Markeyvius Cathey (born August 3, 1997) better known by his stage name, Key Glock, is a rapper from Memphis, Tennessee. Key Glock is well known for his song "Russian Creme" which has received more than 14 million views on YouTube and over 6 million listens on SoundCloud in less than a year. His mixtape, Glock Bond, released on February 2, 2018 debuted on the Billboard 200, outside of the Top 100. ^{[1] [4] [666666]}

Key Glock was born and raised in South Memphis neighborhood of Memphis, Tennessee. When he was 18 months old, his mother was sent to prison, spending over 16 years in state and federal correctional facilities. Key Glock’s father was in and out of his life, so his grandmother stepped in to raise him, making sure that Key Glock stayed in contact with his mother. “I was 5, 6, 7 years old, [and] I was going to Minnesota, West Virginia, federal and state facilities — just to visit my mother,” he said in an interview with The Fader. ^[1] According to Key Glock growing up in South Memphis was a matter of natural selection, he said in an interview with The Fader, emphasizing that survival was a daily struggle. “It’s like the jungle, except it’s concrete,” he says. “Still got the prey and the predators. Eat or be eaten — that’s what it is out there.” Glock joked that like 2Pac and Afeni Shakur, he and his mother sometimes traded stints behind bars. “Me and my momma a whole different breed,” says Glock, who faced aggravated assault charges when he was 18. “It has been times where she in jail and I’m not, I’m in jail and she not.” ^[1]

In an interview with XXL, Key Glock explained that he took honors classes however he behaved badly in school, “I was in honors [classes]—I was just bad as hell. I'll do my work, and I'll walk out on they ass. It ain't no D; it ain't no F. Like some will be wrong, but shit I'm content, I'm cool, it's passing.” ^[7]

Key Glock served 90 days in jail after being convicted of aggravated assault charges when he was 18. According to police, on March 3, 2016 Cathey pulled out a gun and fire one shot into the floor of the ICE Bar and Grill in Memphis. The bullet then fragmented and hit three people in the legs. All of the victims, two women and a man, were hospitalized in stable condition after the shooting. Glock was later arrested and charged with three counts of aggravated assault. ^{[8] [13] [14]}

Key Glock recorded his first track a freestyle of Future’s “Ain’t No Way Around It” in 2011, when he was 12 years old. In 2016 after Key Glock served 90 days in jail, he wanted to pursue a legal career and become a professional rapper. His Aunt then reached out to Young Dolph a well known rapper from Memphis who is Key Glock's cousin through marriage. In an interview with XXL, Key Glock explained "She's like, 'You need to take him under yo' wing. He going down the wrong route; put him on the paper route!'"^{[7] [1]}

On January 1, 2016 Key Glock released his first mixtape, Whole Lotta Errthang. The 15 song mixtape has received over 200,000 views on Spinrilla as of August 2018. In 2017, Key Glock signed to Young Dolph's Paper Route Empire record label which is distributed by Empire Distribution. ^[17] [8][1] On June 15, 2017, Key Glock released his second mixtape, Glock Season, after signing to Paper Route Empire. Singles,“Racks Today,” “On My Soul” and “Dig That,” off the mixtape have been streamed more than 2 million times each in less than a year. According to XXL his music on the album described as "street tales spun with a sense of humor" has connected in a major way. ^[7] [19]Key Glock released his third mixtape,Glock Bond, on February 1, 2018. The mixtape was described as "exceptional" by The Fader and featured his biggest hit to date "Russian Creme" which has received more than 14 million views on YouTube and over 6 million listens on SoundCloud in less than a year. The mixtape includes 16 songs with production from Tay Keith, Sosa 808, Teddy Walton, Ramy On The Beat and DJ Squeeky. ^[1] [26][2]

On June 7, 2018, Key Glock released the music video and audio for his single "Big Body Benz" through WorldStarHipHop while working on his next project titled, Glockoma. The "Big Body Benz" music video features Key Glock flexing behind the wheel of a white Mercedes AMG GLE63 Coupe while he raps about his success. The music video received over 2.9 million views on YouTube. ^[25] [30]

In a June 2018 interview with The Fader, Key Glocka spoke about how he has been doing a lot more shows and said that he already done between 100 and 150 in 2018.

^[1]

Key Glock was a featured artist on Young Dolph's single "Major". The single and music video released on August 31, 2018 through Vevo was the first collaboration between Key Glock and Young Dolph. The music video received over a million views on YouTube in less than a week. The single was also well received by critics. Pitchfork included "Major" in their monthly "5 Best New Rap Songs" while Uproxx included the single in an article titled "The Best New Rap Music To Have On Your Radar". ^{[19] [22]}

Critics at The Fader and XXL have described Key Glock's music as "raw reality raps" and " street tales spun with a sense of humor".

His music focuses on the struggle of growing up in the streets of South Memphis surrounded by gang violence and drug dealing. ^[1] [8]Key Glock grew up listening to Lil Wayne and Gucci Mane. In an interview with XXL, however he explained that his greastest influence was Three 6 Mafia, "Nobody from Memphis inspired me more than Three 6 Mafia. Them beats were so hard, and I was a lil' rascal. I'm jumpin', I'm knockin', I'm bangin' my head to that shit."^[7]