Happy Birthday, Bobby Shmurda!

Today (Aug. 4) is the birthday of a Brooklynite who's supposed to be a star right now. We're talking about Bobby Shmurda, who's still locked up in New York City's Rikers Island as he turns the legal age of 21.

Shmurda, born Ackquille Jean Pollard, came up in the rough side of East Flatbush, Brooklyn and frequently visited his family in the south. Although he's been rapping since prepubescence (he told Complex the first song he remixed was 2004's "Knuck If You Buck"), Shmurda finally caught on fire in 2014.

"Hot N----" was out in March, but picked up steam during the summer thanks to an endlessly remixed Vine of the video's Shmurda dance and the missing cap. The one-liners -- "I been sellin' crack since like the fifth grade," "Mitch caught a body about a week ago" -- made the song stick. "Hot N---" made it to No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100, and Bobby Shmurda and GS9 -- a crew from Shmurda's neighborhood --had made it out of their bleak surroundings.

That was supposed to be just the start. Sha Money XL signed Shmurda to Epic Records, where the young star released his first studio project, Shmurda She Wrote EP.

And that was it. Sha Money XL and Epic got flack when a video of Shurmda dancing on a table in front of a predominantly white crowd hit the web, bringing up comparisons to minstrelsy. Then Dec. 17, 2014, happened. Shurmda and members of GS9 were arrested at a midtown studio in a gang bust.

Shmurda is facing multiple years in prison from charges ranging from conspiracy to commit murder and weapons possession. He's set to go to trial on Oct. 5.

Watch Bobby Shmurda's "Hot N----" Video

See 50 Inspirational Quotes From Your Favorite Rappers