Jay Critch was born in the Clinton Hills neighborhood of Brooklyn in 1997. Just barely out of his teens, Critch began posting his gritty, trap-inflected, and sometimes lo-fi tracks online in 2016. His first major breakthrough was with a song called "Did It Again," which was originally released in 2016 but reworked in early 2017 to include cameo verses from new fan Rich the Kid. The song went viral, with its accompanying video being viewed over a million times in the first week of its release. That year, Critch also signed to Rich the Kid's label Rich Forever, contributing to every song on the label's showcase mixtape Rich Forever 3. 2017 also saw the release of "Okay Fine," a collaborative single between Critch and PnB Rock that caught the attention of millions.