Dee-1 is a rapper from New Orleans, Louisiana. He started rapping while he was attending Ben Franklin High School, one of the most academically, rigorous, public schools in the state, where he was also a star basketball player. He started performing during his time at LSU, where he graduated in 2008.

After teaching math at a middle school in Baton Rouge for the two years after his graduation, he quit to pursue music full time. In 2010, he was named Artist of the Year at the NOLA Underground Hip-Hop Awards. Dee-1 has worked and toured with a number of reputable artists in the game, such as Drake, Lil Wayne, Lupe Fiasco and Killer Mike, just to name a few.

Dee-1’s 2016 track “Sallie Mae Back,” which celebrates the completion of his student loan payments, has gotten coverage from multiple news outlets, like CNN, ESPN, and Time. His debut album, Slingshot David: The Album, was released in 2017, and follows the release of his first 11 mixtapes.