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Markus Randle (born July 4, 1991), better known by his stage name Childish Major, is an American rapper and record producer. He first rose to popularity after producing Rocko’s hit 2013 single, "U.O.E.N.O", featuring Future and Rick Ross, which peaked at number 20 on the US Billboard Hot 100. Childish Major released his first extended play, Community Service, in 2015 with fellow Atlanta rapper Matik Estrada.

Childish Major transitioned to becoming a standalone rapper around 2015, before he released his debut studio album, Woo$Ah, in 2017. He is closely affiliated with Atlanta-Baltimore music collective Spillage Village and American record label Dreamville Records, both of which house frequent collaborators J.I.D and EarthGang. Major is an independent artist, releasing music under his own record label Humility City Records.

Early Life
Childish Major was born on July 4, 1991 in Minnesota but raised in Edgefield, South Carolina. He was born into a musical family, with a grandfather who owned a church and a mother who sang. Major learnt to sing at this church with his family. Major said that his father, despite not being in his life very much, was also a rapper and a producer, which inspired Major to pick up production during middle school using FL Studios. Furthermore, Major says he was told producers make all the money and decided against the vocalist route at this time. During high school, he and his friend C4 wanted to produce for a high school rap group named Mind Frame (which included future collaborator Matik Estrada).

2011 - 2015: Career Beginnings
In 2011, Major moved to Atlanta from South Carolina, because of the rich music scene, his friends and its close proximity to home. His close friend DJ Spinz had placements in the Atlanta hip hop scene and chose to sign Major to his production group, Hood Rich. With Hood Rich, Major connected with rap group Two-9, which featured rappers Jace and Curtis Williams. During a studio session with A$AP Rocky, Williams asked Major for some instrumentals to play for him. Major sent him the “U.O.E.N.O” instrumental, but never heard back from him.

In 2013, DJ Spinz sent the “U.O.E.N.O” instrumental to Rocko, who announced the single to be released on March 13, featuring Future and Rick Ross. The single peaked at number 20 on the US Billboard Hot 100, making it Major’s most successful single. The track was remixed with new verses several times in 2013, from rappers including Wiz Khalifa, A$AP Rocky, 2 Chainz and Black Hippy (Kendrick Lamar, ScHoolboy Q, Ab-Soul & Jay Rock). In all remixes, Rick Ross’ original verse was removed as it featured controversial lyrics with connotations of date rape. The instrumental was used more times in the years following, most notably by Lil Wayne on his mixtape Dedication 5. Around this time, rapper Isaiah Rashad was signed to Top Dawg Entertainment, which prompted Major to reach out to him to make music if Rashad was ever in Atlanta. Since then, they have been close friends and collaborators. In October, Major was named one of 25 new producers to watch for by Complex, alongside producers such as Earl Sweatshirt, Metro Boomin and Mac Miller.

Around 2014, Gucci Mane offered to sign Childish Major to his label, 1017 Records. Major said he only entertained the thought for the day. Around this time, Atlantic Records offered him and Metro Boomin $1,250 each to co-produce a beat for Trey Songz. Taking the advice of his now co-manager Jeff Dixon, Major declined the offer. The label later faced controversy over improperly paying their artists.

2015 - 2016: Community Service EP
On March 25, Childish Major and rapper Matik Estrada (now known as Strado) released their collaborative EP, Community Service for free digital download. Major produced every track on the EP and sang on a few. It featured the likes of Big K.R.I.T, Two-9 members Jace and Curtis Williams, and Mereba of Spillage Village. In November, Major released the track “Damn” on SoundCloud, in which he alone rapped over a Supah Mario instrumental. This marked his transition to rapper, as well as record producer and singer. Major made the transition because “producing wasn’t fulfilling enough as far as [his] passion went.”

To celebrate his 25th birthday, Childish Major released the single “Happy Birthday,” which featured Top Dawg Entertainment’s Isaiah Rashad and SZA. It would be the lead single of his debut album, Woo$Ah. In August of 2016, Major was featured on Mass Appeal's YouTube series, Rhythm Roulette. The instrumental he created was featured on EarthGang’s Royalty EP for the single “Nothing but the Best,” which featured Ari Lennox. He was also credited for his production work on the title track of J. Cole’s album 4 Your Eyez Only, which released on December 9.

2017 - present: Woo$Ah
On July 7, Major released single "Woo$Ah" alongside an album announcement of the same name, saying 'Woo$Ah available as soon as [the single] hits 500,000 [plays]....' On September 4, Major released the J. Cole produced single "Supply Luh," which would be the last single released before his album. The single was featured on the finale of the second season of Insecure, a show Major had previously been a fan of. In November, Major was nominated for a Grammy Award for his co-production of 'Worst Luck' from 6lack's debut album, Free 6lack. The album was nominated for Best Urban Contemporary Album at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards. Woo$Ah was released on December 16 through EMPIRE Records and Major's on record label Humility City. It featured artists such as Isaiah Rashad, SZA, DRAM and 6lack. It had album art designed by Gage McRae and Justin Dunnigan. Major describes the term 'woosah' as an attempt to calm oneself in the face in the face of having success that has not necessarily valued itself monetarily. Two other projects were created leading up to the release of Woo$Ah, titled Humility City and Apples Don't Fall. "I Like You" and "Happy Birthday" were the only songs featured on all three albums.

In 2018, Childish Major opened for select dates Big K.R.I.T.'s Heavy is The Crown Tour, making it his first supporting tour. On August 12, Major released his first single after his album, "Know Nothing." The single featured on season 3 of Insecure alongside "Ho For It" which featured TT the Artist, Dreezy and Cam & China. Major's track "NoEyeInTeam" was placed on the NBA 2K19 soundtrack, which was curated by Travis Scott. On December 28, Major released his last single of 2018, "Shine."

In early 2019, Childish Major was invited to and attended the Revenge of the Dreamers III studio sessions, hosted by J. Cole and his label Dreamville. Over 60 artists were invited to the sessions, including non-Dreamville rappers, singers and producers such as Big K.R.I.T., Smino, Kenny Beats, Mereba, 6lack and Mike WiLL Made-It. Between February and April, Major released six singles exclusively on YouTube, beginning with "Naan" and concluding with "Tip Top." They featured Kota the Friend, Jace, Mez and Baby Rose. The singles are expected to be in preparation for his upcoming sophomore studio album, Dirt Road Diamond.

Musical Style
Major's production style is an intentional blend of hip hop styles, including the older boom bap style and the Atlanta trap sound. Major said he originally intended to produce in a boom bap style, but was moved by the Atlanta sound to 'trap it out a little.' Major also personally engineers many of his songs.

When rapping, Major says his lyrics are about things happening at the time of recording the song. He attempts to vent his frustration and stress of being an artist into his raps. For example, Woo$Ah presents mellow sounds and venting lyrics as a way to be rid of his stress and financial difficulty associated with artistic life, true to his definition of the title of the album. Major is also a heavy advocate for close collaboration in hip hop.

Influences
Major has cited Frank Ocean, The Neptunes and Pharrell Williams as some of his main influences to his music. Furthermore, the Atlantan music scene, primarily hip hop, influenced much of his early production style. Major has stated that he had a musical upbringing which influenced his career, saying 'music is heavy in my family.'

Tours
Supporting

Heavy Is The Crown (Big K.R.I.T.) ( 2018)

1 By 1 Tour (Billie Eilish) (2018)