Virginia rapper Traptize Ky emerged as a solo artist from the Richmond trap duo Ward Boyz in the late 2010s. Born and raised in the Jackson Ward district, he moved to North Carolina at the age of six but returned to Richmond after only a year, due to a family dispute. His uncle inspired him to rap and he found it a valuable way to express himself, particularly during his troubled school years. By 2017 he had joined Rio to form Ward Boyz, and the pair began to upload videos online of their trap material. He settled on the name Traptize Ky, combining the words "trap" and "baptize," as well as referencing his real name, Ky. Under that moniker, he issued his debut solo EP, A Different Me, on the Rich & Reckless imprint in 2018. It was swiftly followed that November by Back I Go, mixed by Richmond engineer-in-demand, Kada, who also worked on his "Ky Hefner" single the following summer. Early 2020 brought collaborations with the producer Gringo on singles such as "42XBELLY" and "Stamped" before a revamped version of the Back I Go mixtape raised his profile in May 2020. ~ James Wilkinson, Rovi