Ventura, California native Kyle Harvey had his hip-hop epiphany at the age of ten, when he heard Ol' Dirty Bastard's "Got Your Money" on his father's car stereo. He was into music long before then, but this moment radically changed his focus. Kyle got into hard-edged artists such as Scarface and Jadakiss and attempted to rhyme like them, then found that the output of the younger, less street-oriented likes of Drake and Kid Cudi was more reflective of his background. Originally uploaded to SoundCloud in 2016, "iSpy," featuring Lil Yachty, surprised Kyle with a response so positive that major-label Atlantic signed him the following February and helped push the song to the number four position on the Billboard Hot 100. It was awarded double-platinum certification just before XXL's annual Freshman Class feature brightened the spotlight. Kyle responded with his full-length debut, Light of Mine. Containing another track with Kehlani plus support from 2 Chainz, Alessia Cara, and Khalid, the album debuted on the Billboard 200 in June 2018 at number 29. In 2020, he issued the singles "YES!," with Rich the Kid and K Camp, and "What It Is," which both landed on his second official studio set, See You When I Am Famous!!!!!!!!!!!! He then collaborated with Josh Golden for the 2021 track "But Cha."