Background and career
August Anthony Alsina Jr. (born September 3, 1992) is an American R&B singer. He self-released his debut mixtape The Product in 2012, which was followed by The Product 2 the following year; he signed with The-Dream's Radio Killa Records, an imprint of Def Jam Recordings to release his debut commercial extended play (EP), Downtown: Life Under the Gun (2013). The EP marked his first entry on the Billboard 200 and was preceded by his debut single, "I Luv This Shit" (featuring Trinidad James), which peaked within the top 50 of the Billboard Hot 100 and received double platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). His 2014 follow-up single, "No Love (Remix)" (featuring Nicki Minaj), was met with similar commercial success, also receiving double platinum certification. Both songs were issued as lead singles for Alsina's debut studio album Testimony (2014), which peaked at number two on the Billboard 200 and saw critical praise. His second album, This Thing Called Life (2015), was less commercially-oriented, but received continued critical praise. During this time, Alsina notably guest performed on DJ Khaled's hit singles "Hold You Down" in 2014 and "Do You Mind" in 2016. After a long-tenured hiatus and departure from Def Jam, he self-released his third and fourth albums, The Product III: State of Emergency (2020) and Myself (2022).
Alsina was born on September 3, 1992 in New Orleans, Louisiana. He attended middle school in New Orleans. Although no one in his family was musically inclined, he was inspired to sing by Lauryn Hill in Sister Act 2. Alsina first uploaded videos to YouTube in 2007 at age 14, starting with a cover of "Hypothetically" by Lyfe Jennings. With both his father and stepfather battling crack cocaine addiction, Alsina's mother moved him to Houston, Texas, in search of a fresh start after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Then, Alsina's father died. Alsina had disagreements with his mother at some point and was "kicked out." After his older brother, Melvin La'Branch III, was shot and killed on August 31, 2010, he became more committed to his music, and relocated to Atlanta in 2011.
His first mixtape The Product was released in April 2012, though an "Untitled" mixtape with six acoustic covers premiered in October 2011. His single "I Luv This Shit" featuring Trinidad James was released in January 2013, and his mixtape The Product 2 followed in May 2013. The EP Downtown: Life Under the Gun was released on August 20, 2013, with a video for "Hell on Earth" released the following month. On December 9, 2013, the third single from his EP Downtown: Life Under the Gun, "Ghetto" featuring Rich Homie Quan, was serviced to urban contemporary radio and it was the most added song on urban radio the week ending December 12, 2013. On January 14, 2014, Alsina released "Make It Home" featuring Jeezy, as the lead single from his debut studio album. Along with the release, it was revealed that the album would be titled Testimony, which was released on April 15, 2014. He was named part of the 2014 XXL freshmen class.
On December 11, 2015, Alsina released his second studio album, This Thing Called Life. It debuted at number 14 on the Billboard 200, with first-week sales of 41,000 copies in the United States. The album was supported by five singles; "Hip Hop", "Why I Do It" (featuring Lil Wayne), "Song Cry", "Been Around the World" (featuring Chris Brown) and "Dreamer".
Alsina had been working on his third studio album since 2017. On January 6, 2017, Alsina released the singles "Drugs". Then on June 1, 2017, "Lonely", and on June 6, 2017, "Don't Matter" was released for the album. The album, The Product III: State of Emergency was eventually released on June 26, 2020. The singer announced that the album highlights "the struggle in my life, my upbringing as a crack baby, losing my father and sister, and becoming the guardian for my three nieces", as well as his battle with the auto-immune disease that affected him. On September 21, 2021, he announced that he was “likely” retiring from music. However in March 2023 he released a new album titled "MySelf".
Alsina's music generally falls into the R&B category, often fusing it with hip-hop. His musical influences are Chris Brown, Usher and Lyfe Jennings.
