Fedd the God

Hailing from the Steel City, rapper Fedd The God wants to use his gift of music to connect with people and spread positivity. Born James William Fedd Jr, the 26-year old grew up in the rough and less than ideal Northview Heights section in Pittsburgh, PA. “Growing up in Northview Heights, on Penfort and Manchester’s 1200 block, man, I’ve seen it all. The environment was rough and sadly what is now typical for so many young black males to see; murder, drugs, guns. We didn’t know anything else. I tried to keep to myself, for the most part.”

Fedd’s musical journey began in 2005. He and a friend were jokingly making music on a computer. “Me and my boy Rico made a song called “Shoplifting” on Giant Eagle. As a joke. We were just fucking around. I didn’t really think anything of it. But I found myself going back to making music and writing raps, almost as a form of therapy whenever something happened or I saw something on the block.” But it took a real-life experience to light the flame inside of the Pittsburgh native to take music seriously. “It wasn’t until the death of my friend Trillzee that I started to take music seriously. He was making music and was about to crack off, so I felt the responsibility to pick up where he left off & keep this shit going.”

Fedd’s inspiration to make music came from listening and watching Master P growing up, with his motivation coming from his mother. “I didn’t have a musical bone in my body, shit, I can’t even dance. But sometimes your purpose finds you in the strangest ways.” What started as a mission to honor his late friend, quickly became a blessing in disguise. “The more I started making music the more I realized how much I genuinely love to move people. It’s like a high when I can hear and visualize people of all ages, races, ethnicities, sexes moving to my music, my art. That’s what drives me. That’s where my passion comes from. My mom told me that this passion and drive is a gift. It’s a gift to be able to connect with other humans with vibrations and emotions.”

After deciding to take music seriously as a career, Fedd stepped on to the music scene officially as Fedd The God, a play off his last name combined with a popular Dragon Ball Super Sayian transformation, symbolizing the God form. His early days in music were with a collective NWS, ‘N****s Wit Swagg.’ “My start in the music scene was with NWS. I was in the studio and Icey2Times left me the password to his SoundClick profile so I could go through beats. Back then, I didn’t know shit about rap or what to listen for in a beat. I just waited until I found something that spoke to me. There was this one beat called ‘Pittsburgh Nightmare’ and from the second I heard it knew that was the one. I loaded it up, recorded myself and made an anthem for my city called NFL.”

It wasn’t until an ironic encounter that Fedd was about to align with a Pittsburgh legend. “I first linked up with Will because I got into a fight with his boy Jr. Will gave me his number to reach out if ever needed anything. We linked up a few years later in 2018 and started talking about the music business. He had so much knowledge and I just wanted to soak it up. He really put his arm around me, coached up on the industry, put me on game to how things worked. He sent me books about the music business. I really just wanted to learn.” Fedd credits Will for introducing him to Taylor Gang head honcho Wiz Khalifa at a show in NYC, which was followed by time spent in Pittsburgh and LA. “I’m really the type of person that feeds off energy and a vibe. That’s what I loved about Wiz and Will and the whole Taylor Gang family…it’s a family. They weren’t trying to push nothing on me. It just flowed well. I knew that being Gang would come with music benefits but the fact that they were stand up dudes before anything else had me sold. They were willing and wanted to teach me about the game. Most artists wouldn’t know half the shit they taught me. It’s a blessing.”

Since officially signing to Taylor Gang in 2020, Fedd the God has released more than 15 singles, 3 strong EPs, several memorable music videos, and has performed across the country in festivals, club shows, and on a domestic tour with Wiz Khalifa and Logic. Fedd maintains momentum by releasing new music or exciting visual content almost every month. His fan base grows everyday, and the world is having a blast getting to know Fedd.