Artist Julius Dubose (born December 6, 1995), known professionally as A Boogie wit da Hoodie (or simply A Boogie), is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He is best known for his single "Drowning" featuring American rapper Kodak Black, which peaked at number 38 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. His debut studio album, The Bigger Artist, was released on September 29, 2017 and debuted at number four on the Billboard 200 chart. He later went on to release his second studio album, Hoodie SZN, on December 21, 2018 and became his first number one album on the Billboard 200. He is signed to Highbridge the Label and Atlantic Records. 　　Early life 　　Artist Julius Dubose was born on December 6, 1995 in the Highbridge neighborhood of the Bronx in New York City. Dubose was raised in Highbridge and began rapping at age twelve after listening to Kanye West and 50 Cent. He attended Eagle Academy, where he expanded upon rapping during his freshman year, performing in cyphers at lunchtime by performing rhymes he had already written and stored in a large notebook he carried with him. Remarking on his time in high school to XXL, he said "I was regular, nobody really noticed me. I was the one in the back of the classroom, quiet." 　　On his unconventional stage name, DuBose told Newsweek, "I used to watch Paid in Full every day when I was like 12, 13, and then I started rapping and everybody would call me A Boogie [a character from the film]. And then the hoodie came along because I was wearing hoodies all the time. [People] started saying A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie and it stuck. The only other rap name [I would have considered] is Artist, and that’s my real name (Artist J. Dubose). After a while, everybody will know me as Artist." 　　Growing up, Dubose frequently got into legal trouble, mainly for selling cannabis and narcotics, after finding out when he was sixteen, Dubose's parents sent him to Florida as punishment. He graduated from high school at the Performance-based Preparatory Academy in Fort Pierce, Florida. 　　Following his graduation from high school, Dubose began to focus on music while working jobs in different sectors including construction and pizza delivery.