6LACK

Dazed slow jams are the primary mode of Atlanta-based contemporary R&B/rap artist Ricardo Valentine, a singer-slash-MC who goes by the name 6LACK ("black"). Prior to connecting with LVRN (Love Renaissance), the creative agency that has supported fellow Georgia native Raury, Valentine was signed to a label that he felt restricted his creativity. After a few years of being held back, he made significant gains — across 2015 and 2016 — with contributions to the Spillage Village compilation Bears Like This Too, as well as singles such as "Bless Me" and "Loyal." Once 6LACK was linked with Interscope, "Prblms" was officially released in September 2016 as his first major-label-affiliated track. The following month, it entered Billboard's Twitter Emerging Artists chart at number five. That single set up the release of FREE 6LACK, his debut album, which arrived in November of that year. The effort peaked in the Billboard Top 40 and climbed to number five on the rap chart.

The following year, 6LACK issued a series of singles, including "That Far," "Grab the Wheel" with Timbaland, and "First Fuck" with Jhene Aiko. Two singles followed in 2018, "Cutting Ties" and "Pretty Little Fears" featuring J. Cole. "Pretty Little Fears" appeared on 6LACK's second studio album, East Atlanta Love Letter, which was released in September 2018. In addition to Cole, the record featured cameos from Offset, Future, and Khalid and debuted at number three on the Billboard charts. Over the next few years, 6LACK stuck mainly to adding features to other artists' tracks, but he returned in May 2020 with a new song of his own, "ATL Freestyle." ~ Andy Kellman