Kirko Bangz

The American rapper Kirko Bangz was born Kirk Randle in 1989 and raised in Houston, Texas. He was brought up by his mother, with the difficulties she experienced as a single parent providing the inspiration for much of Randle's early material. After graduating from high school he studied communications at the Texan university of Prairie View. The university has historically had a predominately black student intake and whilst he attended classes Randle immersed himself in the university's rich musical culture. It was here that Randle met fellow student D Will who was later to become his manager.

After a mixtape followed by a couple of singles he released 'Drink in My Cup' which originally scraped into Billboard's Hot 100 at number 96. The song has been the subject of numerous remixes featuring artists such as J. Cole, 2 Chainz, Tyga, Bow Wow, Kid Ink and Trey Songz, eventually re-entering the charts at number 28 in the Hot 100 and topping the Hot Rap Songs Chart. After originally signing to Atlantic Records, Randle subsequently moved to 300 Entertainment where he joined a diverse roster of other hip-hop and rap artists.