R&B singer August Alsina spent the first several years of his life in New Orleans, Louisiana but his mother moved his family to Houston, Texas to gain distance from the troubled lives led by his crack-addicted father and stepfather. In 2007, as a young teenager, Alsina uploaded covers of songs by Musiq Soulchild and Lyfe Jennings, which racked up thousands of views on YouTube. His home situation deteriorated, and he moved back to New Orleans, where he turned to dealing drugs. The shooting death of his brother was a wake-up call; motivated to develop his talent as a singer, he ...