Carlos Jacob Henriquez (born January 1, 2008), known under the stage name Lil 86 (briefly 8 and formerly Lil 43) is an upcoming American rapper and record producer. He began producing in 2020 and released a bunch of instrumental material until October 2023 with the project So I Bleed…. In the months leading up to this final instrumental release, 8 had been practicing rapping, singing and songwriting, deciding over the summer of 2023 he’d become a full-time recording artist starting in 2024.

8 began releasing music on his 16th birthday, January 1, 2024, with his debut single Enter Lil 86, and his debut extended play, 8 6 8 6, released on January 19, 2024. His debut studio album, Hellfire Ln was released on March 29, 2024, with a melancholic sound and guest appearances such as Armani in Rome, his cousin Zayy706, and Shirinai, among others.

8 made multiple collaborative projects in 2024, such as an extended play with Florida-based rapper Kid Duval, titled IRRELEVANŦ°, released May 3, 2024, an extended play with Florida-based singer Dee Delgado, titled the royal garden, released April 5, 2024, an EP with him adding vocals to select instrumentals released under Lil 43, and an album with ATN Nay titled PHINNY & FERB, released on June 21, 2024. 8 and rapper Tatyanna D. teased the release of a collaborative project titled B.O.M.B.$. from early 2023 into early 2024, but the project soon stopped being promoted, ultimately ending up scrapped.

8’s second studio album, luv u to the moon, was released on February 14, 2025. It explored various different genres and themes, sounding almost the opposite of his March 2024 effort. Instead of another project about feeling trapped, 8 delivers a happier, more upbeat love album toward his at-the-time girlfriend Livvy H who 8 met and started dating in the fall of 2024 and got engaged to in the spring of 2025. His feelings and therefore sound changed drastically throughout extended plays released across 2024, leading up to this stacked 27 track project. Three more tracks and a remix were added to the album on March 7, 2025.

In the spring of 2025, fellow artist kenny bauer cut ties with rapper DYSTOPIAN., leading to the latter releasing diss tracks against the former for attention. Kenny never responded or entertained his tracks, so DYSTOPIAN., with nothing better to do, began dissing 8. With five responses, 8 exposed harsh truths about DYSTOPIAN., such as his lying about his life, and it being the reason Kenny cut him off in the first place. 8 did this for his own entertainment, while DYSTOPIAN. took the beef seriously, sounding angrier in his tracks. DYSTOPIAN. didn’t have anything true or of substance to say against 8, resulting in him having to make up rumors and simultaneously diss Kenny in every track. The feud had lasted for about 2 weeks in May 2025, ending with 8’s COURTJESTER, although months later, DYSTOPIAN. tried to re-spark the beef with another track by dropping another false allegation against 8, which led 8 to drop 2 Nights In DYSTOPIA., where he mocks DYSTOPIAN.’s work while exposing his use of racial slurs, his sexual assault threats towards 8’s toddler sister, and his alleged work alongside the controversial singer d4vd, who in 2025 faced allegations of murdering a missing 15 year old girl. In January 2026, DYSTOPIAN. removed all of his diss tracks from streaming services.

8 began a season-based mixtape series with a summer of loves <3 on June 27, 2025. He then collaborated with kenny bauer on the concept album POPSTAR: The Misadventures of Racks & Raw Blacks for a September 19, 2025 release. 8 continued his mixtape series with falling thru the storm <3 on October 17, 2025. He and DreXXXII went on to release a Halloween-themed double single SPOOKY SZN on October 31. 8 concluded 2025 by surprise releasing the third installment of his mixtape series, a colder christmas carol <3 on December 25. He would then go on to perform for the first time at Nostalgia LI on March 13, 2026 with DreXXXII and kenny bauer and conclude the series with loves bloom <3 on April 20, 2026. It not only serves as the series' spring-themed installment but also as a goodbye to Livvy, who he decided to part ways from the week before the mixtape’s release due to personal reasons between the two.

8 has been teasing the release of his third studio album If It Hasn’t Gotten Better, It’s Not Over since before his first two albums (or any of his work for that matter) came out. In 2024, 8 began further preceding for the album by releasing EPs, or “phases”. The first EP, Phase I: Return to Hellfire Ln, was released on December 13, 2024. This revisited his melancholic style from his debut album, as a way of 8 assessing what he was dealing with at the time. The second EP, Phase II: Numb It With Thrills!, was released on May 16, 2025. Full of upbeat tracks, the title of this one speaks for itself. 8 has confirmed that there would be three of these EPs before the release of the album. The third EP, Phase III: You Have The Strength., which represents one coming to the realization that they can overcome any struggle and be whoever they choose, was released on January 30, 2026, supported by the single Pain (Reprise). With the announcement of the third phase, 8 confirmed that If It Hasn’t Gotten Better, It’s Not Over would also release in 2026.