Saaheem Valdery, better known by his stage name, SahBabii, was born in Chicago, Illinois and raised in the city's south side in the Wentworth Gardens projects.His aunt, TeeBaby, gave him the moniker "SahBabii" at a young age. He moved to Atlanta's Ninth Ward in 2010 at age 13 to be closer to his father and his older brother and fellow rapper, T3.
Valdery began recording music under the name SahBabii shortly after arriving in Atlanta. His older brother, T3, helped produce songs, and SahBabii released two early mixtapes: Pimpin Ain't Eazy (2012) and Glocks & Thots (2013). After a nearly three-year hiatus, SahBabii released a follow-up mixtape, S.A.N.D.A.S., in 2016. S.A.N.D.A.S. was recorded on the music software program, Cubase, using a broken microphone in T3's bedroom. The mixtape featured the single, "Pull Up Wit Ah Stick" featuring Loso Loaded, which went viral on Instagram after SahBabii posted a 15-second clip of the song before its release.
Soon after, the song made headlines and garnered millions of listens on SoundCloud. The music video for the song was released in February 2017 and earned 12 million views by May of that year. In March 2017, SahBabii signed a record deal with Warner Bros. Records. His family also founded the production company, Casting Bait Music Group, and SahBabii's father, Delval, became his manager.
"Pull Up Wit Ah Stick" was later remixed by T-Pain, Fetty Wap, and Wiz Khalifa. Drake also expressed interest in adding a verse of his own to the official remix of the song. SahBabii was flown to London by Young Thug where he met Drake. In May 2017, it was announced that SahBabii would be remastering and re-releasing S.A.N.D.A.S. with new tracks on the Warner Bros. label. It was also announced that producer Mona Scott-Young was interested in shooting a reality television show centered on SahBabii and his family. His incredible new mixtape Squidtastic is out now.