[8] Dphrepaulezz was born in western Massachusetts, the eighth of fifteen children.

[9] His Bahamian[10] father masqueraded as a deeply religious Somali Muslim who, Dphrepaulezz recalls, had "a lot of rules" for his children.

[3] He has said that he felt that this crash "released" him because Interscope terminated their contract with him, after which he set up an illegal nightclub in South Central Los Angeles.

He revived his career in 2014, adopting the name Fantastic Negrito[14] and developing a style that he calls "black roots music for everyone".

[18] His fifth album as Fantastic Negrito, White Jesus Black Problems, was released in 2022.

[20] The album Son of a Broken Man, informed by Fantastic Negrito's relationship with his father,[21] was released in October 2024.