Dimitri Leslie Roger (born July 13, 1992), professionally known as Rich the Kid, is an American rapper. He released his debut studio album, The World Is Yours, on March 30, 2018, supported by his hit singles “New Freezer” and “Plug Walk”. His second studio album, The World Is Yours 2, was released on March 22, 2019, and his third studio album, Boss Man, on March 13, 2020.
Early life
Dimitri Leslie Roger was born in Queens, New York City, on July 13, 1992. He is of Haitian descent and grew up speaking Haitian Creole fluently. After his parents’ divorce, Roger moved with his mother to College Park, Georgia when he was 13.
Rich the Kid said he grew up listening to Nas, Jay-Z, 2Pac, Notorious B.I.G. & 50 Cent, but after moving to College Park, he started listening to T.I. and Young Jeezy. His first rap name was Black Boy Da Kid, but later changed it to Rich the Kid. He attended Elmont Memorial Junior – Senior High School in Elmont, New York.
Career
In 2013, he released his debut solo mixtape, Been About the Benjamins, and later that year released a collaborative mixtape series with Migos called Streets On Lock (volume 1 and 2), with volume 3 being released in 2014 and volume 4 being released in 2015. His second solo mixtape titled Feels Good 2 Be Rich was released in August 2014, and featured artists Migos, Young Thug, Kirko Bangz, Rockie Fresh, Stalley, Soulja Boy, RiFF RaFF, Jeremih, K Camp, Young Dolph, Yo Gotti, French Montana, Chinx & Kodak Black. In November 2014, Rich the Kid released the single “On My Way” featuring GS9 artists, Bobby Shmurda & Rowdy Rebel. In December 2014, he released his third mixtape Rich Than Famous which featured YG, Migos, Bobby Shmurda, Rowdy Rebel, Gucci Mane, Johnny Cinco and PeeWee Longway.
Rich the Kid’s first release in 2015 was a collaborative mixtape titled Still On Lock with Migos. In August 2015, he released Flexin’ on Purpose. The 14-track project featured collaborations with Master P, Young Dolph, Ty Dolla $ign, Fetty Wap and Rich Homie Quan. In October 2015, he released Streets On Lock 4 with Migos with features from Jose Guapo, Skippa Da Flippa, Hoodrich Pablo Juan, Lil Duke, 2 Chainz, Jeezy, Waka Flocka, Young Dolph, PeeWee Longway, Mango Foo, Slim Jxmmi, iLoveMakonnen, Tray1, Migo Domingo, Migo Jerz, YRN Lingo and Young Greatness. Rich the Kid and iLoveMakonnen released Whip It, featuring 8 tracks on Thanksgiving Day, November 26, 2015, with guest spots from Rome Fortune, Migos, T-Wayne and Key!. The next month Dabbin’ Fever was released on Christmas Eve 2015, with features from Wiz Khalifa, Migos, Skippa Da Flippa, 21 Savage, ManMan Savage, Jose Guapo, Playboi Carti, Kodak Black and Curren$y. He released his Trap Talk mixtape in April 2016, which features 21 Savage, Ty Dolla $ign, Playboi Carti, Kodak Black, Migos, Famous Dex and PartyNextDoor. In October 2016, he released his mixtape Keep Flexin’ which featured Desiigner, Migos, Famous Dex, Jeremih, Young Thug and Playboi Carti. In May 2017, he collaborated as a featured artist on the Diplo song, “Bankroll”, which also features Rich Brian and Young Thug (the song originally featured Justin Bieber instead of Rich Brian).
On June 9, 2017, Rich the Kid announced that he had signed to Interscope Records. In an interview with XXL, Roger talked about his decision on signing with Interscope:
I was talking to different labels, Columbia, RCA, Epic, I decided not to sign with Epic even after L.A. Reid offered me a crazy deal. [Senior Vice President of A&R at Interscope] Manny Smith & Interscope CEO John Janick understand me and my vision for myself and also my label. Interscope gave me the opportunity to take over the game completely and that’s what I’m going to do.
Rich the Kid released the single “New Freezer” featuring Kendrick Lamar on September 26, 2017. The song was certified Platinum on March 27, 2018, by the RIAA. His debut studio album, The World Is Yours, was released on March 30, 2018, and features guest appearances from Lil Wayne, Swae Lee, Quavo, Offset, Trippie Redd, Khalid, Kendrick Lamar, Rick Ross, Future, Jay Critch and Chris Brown with its second single, “Plug Walk” peaking at number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100. His second album, The World Is Yours 2 was released a year later, on March 22, 2019. It debuted at number four on the US Billboard 200, marking his second US top 10 album. On December 6, 2019, it was announced that Rich the Kid departed Interscope Records and signed with Republic Records, while still remaining under the UMG umbrella. He kept with the tradition of March-releases, with his third album Boss Man being released on March 13, 2020, and subsequently marking Rich’s first release on Republic Records. He then signed to independent label, Empire Distribution and released his first project with them, Nobody Safe, a collaborative mixtape with YoungBoy Never Broke Again.
On April 14, 2021, Rich the Kid signed a multi-million dollar deal with Rostrum Records.
On October 1, 2021, Rich released Trust Fund Babies, a collaborative mixtape with Lil Wayne.
On March 4, 2022, Rich was featured on Jungle, the first single from Bored Ape Yacht Club DJ/producer duo Escape Plan.
On November 14, 2022, Rich the Kid signed with RCA Records. He also released a new single called “Motion”.
Personal life
Roger was married to Antonette Willis and has two children with her. In March 2018, Willis filed for divorce, seeking full physical custody while giving Roger visitation rights and joint legal custody. Willis is also seeking spousal support. This was shortly after Willis accused him of cheating on her with Blac Chyna and India Love, even alleging that he was in a relationship with the former. Willis later claimed that Roger abused her and forced her to have abortions regularly, saying it was commonplace for police to be called to their residence for domestic abuse.
Roger began dating Tori Hughes (professionally known as Tori Brixx) shortly following the filing of the divorce. On June 15, 2018, Roger was hospitalized following a home invasion at Hughes’ home. According to a police report, several men entered Hughes’ home carrying firearms and demanded money. When Roger attempted to confront them, he was beaten by them and the men left with a “significant” amount of money and jewelry. On December 29, 2018, Rich the Kid got into a UTV accident in Calabasas, CA, when Dimitri and his friend were driving around in a Polaris RZR 4-wheeler. Based on sources from TMZ, it seems that Dimitri lost control of it and fell off of his RZR 4-wheeler and severely injured his hand. He was taken to the hospital shortly after. In February 2019, he was robbed and shot at outside of the Westlake Recording Studio in West Hollywood, California.
