Troy Ave

Roland Collins (born November 23, 1985), better known by his stage name Troy Ave, is an American rapper. Hailing from New York City's Crown Heights neighborhood, his moniker is adapted from a street near his childhood home. His two studio albums, New York City: The Album and Major Without a Deal (2015), were both self-released and entered the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart; the latter entered the Billboard 200. He was named in XXL magazine's 2014 Freshmen Class.

Career

Collins began his rap career in early 2006 with his singles "Rep It Wit My Heart" and "BK BK" airing on BET: Uncut and Rap City.

He announced that his new street album, Dope Boy Troy Vol. 2: NuPac was released in April 2017.

Feud with Joey Badass In June 2015, tensions began brewing between Troy Ave and a fellow Brooklyn-native rapper Joey Badass, when the latter declared himself the "#1 independent hip hop recording artist and a brand in the world" in a series of tweets, to which the former responded in another tweet by pointing out that he has been signed to Cinematic Music Group, whose music is distributed by RED Distribution, a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment. Joey Badass later refuted reports of a feud between him and Troy Ave in another tweet.

On July 7, 2015, in an interview with Ebro Darden on Hot 97, Joey Badass had words of praise for Troy Ave, stating: "At some point you gotta [sic] have some level of respect for Troy because, at the end of the day, we're both independent artists who are standing on major platforms next to a whole bunch of major artists and they know who we are." In February 2016, he reignited the feud in a single, titled "Ready", where he raps: "60k, first week for the badass / 200k to this day, I know you niggas mad / With that 80-20 split, my nigga do the math / my nigga Kirk just outsold Troy Ave" (in reference to Kirk Knight's debut studio album Late Knight Special and Troy Ave's second studio album Major Without a Deal). In response, Troy Ave released a diss track, titled "Badass" the following week, in which he not only insulted Joey Badass, but also targeted fellow Pro Era member Capital Steez, who committed suicide by jumping off a building in December 2012.

Following the release of "Badass", Troy Ave called in at Sway in the Morning on Shade 45, stating: "He didn't pass away; he killed himself. There's a difference. He took his own life. God gave you life, it ain't your right to take that. That's a fact. I got niggas in jail who got life sentences, they might as well be dead. They could've traded their life for his." He then received heavy criticism from fans and fellow artists alike, including Styles P, ASAP Ant and ASAP Twelvyy, who wrote, amongst a series of other tweets: "Wish I had a time machine to go back and give these niggas moms [sic] that abortion money."

On March 29, 2016, in a freestyle on Sway in the Morning, Joey Badass responded to "Badass" in a series of lines aimed at Troy Ave, though never referring to him directly. Among other lines, he rapped: "Now I won't even lie, can't agree with suicide / but in the darkest times, there's still a brighter side / He took a leap of faith and only brightened his light / You took a cheap shot at hate and only shortened your life." In an interview with HipHopDX the following day, Fat Joe stated that he personally reached out to both Joey Badass and Troy Ave to try and squash the feud, but failed.

Legal issues On May 26, 2016, Collins was arrested for attempted murder and illegal weapon possession for shooting at a T.I. concert. During the event at Irving Plaza, where T.I. and others were scheduled to perform, four people were shot, one fatally, by a shooter from the VIP section of the event. The man who died, Ronald McPhatter, 33, was said to be a friend of Collins, who was first taken to NYU Langone Medical Center and then transferred to nearby NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue where he was arrested as a primary suspect in the shooting. While at the hospital, it was alleged that the gunshot wound was self-inflicted. His lawyer then urged the public to come forward with any information that witnesses could provide.

Collins dropped a single called "Chuck Norris (Hoes & Gangstas)" and a mixtape called Free Troy Ave, in reference to his condition of being charged with shootings. It was released on June 6, 2016.

Discography

Studio albums + List of studio albums, with selected chart positions and certifications Title Album details Peak chart positions US US R&B USRap New York City: The Album Released: November 4, 2013 (US) Label: BSB Records Formats: CD, download — 47 — Major Without a Deal Released: June 5, 2015 (US) Label: BSB Records Formats: download 109 14 13 "—" denotes a title that did not chart, or was not released in that territory.

Mixtapes + List of mixtapes, with year released Title Album detailsI'm In Traffick Released: August 17, 2009

Format: DownloadBricks In My Backpack Released: September 27, 2010

Format: DownloadKFC (Kilos For Cheap) Released: December 24, 2010

Format: DownloadBricks In My Backpack 2: Powder To The People Released: August 30, 2011

Format: DownloadBricks In My Backpack 3: The Harry Powder Trilogy Released: June 12, 2012

Format: DownloadWhite Christmas Released: December 25, 2012

Format: DownloadBSB Vol. 1 Released: March 4, 2013

Format: DownloadBSB Vol. 2 Released: May 15, 2013

Format: DownloadBSB Vol. 3 Released: July 4, 2013

Format: DownloadWhite Christmas 2 Released: December 24, 2013

Format: DownloadBSB Vol. 4Released: May 7, 2014

Format: DownloadBSB Vol. 5Released: August 18, 2014

Format: DownloadBSB Vol. 5: The Extras (EP)Released: August 18, 2014

Format: DownloadMajor Without A Deal (Reloaded)Released: October 6, 2015

Format: DownloadWhite Christmas 3Released: December 18, 2015

Format: DownloadFree Troy AveReleased: June 6, 2016

Format: DownloadRoland CollinsReleased: August 12, 2016

Format: DownloadWhite Christmas 4Released: December 23, 2016

Format: DownloadDope Boy TroyReleased: March 23, 2017

Format: DownloadNupacReleased: April 17, 2017

Format: DownloadStyle 4 FreeReleased: June 17, 2017

Format: DownloadAlbum of The SummerReleased: August 25, 2017

Format: DownloadWhite Christmas 5Released: December 25, 2017

Format: DownloadMore Money More ProblemsReleased: November 16, 2018

Format: DownloadWhite Christmas 6Released: December 24, 2018

Format: DownloadWhite Christmas 7Released: December 13, 2019

Format: DownloadTroy Ave, Vol. 1Released: May 15, 2020

Format: DownloadTroy Ave, Vol. 2Released: August 28, 2020

Format: DownloadWhite Christmas 8Released: December 25, 2020

Format: DownloadKill or Be KilledReleased: May 7, 2021

Format: DownloadGod Is Great Paper StraightReleased: November 26, 2021

Format: DownloadThe 2022 SeasonReleased: February 4, 2022

Format: Download THE SUNDAY SERVICEReleased: April 22, 2022

Format: Download

Singles + List of singles as lead artist, with selected chart positions, showing year released and album name Title Year Album "Hot Out" 2013 New York City: The Album "New York City" (featuring Raekwon, N.O.R.E. and Prodigy) "Your Style"(featuring Lloyd Banks) 2014 BSB Vol. 4 "All About The Money"(featuring Young Lito & Manolo Rose) "All About The Money" (Remix)(featuring Young Jeezy & Rick Ross) Major Without a Deal "Doo Doo" 2015 "Bang Bang"(featuring 50 Cent) "Do Betta"(featuring Ty Dolla Sign) "She Belongs to the Game"(featuring Young Lito) Certification : Gold

Promotional singles + List of promotional singles, showing year released and album name Title Year Album "Your Style (Remix)" (featuring Puff Daddy, T.I. and Ma$e) 2014 BSB Vol. 5 and Major Without A Deal

Guest appearances + List of non-single guest appearances, with other performing artists, showing year released and album name Title Year Other artist(s) Album "Only Life I Know" 2012 Fabolous The S.O.U.L. Tape 2 "If It Aint About Money" 2014 Pyro Prada, Grand Hustle SXEW Vol. 1: The Grand Hustle "Self Made" Uncle Murda, GMG Ain't Nothing Sweet "What They Want" Drake, GMG, Raekwon, Drake, Tank, Jerry Wonda "Famous as Fuck" Pink GrenadeFear of a Pink Planet "Drug Money" 2015 Young Buck, 50 Cent