Colin Patrick Henry Meloy is an American musician, singer-songwriter and author best known as the frontman of the Portland, Oregon, indie folk rock band the Decemberists. In addition to vocals, he performs with an acoustic guitar, 12-string acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bouzouki, harmonica and percussion instruments.
Michael George Dean, professionally known as Mike Dean, is an American record producer, audio engineer, and multi-instrumentalist. He is best known for his synthesizer-heavy instrumentation and audio mixing for high-profile music industry artists. Beginning his career in 1992, he was first credited on releases for Texas-based rappers such as Scarface, Willie D, and Geto Boys, although he has since worked with artists including Kanye West, The Weeknd, Beyoncé, Kid Cudi, Travis Scott, Jay-Z, Drake, Madonna, Selena Gomez, Playboi Carti, and Lana Del Rey, among others. As a non-performing lead artist, Dean has released five solo studio albums: 4:20 (2020), 4:22 (2021), Smoke State 42222 (2022), 4:23 (2023), and 424 (2024).
Die Antwoord is a South African hip hop duo formed in Cape Town in 2008. The duo consists of rappers Ninja and Yolandi Visser. Their music, a fusion of hip hop with rave music, is frequently produced by DJ Hi-Tek, also known as God, and performed in both English and Afrikaans.
Black Hippy was an American hip hop supergroup from South Los Angeles, California, formed in 2008. The group consisted of West Coast rappers Ab-Soul, Jay Rock, Kendrick Lamar and ScHoolboy Q. Black Hippy was constructed after all of its members had signed to Carson-based indie record label, Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE).
Project X is the debut studio album by American rapper Ken Carson. It was released on July 23, 2021, by Opium and Foundation. The album serves as a sequel to Carson's Teen X EP and its Relapsed deluxe edition. In addition, the album and its artwork are named after and pay tribute to the 2012 film Project X. The album was executively produced by producers Star Boy and Outtatown, who produced a majority of the album.
"Backseat Freestyle" is a song by American rapper Kendrick Lamar. It debuted on October 15, 2012 in the United Kingdom as the third single from Lamar's second studio album Good Kid, M.A.A.D City (2012). It was released in the United States with the album's release on October 22, 2012. "Backseat Freestyle" was written by Lamar and Chauncey Hollis and produced by Hollis under his stage name Hit-Boy.
Denzel Rae Don Curry is an American rapper. Born and raised in Miami Gardens, Florida, Curry started rapping while in the sixth grade and began working on his first mixtape, King Remembered Underground Tape 1991–1995, in 2011, which was influenced by underground Florida rapper SpaceGhostPurrp. The mixtape was later featured on SpaceGhostPurrp's social media, giving Curry attention in the local music scene and resulting in him joining the former's hip-hop collective Raider Klan.
Jacques Bermon Webster II, known professionally as Travis Scott, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. Scott has had four number-one hits on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart, along with a total of over one hundred charting songs. In addition to ten Grammy Award nominations, he has won a Latin Grammy Award, Billboard Music Award, MTV Video Music Award, and several BET Hip Hop Awards. Scott's musical style has been described as a "blend between traditional hip-hop and lo-fi" and often characterized as "ambient," with a heavily appraised influence from rappers Kanye West and Kid Cudi. His stage name is derived from the latter's real name, Scott Mescudi, combined with the name of a favorite uncle.
Jordan Terrell Carter, known professionally as Playboi Carti, is an American rapper. An influential figure among his generation, he has contributed to the progression of trap music and its rage subgenre. He first signed with local underground record label Awful Records in 2014, and later signed with ASAP Mob's record label AWGE, in a joint venture with Interscope Records two years later. Carter gained mainstream attention following the release of his eponymous debut mixtape (2017), which peaked at number 12 on the U.S. Billboard 200 and spawned the Billboard Hot 100-charting singles "Magnolia" and "Wokeuplikethis".
100 gecs is an American musical duo formed in 2015 that consists of Dylan Brady and Laura Les. They self-released their debut album, 1000 gecs, in 2019 to positive reviews, followed by a companion remix album, 1000 gecs and the Tree of Clues, in 2020. They released their second studio album, 10,000 gecs, in 2023. Their music has been noted for its often chaotic yet catchy mixture of various styles, and has been described as helping to define the hyperpop genre.
Rough and Rowdy Ways World Wide Tour is a concert tour by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan in support of his 39th studio album Rough and Rowdy Ways (2020). The tour began in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on November 2, 2021. It was originally billed as concluding in 2024 but has been extended through at least spring 2025.
Jane Remover is an American musician. She released her debut studio album, Frailty, in 2021, which was followed by Census Designated in 2023, and Revengeseekerz in 2025. She pioneered the "dariacore" microgenre on SoundCloud with her album of the same name, released under the pseudonym Leroy. She has also released music under the alias Venturing, and her first album under this alias, Ghostholding, is set to release in 2025.
Kenyatta Lee Frazier Jr., known professionally as Ken Carson, is an American rapper and record producer from Atlanta, Georgia. Carson initially gained attention for his SoundCloud releases and collaborations with fellow Atlanta rapper Playboi Carti. In 2019, Carson signed with the latter's record label Opium, an imprint of Interscope Records to release his debut studio album, Project X (2021).
"Too Many Nights" is a song by American record producer Metro Boomin and American rapper Future featuring fellow American rapper Don Toliver, from Metro's second studio album Heroes & Villains (2022). It was written by the artists alongside Honorable C.N.O.T.E. and Allen Ritter, who produced it with Metro.
Opium is an American record label and rap collective founded in 2019 by American rapper Playboi Carti. The label, which is based in Atlanta, Georgia, currently holds three acts all of whom are natives to the city; rappers Ken Carson, Destroy Lonely, and the duo Homixide Gang. The label is also affiliated with a variety of producers including KP Beatz and F1lthy, who all worked extensively on Playboi Carti's second studio album, Whole Lotta Red.
Bobby Wardell Sandimanie III, known professionally as Destroy Lonely, is an American rapper, singer and songwriter. His debut studio album, If Looks Could Kill (2023), peaked at number 18 on the US Billboard 200. Prior, his fifth mixtape, No Stylist (2022) marked his first entry on the chart at number 91.
A Great Chaos is the third studio album by American rapper Ken Carson. It was released through Opium and Interscope Records on October 13, 2023. The album is a follow-up to Carson's second studio album, X (2022); it consists of 18 tracks and features guest appearances from Destroy Lonely and Lil Uzi Vert. The album's production was handled by various producers, including Carson himself, F1lthy, Lil 88, Star Boy, Outtatown and TM88, among others.
"Fighting My Demons" is a song by American rapper Ken Carson. It was released on October 13, 2023, from Carson's third studio album, A Great Chaos. It was collaboratively produced by Bart How, Lvis, Outtatown, Star Boy, and Warren Hunter. Star Boy's producer tag is used near the song's climax.
"Hand Crushed by a Mallet" is a song by American experimental musical duo 100 gecs from their debut studio album 1000 gecs (2019). Its remix, included in the remix album 1000 gecs and the Tree of Clues (2020), features vocals from American singer Patrick Stump of the rock band Fall Out Boy, American musician Craig Owens, and Canadian-American singer Nicole Dollanganger. After the remix album's release on July 10, the remix was released as the album's sixth single on August 20, 2020.
Boy is the third studio album by the American musician 2hollis, self-released on June 7, 2024. It was promoted by two singles and his first headlining tour across Europe. The album gained 2hollis a larger Generation Z fanbase, and allowed him to open for Ken Carson from July to August 2024. 2hollis wrote and produced the entirety of the album and chose the title because of its coming of age feeling. Boy is an electronic dance music, electropop, and electroclash album with unpredictable sounds and mutating compositions. It received a positive review from Pitchfork and gained further approval from Consequence.
