Lil Wil

Dallas, TX, native Lil' Wil first entered the Billboard charts with the bouncy, Southern dance track, "My Dougie," in late 2007 and early 2008. Wil Martin was born in New Orleans, but moved to Dallas at 11 years of age. His rap career began to take off after moving to Atlanta in 2002. Briefly affiliated with an up-and-coming DJ Toomp, Lil' Wil released a few street albums, but never made much progress there in the mixtape scene. He returned to Dallas and eventually hooked up with reggae artist Rude Bwoy, who started up Rude Bwoy Entertainment and signed Wil to his fledgling imprint. First issued in 2007, the "My Dougie" single spent several weeks on various rap and R&B charts, subsequently garnering him a deal with Asylum. The single's remix also gained lots of airplay and featured 2007 breakout star Soulja Boy.