42 Dugg

Dion Hayes was raised in Detroit's Denby neighborhood on the city's east side and attended Denby High School before dropping out. He grew up listening to Yo Gotti and Jeezy. During a period of incarceration, he began writing rhymes and later decided to pursue music full-time.

Hayes released his first song, "Mama I'm Sorry," in January 2018, followed by self-released material including the 11241 Wayburn mixtape. His early work included collaborations with Detroit artists such as Babyface Ray and the 42 Twinz. His vocal style is marked by a slurred delivery, Auto-Tune, and a recurring whistle that became a signature sound on Young & Turnt, Vol. 2.

42 Dugg gained early traction with the 2018 singles "The Streets," featuring Babyface Ray, and "STFU," recorded with Peezy, EWM Kdoe, Bagboy Mel, Cashkidd, and Ewm Buck. He met Lil Baby in 2017, and the two later worked together on music before Hayes signed with Lil Baby's 4PF and Yo Gotti's Collective Music Group through an arrangement involving Interscope Records.

His 2019 mixtape Young & Turnt preceded Young & Turnt 2, which was released in 2020 and became his first project to appear on the Billboard 200. The latter was described as an entirely freestyled mixtape. Hayes received broader attention after appearing on Lil Baby's "Grace," which reached number 48 on the Billboard Hot 100, and "We Paid," which reached number 10 and received multi-platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America.

In 2021, Hayes released the 19-track mixtape Free Dem Boyz, dedicating the project to incarcerated friends. Its notable collaboration with Roddy Ricch, "4 Da Gang," received gold certification, while "Maybach," featuring Future, also received gold certification. That year, Hayes was named Billboard's R&B/Hip-Hop Rookie of the Month and was included in the annual XXL Freshman Class.

He collaborated with EST Gee on the 2022 mixtape Last Ones Left, which produced the song "Thump Shit," and joined Lil Baby and Veeze on "U-Digg." He was also featured on the CMG compilation Gangsta Art. His first official full-length album, 4eva Us Neva Them, was released in 2024 and reached number 76 on the Billboard 200. The project included guest appearances by Sexyy Red, Blac Youngsta, Lil Baby, Young Geezy, and EST Gee.

In 2019, Hayes was seen firing a gun at an Atlanta gun range despite being prohibited from doing so because of a prior felony conviction. He received three years of probation and was ordered to pay a $90,000 fine. In June 2020, he fled a traffic stop after running through a stop sign and spent two months as a fugitive before being captured in August. He was charged with fleeing from police and released on bond.

After violating the terms of his release connected to the gun-range case, Hayes was sentenced to six months in a federal prison camp. He later failed to report to serve the sentence and was arrested in May 2022 at Willow Run Airport in Ypsilanti, Michigan. In 2023, he received a one-year prison sentence for failure to report and was released in October after serving time in federal custody.