LI$$E

LI$$E, born Eric Lewis Smith, is an American rap artist. Born in Mississippi, Eric was taken to Chicago at the tender age of 1 by his mother as she escaped his father's brutal treatment. In Chicago, young Eric learned the value of creativity and intellect while, at the same time, being seduced by the street life. After he witnessed multiple deaths on the west and south sides of Chicago in the 1990s and was arrested by local police at 8 years of age, his life was heading down the wrong path. When he was a teenager his mother sent him back to Mississippi on the Gulf Coast to live with his grandmother who eventually agreed to let his birth father take care of him. While in the care of his father, he was subject to the same treatment as his mother. There he learned how to document his experiences in the form of poetry. That's when a girl he went to high school with told him that his poems could be delivered as rap and hip hop. Hence, his rap talent was born out of pain. Still in street life, Eric was granted the nickname Smooth because of his swagger. He was torn between chasing his dream and living the street life. Finally, when he spent his 21st birthday in prison, he decided to change and pursue his dreams under his stage name, LI$$E, which is french for Smooth. He discovered the french term while reading books while incarcerated and even turned it into an acronym, Living In Society Struggling Everyday.