing Called Life.[24] It debuted at number 14 on the Billboard 200, with first-week sales of 41,000 copies in the United States.[25] The album was supported by five singles; "Hip Hop", "Why I Do It" (featuring Lil Wayne), "Song Cry", "Been Around the World" (featuring Chris Brown) and "Dreamer".

Discography

Awards and nominations

BET Awards

Year Recipient/Nominated work Award Result
2014[26] August Alsina Best Male R&B/Pop Artist Nominated
Best New Artist Won
"I Luv This Shit" Best Collaboration Nominated
Coca-Cola Viewers' Choice Award Won
2015 August Alsina Best Male R&B/Pop Artist Nominated
No Love (Remix) Best Collaboration Nominated

Tours

Headlining

Co-headlining

References

  1. ↑ September 3, 2013 Tweet from August Alsina, twitter.com, Retrieved 25 September 2013 (tweet confirms birthdate" "21 today... & my 1st time in Vegas! ...Know dat I'm wasted ...")
  2. ↑ "August Alsina - Numb (Explicit) ft. B.o.B, Yo Gotti". YouTube. 2013-12-02. Retrieved 2015-12-12.
  3. ↑ (8 April 2013). R&B Singer August Alsina Talks Working With The Dream, Preps Def Jam Debut, Life + Times (confirms middle name; other sources confirm he is a "junior")
  4. ↑ Feeney, Michael (20 September 2013). August Alsina has fans going wild in NYC as he gets ready to release remix with Chris Brown and Trey Songz, Daily News (New York)
  5. ↑ (24 July 2013). MTV Jams' Fab 5 List: Spotlight On August Alsina, mtv.com
  6. 1 2 "Bio | August Alsina | Artists | Def Jam". Island Def Jam. Retrieved 2014-02-02.
  7. 1 2 "Moving To Houston — Who Is August Alsina?". Complex. 2013-08-20. Retrieved 2014-02-02.
  8. ↑ (28 March 2012). New Orleans' August Alsina: R&B's Next Best Man , AllHipHop
  9. ↑ (11 May 2012). August Alsina - Music Saved My Life, Global Grind
  10. ↑ (10 April 2013). Interview: R&B Singer August Alsina Talks The-Dream, His Def Jam Deal & New Orleans Upbringing, Respect. (magazine)
  11. ↑ (11 June 2013). Started From The Bottom, Now He's Here: August Alsina, theboxhouston.com (KBXX)
  12. ↑ (20 August 2013). Who Is August Alsina - The Product Mixtape and Signing to Def Jam, Complex (magazine)
  13. ↑ (15 April 2012). New Music: August Alsina – The Product (Mixtape) (World Premiere), thisisrnb.com
  14. ↑ (11 October 2011). NEW MUSIC/EMERGING ARTIST: AUGUST ALSINA – UNTITLED ACOUSTIC MIXTAPE, thisisrnb.com
  15. ↑ (20 February 2013). New Video: August Alsina (feat. Trinidad James) - "I Luv This Shit", Vibe
  16. ↑ (26 April 2013). Introducing August Alsina, an R&B Crooner Unafraid of Making a Masterpiece, Vibe
  17. ↑ Stovall, Calvin (7 May 2013). Mixtape Review: August Alsina,The Product 2, Black Entertainment Television
  18. ↑ (15 May 2013). Mixtape Of The Week: August Alsina The Product 2, Stereogum
  19. ↑ (16 September 2013). Watch August Alsina's "Hell On Earth", The Source (magazine)
  20. ↑ "freq-flip-dec-2013". Frequencynews.com. Retrieved 2015-12-12.
  21. ↑ "BDSRadio Charts". Charts.bdsradio.com. Retrieved 2015-12-12.
  22. ↑ "New Music: August Alsina f/ Jeezy – 'Make It Home'". Rap-Up.com. 2014-01-14. Retrieved 2014-02-02.
  23. ↑ Sia, Niccole. "XXL Freshmen 2014 Cover Revealed". XXL Magazine. Retrieved 6 May 2014.
  24. ↑ "This Thing Called Life by August Alsina". iTunes. Retrieved April 10, 2016.
  25. ↑ Hernandez, Victoria (December 21, 2015). "Hip Hop Album Sales: August Alsina, R. Kelly & Rick Ross". HipHopDX. Retrieved April 10, 2016.
  26. ↑ Yahr, Emily (June 30, 2014). "BET Awards: List of winners and highlights, including Nicki Minaj, Chris Rock, Lil Wayne". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 1, 2014.
  27. ↑ "Testimony Live Tour Dates". August Alsina Official Website.

External links

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