Introduction
Taurus Tremani Bartlett (born January 6, 1999), known professionally as Polo G, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He is best known for his song "Pop Out" with Lil Tjay, which peaked at number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100. His debut studio album Die a Legend (2019) peaked at number 6 on the Billboard 200. His second album, The Goat, was released on May 15, 2020.
Early life
Taurus Tremani Bartlett was born on January 6, 1999 in the Old Town area of Chicago. He was raised by both of his parents with his three siblings in a small project development known as Marshall Field Garden Apartments. He states that American rapper Lil Wayne is his biggest influence. He also grew up listening to Gucci Mane, and then Chicago rappers Lil Durk, G Herbo and Chief Keef.
Career
In 2016, he started uploading heavy trap songs like O.D.A. (Only Drillas Allowed). In 2017, Polo G started releasing tracks on YouTube, which slowly gained him a following. He then began to gain more traction as 2018 started, and he began releasing songs such as "Welcome Back" and "Neva Cared". Following the release of "Finer Things", a song he wrote while incarcerated later in 2018, Polo G began gaining millions of views and planned to keep his independence. Since then, he has released the songs "Pop Out" featuring Lil Tjay, and "Battle Cry", with the first of the two having been certified platinum and amassing over 100 million views on YouTube to date and got him signed to Columbia Records. Polo G has released videos for his songs "Deep Wounds", "Through Da Storm", "Effortless", "Heartless", and "Dyin' Breed" from his critically acclaimed debut studio album Die a Legend, which was released on June 7, 2019 and would peak at number 6 on the Billboard 200. Polo G alleged that he almost lost his life, presumably due to near overdose or alcohol poisoning, after a party on August 11, posting on August 12 that he "woke up in [an] emergency room[,] almost lost my life."
On February 14, 2020, Polo G released the track "Go Stupid", with rappers Stunna 4 Vegas and NLE Choppa. The song also features production from Mike Will Made It and Tay Keith. "Go Stupid" became his second song on the Hot 100 (after "Pop Out"), peaking at number 60 on the Hot 100, number 29 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, and number 20 on Hot Rap Songs. Polo G released his second studio album, The Goat, on May 15, 2020.
Artistry
Polo G was originally known for a Chicago-style drill rap sound, which involves the delivery of quick, gritty verses similar to the likes of G Herbo and Young Pappy. As Polo evolved as an artist, he became more melodic, similar to Lil Durk or A Boogie wit da Hoodie.
Discography
Studio albums
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US |
US R&B/HH |
US Rap |
CAN |
NLD | |||
| Die a Legend |
|
6 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 83 |
|
| The Goat |
|
— | — | — | — | — | |
Singles
As lead artist
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US |
USR&B/HH |
USRap |
AUS |
CAN |
IRE |
NZHot |
UK | ||||
| "Hollywood" | 2018 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album single | |
| "Finer Things" | 2019 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
|
Die a Legend |
| "Battle Cry" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Pop Out" (featuring Lil Tjay) |
11 | 7 | 5 | 82 | 12 | 61 | — | 41 |
| ||
| "Deep Wounds" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Pop Out Again" (featuring Lil Baby and Gunna) |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Heartless" (featuring Mustard) |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
|
The Goat | |
| "First Place" (with Lil Tjay) |
2020 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album singles | |
| "Go Stupid" (with Stunna 4 Vegas and NLE Choppa featuring Mike Will Made It) |
60 |
29 | 20 | — | 28 | 97 |
17 | — |
|
The Goat | |
| "DND" | 84 | 37 | — | — | — | — | 33 | — | |||
As featured artist
| Title | Year | Album |
|---|---|---|
| "Caroline" (Calboy featuring Polo G) |
2019 | Wildboy |
| "Marvelous" (Quando Rondo featuring Polo G) |
2020 | QPac |
| "Free Melly" (Lil Gotit featuring Polo G) |
Superstar Creature |
Other charted songs
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| USBub. | |||
| "Through da Storm" | 2019 | 25 | Die a Legend |