Thomas was born in
Indianapolis,
Indiana. Her parents encouraged her to pursue music. Thomas performed in school and church. She attended
Lawrence North High School.[6] A hardcore fan of
hip hop and
pop music, Thomas developed her sound early and set out to carve her own lane in music by fusing her love for pop and alternative music, ballads, and rap with instrumentation.[7] In June 2012, Thomas graduated from
Ball State University.
Career
2009–2012: Early career
Thomas met founders of The Board Administration,
Wale and Le'Greg O. Harrison, in a club in
Atlanta,
Georgia, during a Wale concert in 2009.[1] After exchanging information and submitting music, she received a response and positive feedback after three months. Shortly thereafter, she traveled to New York City where she opened for Wale and shared the stage with
Diggy Simmons,
J. Cole, and
Fabolous at the
Highline Ballroom.[8][9] Thomas signed to The Board Administration in 2011.[10][11][12]
She is well known for viral promotions via
Twitter and
YouTube and recognized for new online musical content, live performance streams, and cover performances of popular music. On August 3, 2010, the world was introduced to Thomas on "The Cloud" with Wale through his mixtape More About Nothing. Her name trended worldwide on May 30, 2011, on Twitter, the day "The Cloud" video released.[13][14][15]
Thomas was selected as a 2011–2012 Campaign Spokesperson for the
American Eagle Outfitters Back to School We The People Campaign.[16] Her likeness is canvassed in New York City's
Times Square at the
American Eagle Outfitters flagship Store Location and across the continental U.S. in all 900+ stores worldwide. Her original songs for the campaign, "Denim" and "Wassup", are featured on the American Eagle Outfitters website and were circulated to the masses through their social media campaign.[17]
2013–present: "Bad", Dear Sallie Mae, and debut album
Thomas worked on her debut LP Sallie Mae, and was featured on
Wale's single "
Bad".[18] The latter peaked at number 21 on the
Billboard Hot 100, becoming her first Hot 100 and top 40 entry. In June 2013, it was announced she had left Wale's record label The Board Administration to sign with
Rico Love's Division 1 record label in a joint deal with
Interscope Geffen A&M.[19]
Thomas released a five-song
EP titled Dear Sallie Mae on October 8, 2013.[20]