Tre-G

A New Orleans MC and songwriter who launched his career on the West Coast, Tre-G returned home and has since been a regular nominee -- and sometimes a winner -- at the annual NOLA Music Awards. Tre began writing songs in his teens, but when his stepfather landed a life sentence for murder, the family picked up and moved to California, leaving the young MC's collaborators back home. Starting fresh, he eventually met the Dirty Mexican Zoe, a rapper who encouraged Tre and helped him release his debut mixtape, My Solja Story, in 2007. The 2008 mixtape N.O. Pain N.O. Gain announced his return to the Big Easy, but then in 2009 he landed a three-year prison sentence on drug charges. Released in 2012, he quickly cut the single "Do It," and then the 2013 mixtape Ready 2 Blow appeared and earned a nomination for Album of the Year at the 2014 NOLA Music Awards. In 2015 he released the singles "She Say She Love Me" and "Bananas" along with the mixtape Hottest in da Game. ~ David Jeffries