Pooh Shiesty Artistfacts

November 8, 1999
Memphis rapper Pooh Shiesty broke through with a raw South Memphis style, turning real-life street detail into sharp, cinematic rap tracks. His breakout single, "Back In Blood," made him a key voice in the 2020 Memphis rap surge, though his career path has consistently intersected with his legal troubles.
Shiesty grew up with a front-row seat to the music industry. His father, Lontrell Williams Sr., recorded under the name Mob Boss and ran the local Memphis label Mob Ties Records. "My dad didn't expect me to rap, but when I did, he helped me," Shiesty told The Knockturnal. "He taught me how to put my pain into what I'm doing."

His father also gave him a practical look at the business, exposing him to tour buses, studio sessions, and concert prep by the time he was 8 years old.
After high school, Shiesty started taking rap seriously, dropping independent music under the Choppa Gang banner. His first widely heard track was the March 2019 Big30 collaboration "Hell Night," launching a friendship and musical partnership that became a staple of his early catalog.
His stage name bridges a family nickname and a street reputation. "Pooh" comes from his childhood moniker "Mr. Pooh," while "Shiesty" was added by his late brother as a nod to his sneaky, untrustworthy side. It is an unusually personal name for a rapper who often presents himself as guarded and hard to read.
Gucci Mane signed Shiesty to his 1017 label in partnership with Atlantic Records in mid-2020. The two publicly announced the deal on June 19, 2020, with the release of their collaborative track "Still Remember."

Initially, Shiesty wasn't sold on joining a major roster. Speaking to The Breakfast Club, he admitted, "I ain't gon' lie, I ain't never wanted to sign to nobody," explaining he wanted to build Choppa Gang into a homegrown powerhouse alongside local giants like Yo Gotti's CMG and Young Dolph's Paper Route Empire. A personal offer from Gucci Mane ultimately changed his mind.
In November 2020, Shiesty teamed up with Lil Durk for "Back in Blood," the hit that turned him from a Memphis favorite into a national star. The single peaked at #13 on the Billboard Hot 100, propelled by Durk's memorable line: "Pooh Shiesty that's my dog, but Pooh you know I'm really shiesty." The line blew up as an internet catchphrase, cementing Shiesty's brand across the country.
His debut mixtape, Shiesty Season, dropped in February 2021 and entered the US albums chart at #3, proving his momentum was bigger than a single viral track. Shiesty gave Gucci Mane full credit for guiding the project behind the scenes: "Man, [Gucci Mane] put everything together," Shiesty told Hot New Hip Hop. "He planned everything, knew the dates, when everything was going to drop, how I was going to shoot this video. He's behind it all."
In January 2022, Shiesty pleaded guilty to federal firearms-conspiracy charges following an October 2020 shooting in Florida. Sentenced to 63 months in prison in April 2022, he received an early release from federal custody in October 2025.

However, his legal freedom was short-lived. In April 2026, federal prosecutors named Shiesty alongside eight others in a new indictment charging him with kidnapping and armed robbery linked to an incident at a Dallas recording studio.

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