Growing up in St. Louis, Missouri, Leland Tyler Wayne, who the world would soon know as Metro Boomin, originally dreamed of being a rapper. His inspiration? Hometown hero Nelly, whose Country Grammar was the first explicit CD he ever bought.
When Metro couldn't afford to buy beats for his own rhymes, he decided to make them himself and quickly realized he was much better behind the boards than behind the mic. Producing not only gave him creative control, it also sounded (as he later joked) "like a more legitimate profession" to his mom.
His mother, Leslie Wayne, played a pivotal role in shaping his early career. When Metro was just 13, she bought him his first laptop, on which he downloaded FL Studio, the music software that would become his lifelong tool of choice. She then spent countless weekends driving him nearly 17 hours round trip from St. Louis to Atlanta, waiting patiently in the car while her teenage son made beats for the likes of OJ da Juiceman and Tay Don. She always made sure he was back in class Monday morning.
In 2022, tragedy struck when his mom Leslie was killed, reportedly by Metro's stepfather in Atlanta before he took his own life. This had a huge impact on Metro and led to more introspective music.
The name Metro Boomin is a tribute to both his St. Louis roots and his early collaborators. "Metro" came from the city's public bus system, while "Boomin" was bestowed upon him by OJ da Juiceman, who constantly shouted that Metro's beats were "booming!" during their sessions.
Metro sold his first beats for $100- $200, which felt like a small fortune at the time. Sometimes he'd even give the beats away for free. "Man, I just wanted to hear people rap on this s--t,"
he told The Fader "That's all I wanted."
In 2012 he moved to Atlanta to attend Morehouse College, but after one semester he dropped out to chase music full time. The gamble paid off.
His first big break came in 2013, producing Future's single "
Karate Chop" (featuring Lil Wayne). But 2016 was the year Metro Boomin became a household name, delivering an avalanche of hits, including "
Jumpman" (Drake & Future), "
Bad and Boujee" (Migos), and "
Low Life" (Future & The Weeknd). That same year, he co-produced for Kanye West on
The Life of Pablo and released
Savage Mode with 21 Savage, helping define the menacing, cinematic sound of modern trap.
Metro's iconic tag, "If Young Metro don't trust you, I'm gon' shoot you," became a pop culture catchphrase after Kanye West insisted it be included on "
Father Stretch My Hands Pt. 1."
"I didn't even put that tag on that beat,"
Metro told Billboard. "It's Kanye's s--t. He asked for it right before the Madison Square Garden premiere and just threw it in there real quick."
In 2017 Metro launched his own label, Boominati Worldwide, in partnership with Republic Records.
His 2018 debut studio album, Not All Heroes Wear Capes, reflects a recurring theme in his work: the idea of duality and hidden heroism. Metro explained that the "hero" concept came from family tradition: He, his mom, and his four younger siblings never missed a Marvel movie growing up.
Metro often references superheroes in his music and visuals, but Batman is the one that stuck. The producer relates to Bruce Wayne's contrast: quiet and meticulous in private, commanding and theatrical in public. His Heroes & Villains visuals and live shows leaned into this comic-book world, complete with gothic cathedrals, capes, and flames.
Musically, Metro's specialty lies in trap, but he pushed the genre into new emotional territory. His beats fuse heavy bass, rattling percussion, and moody minor chords with lush strings and haunting melodies. He turned the flute loop in Future's "
Mask Off" (sampled from a 1976 jazz-funk record) into one of hip-hop's most recognizable motifs and transformed The Weeknd's "
Creepin'" into something that felt half club track, half film noir confession.
