Coi Leray has always known of her trailblazing tendencies, it’s just us who are becoming privy now. Only a few projects in, the budding superstar has capitalized her growth at nearly every turn. Ambitious, self-starting, and driven, the hustle first mentality of Leray is what gets her out of bed in the morning. Even if she is the daughter of a Hip-Hop mogul Benzino, it would too easy to assume the pop-star superstar was gilded with a silver spoon. This couldn’t be farther from the truth. Now 23 & fresh off a successful EP, Coi Leray is reaping the bounty from years of trials and tribulations. While Leray undoubtedly learned portions of her ambitious mentality from her father, her artistic success is solely from her own work history.
“I left home at 17 and was fully supporting myself even before I left.”
Leray confidently reminds me over the phone. While her father brought financial success that planted exotic cars in the driveway of Leray, the transition to modest living was quick on her tails. “Growing up, I was too young to understand fully what was going on financially. By the time I did realize the blessings of our situation, it [the money] was all gone. To Leray, her next play was just around the corner.
“At around 16, I was making around $800-$1000 a week. It got to the point where I was making so much as a salesperson, school was messing with my ability to make money,” Leray explains. After serious discussion with her mother, the pair came to an agreement that she would be able to drop out of school. Resilient in her work habits, a teenage Coi Leray would begin paving the stones for her breakout success in the music industry.
The breakout Leray had been pining towards would come to fruition in 2017 with her breakout track, “G.A.N.” “The idea came while I was living alone in my apartment, trying to channel the energy A Boogie had on “Don’t Trust Bitches,” Leray explained. Compounding previous life experiences with goofy men & a sales-centered brain, Leray found extensive success with the release.
“When A Boogie dropped that, I knew I wanted to come with some shit from a woman’s perspective. I needed to be the one to do that. It came from a place of motivation.”
Around this same time, Leray’s brother Chavo was coming into his own musical success. Rapping under the conglomerate SossHouse, the young emcee would end up collaborating with his sister. While familial relations have been present in music for decades, the question still lingered; is the creative process any different when you have a family member on the track? Leray answered quickly and confidently, “That’s family, we’re always looking out for one another. That’s the only difference.”
If the past two years have been any indicator of Coi Leray’s trajectory, her success should be deemed a safe bet. As one could imagine, Leray shows NO signs of slowing up. Dropping her latest EP Now Or Never, the 23 y/o wunderkind is out to clear anyone in her path.
Coming up, Leray has enlisted a plethora of talent – including Nav – to continue her triumphant 2020 run. “I wish people knew how talented NAV is, outside of rapping. This man produces, directs, sings… I am excited to put out this work we’ve done together,” explains Leray.
Stream Coi Leray’s latest EP, NOW OR NEVER, and stay tuned for a set of new releases from Coi!
