PnB Rock Biography

PnB Rock was born Rakim Hasheem Allen, on December 9, 1991, in the Germantown neighbourhood in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. . His family faced poverty while Rock was growing up along with four other siblings. Having four children made it very difficult for the family to sustain their normal lifestyle.

In order to earn a living, his father became involved in illegal activities and in 1994, was killed in a gang feud. His mother was burdened with all the responsibility for the poverty-stricken family. She frequently checked into shelters with her children, and Rock spent most of his early days in these shelters.

At the time, his uncle, who was taking care of the family, died in a gang war, and this turned Rock’s life upside down. He started leading a life of petty crimes and drug peddling. He was sent to jail for three years, at the age of nineteen, after being accused of robberies and selling drugs.

In early 2014, PnB Rock collaborated with one of his neighbourhood friends, another music enthusiast, and they came up with a track named Weekend Baby. The song focused mostly on chaotic sounds, rather than on vocals or melody. Nevertheless, the song went big in the Philadelphia club scene and made Rock confident about his skills as a musician.

After the local success of the single, Rock started working on his debut mixtape, which was based on the poetry and the song lyrics he wrote when he was in prison. The mixtape, titled Real Ngga Bangaz, was released in June 2014, and received good response.

This paved his way to get noticed by major music companies, Atlantic Records being one among them. They located Rock and offered a deal, which he gladly accepted, and his first project with Atlantic was a mixtape, titled RnB 3, in 2015. This was his third mixtape , and by then he had already earned a big name in the ‘Gangsta Rap’ scene.

His authentic blend of R&B and rap music did the trick of establishing him as one of the very few new artists who didn’t follow any set pattern. His music was being loved and respected at the same time.

In June 2016, Rock released a single, titled Selfish. The song became an instant hit and debuted on the US Billboard Hot 100 at the 51st spot. This was his first tryst with nationwide success and in October 2016, he was honored by ‘Rolling Stone’ magazine. He was included on the magazine’s 10 New Artists You Need to Know list.

PnB Rock collaborated with Fetty Wap for a mixtape, titled Money, Hoes & Flows. Similarly, Rock collaborated with many other musicians, such as Kodak Black and Kevin Hart.

In 2017, his album GTTM: Going Thru the Motions, was released by Empire Distribution and Atlantic Records. It was initially said to be his first proper album, but music critics called it a mixtape. The album peaked on the Billboard 200, at number 28, and sold more than 1,00,000 copies within a week of its debut.

His amalgamation of feel-good R&B music with deep and heart-felt love stories had the fans going crazy for his music. He was subsequently signed on by the producers of Fate of the Furious, to record a soundtrack for them. Rock worked on the song titled Gang Up, which also featured 2 Chainz, Young Thug and Wiz Khalifa.

He presented another single, Horses, with A Boogie wit da Hoodie and Kodak Black. He was featured on the annual ‘Freshman Class’ list of 2017, released by XXL. Finally, in November 2017, after years of working on mixtapes, PnB Rock released his full-fledged debut album, titled Catch These Vibes. The album title and the cover art were released by Rock in September 2017, on his Twitter account, and the album featured 18 tracks. Many of the songs were done in collaboration with other artists, and the album is still enjoying a successful run in the market.

PnB Rock's second studio album TrapStar Turnt PopStar was released in May 2019. In January 2020, he released a track titled Ordinary featuring late rapper Pop Smoke.

In January 2021, he featured late rapper King Von in a single titled Rose Gold. In February 2022, PnB Rock came out with a new mixtape that featured various artists, such as Pasto Flocco, Yung Fazo and many more.

PnB Rock had a difficult past, which he never shied away from talking about, in his songs. Most of his songs were autobiographical in nature, and he used to say that he is here just because of his past and he would not change a thing even if he could.

Rock had four siblings, including an autistic younger brother, and one that died in a gang feud. He frequently donated money for autism research and other social deeds.

Rock liked to keep his relationships secret, but it is assumed that he started a romantic relationship with a girl when he was fifteen. They broke up in 2009, when he was sent to jail.

Thereafter, he did have a few relationships, and one of them ended with him having a daughter, Milan, who was born in October, 2013. He welcomed his second daughter, Xuri, with his girlfriend Stephanie Sibounheuang in 2020. In early 2022, they broke up.

PnB Rock died on September 12, 2022, at the age of 30, when he was fatally shot during an attempted robbery at ‘Roscoe's House of Chicken 'N Waffles’ at Los Angeles