“I had a couple little freestyles - not to the world, but like written - but when I seen my name in the XXL magazine, I was like ‘Oh yeah, I’mma start taking this serious,’” Jackboy shared. At the time, Jackboy didn’t have a single song available online to stream, but Kodak saw his potential. Back then, an interviewer asked him who else he thought should have been a part of the class and he gave a shout out to his best friend. Kodak Black’s career took off in 2016 when he made XXL magazine’s 2016 Freshman class. The very first studio-recorded song of his to appear online was a 2016 freestyle in which he rapped over “Hot Nigga,” the wildly popular 2014 song by New York rapper Bobby Shmurda. Like most rappers, he began his entry into music by freestyling. But perhaps the most significant change to occur while he was in jail was his evolution from a boy who “jacks,” to Jackboy: the artist. Growing up behind bars made him more “observant and patient” than other people his age, he said. By the time he turned 22 years old, he had been locked up for eight years of his life, according to an interview of his with Genius. His moniker, Jackboy, explicitly refers to this behavior, as it refers to a person who commits robberies according to Urban Dictionary. Jackboy was busted for other crimes that included credit-card fraud, aggravated battery and numerous counts of armed robbery throughout the years. The cycle wasn’t broken when he turned 18. He added that he had dreams of becoming a football player, but that was before he was repeatedly arrested - once when he was 12 and then again when he was 13, when he was sent off to juvie and didn’t get out until he was 17.

But then it kept on ‘cause the cycle began,” Jackboy said. “ pushed me toward crime,” Jackboy said, confessing he was first arrested at age 11 after accompanying an older friend as they broke into someone’s home. The two have been entangled in legal trouble since they were children - Jackboy said that when you’re surrounded by crime, you often can’t help but think that’s the only solution to “finesse.” In turn, Kodak has prayed for Jackboy’s return home each time he’s been incarcerated as well. Kapri, began serving an almost-four year sentence in a Kentucky prison on federal gun charges. Most recently, Kodak, whose legal name is Bill K. Loyalty means everything to Jackboy, who has consistently shouted out Kodak in songs, interviews and social media, and has publicly advocated for his release from prison the many times his friend has been behind bars. Kodak even has a verse Jackboy’s song “Like a Million” about their bond: “Jackboy, that’s my nigga- we so alike, that nigga my synonym.” Photo by Josh Sobelįrom the day they met, Jackboy and Kodak have been nearly inseparable. And they’re a couple of months apart in age. They both are children of Haitian immigrants who lived in poverty in the same projects.

The two instantly bonded, maybe due to their uncanny similarities. It was long ago in the Golden Acres projects that Jackboy met his best friend, rapper and Sniper Gang label founder Kodak Black.

Of all of the places he’s lived, Jackboy insists that he’s learned the most from Golden Acres, a notorious public housing project in Pompano Beach.Īnd what did he learn there? “Survival,” he said. (He dropped the single “Spittin’ Facts” this past May 18, Haitian Flag Day). He doesn’t remember much about his home country, but proudly reps his Haitian background. When he was just six years old, he and his family moved to the United States, hopping around different South Florida cities like North Lauderdale before settling in Pompano Beach. Jackboy was born Pierre Delince on August 27, 1997, in Haiti. But in the last four years, he has managed to beat the odds to prosper while cultivating a sound uniquely his own. Since the very beginning, the 23-year-old Sniper Gang artist has faced challenges posed by his environment, upbringing, the industry and more. It turns out this simple yet bold declaration embodies Jackboy’s determined nature and steadfast work ethic. When Pompano Beach rapper Jackboy was asked what he will experiment with musically, he didn’t hesitate with his answer: “Everything.

Sniper sononym