Avery Marcel Joshua Jones (born October 16, 1992), known by his stage name KOTA The Friend is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer, born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. He got his stage name from the Disney movie Brother Bear and is actually a Native American word “Koda” meaning friend. Kota most recently released his No Rap on Sunday album, which include singles featuring Big Sean and Fivio Foreign. Besides his No Rap on Sunday release, Kota has released a number of albums and EPs. In 2024 he released Once in a Blue Moon, an album collaboration with Statik Selektah, and in the same year he released Lyrics to Go 5, the 5h installment of his popular Lyrics to Go series. Kota is a trained musician as well. He started playing the trumpet in the 4th grade, in a Brooklyn public school. He was able to get accepted into music programs in middle school, high school, and college, as a trumpet player. After Kota left college he started his music career, as a writer and performer.
