Christopher Smith Jr (born October 2, 1991), better known by his stage name, Smino, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer from St. Louis, Missouri. Smino is the founder of the musical collective Zero Fatigue with Bari, Monte Booker, Jay2, and Ravyn Lenae.He is signed to independent label Downtown Records. Smino initially gained local recognition in 2012 where he released a mixtape called Smeezy Dot Com, and a collaboration mixtape with Bari called Retail. In 2015, he released two EPs: S!Ck S!Ck S!Ck and blkjuptr. 　　His debut studio album, blkswn was released to critical acclaim on March 14, 2017. His second studio album, NØIR, was released on November 8, 2018. 　　Early life 　　Chris Smith Jr. was born in St. Louis, Missouri into a musical family: his father plays keys, his mother sings, and his grandfather played bass guitar for Blues Hall of Fame musician Muddy Waters. Both his father and grandfather were given opportunities to take their music far, but they gave up their success to be with their families. When he was seven, his father gave him a set of drums, which he played in his church's band, and also began rapping. He later moved to Chicago, Illinois for college under the wing of his older cousin, singer Drea Smith. 　　Musical career 　　2009–16: Career beginnings and various projects 　　Between 2009 and 2013, Smino went by the stage name C. Smi, and was in a rap duo with his friend Bari Allen called "Young Dumb and Outta Control" (YDOC), where they released three mixtapes including Retail. As they started to gain popularity locally, Smino released his first solo mixtape, Smeezy Dot Com in 2012 and moved back to Chicago. At Columbia College Chicago, he met engineer Chris "Classick" Inumerable, who became his closest friend and is now his manager. 　　On October 2, 2015 Smino released his first EP, S!Ck S!Ck S!Ck. On December 11, he released his second EP titled Blkjuptr. On July 31, 2016, Smino appeared on Noname's mixtape, Telefone, with Saba and Phoelix on the track "Shadow Man". On August 17, it was announced that Smino will be alongside Mick Jenkins on the A Quest For Love Tour. On October 27, he made another guest appearance on Bucket List Project on the song "World in My Hands". 　　2017: blkswn 　　Main article: blkswn 　　On December 2, 2016, Smino released the title track to serve as the first single from his debut album, blkswn, which was released on March 14, 2017. The release date holds a special significance to the St. Louis rapper because 314 is the area code of his hometown. The album includes guest appearances from Ravyn Lenae, Bari, Noname, theMIND, Jay2, Via Rosa, Drea Smith, and Akenya, with production coming from Monte Booker, THEMpeople, Sango, Phoelix, and J. Bird. 　　Following the album's release, he headlined in his month-long Swanita Tour, which included 22 dates with guests Monte Booker, Jay2, Bari, and Jean Deaux. On July 6, it was announced that Smino and Ravyn Lenae will be opening for SZA on The CTRL Tour. He later released music videos for "Anita", "Netflix & Dusse", and "Wild Irish Roses". During October, he was opening act for T-Pain on his Acoustic Tour, who appeared on the remix for "Anita". 　　2018–present: NØIR 　　Main article: Noir (Smino album) 　　In April 2018, he and Monte Booker co-headlined the Kouple Drillz Tour which included shows in Asia and Australia. On May 17, he released a single called "New Coupe, Who Dis?" featuring Mick Jenkins. He also appeared on some of his frequent collaborative producers tracks, Cam O'Bi on "TenderHeaded", Phoelix on "Taranphoeno", and Sango on "Khlorine". On July 9, he released a remix to Drake's "In My Feelings", and a track called "Coupe Se' Yern" produced by himself. 　　On October 26, 2018, Smino released a single titled "L.M.F." produced by Sango, accompanied by a music video. Smino released the album's second single titled "Klink" on November 4, announcing it via an Instagram post. His second album, NØIR, was released on November 8. The album includes guest appearances from Zero Fatigue members, Bari, Jay2, and Ravyn Lenae, as well as Dreezy, and Valee. The production came from himself, Monte Booker, THEMpeople, Sango, Phoelix, KRS, Al B Smoov, and Da-P. In 2019, Smino announced the Hoopti Tour, which included 33 shows in England, the United States, and Canada. Supporting acts for the tour will be EarthGang and Phoelix. On April 3, 2019, Smino released the music video for "Z4L", directed by Ev Solomon and produced by AJR Films, with clips of backstage footage on tour. 　　On October 17, 2019, he announced the supergroup Ghetto Sage with Saba and Noname, releasing a single titled "Häagen Dazs". On October 25, he released the single "Trina", produced by Kenny Beats and Lido.