You may recognize the name 6LACK as the artist behind “Prblms“, his most popular track, but what else do you know about this artist?
Ricardo Valdez Valentine, aka 6LACK (pronounced ‘black’) is a 24 year old R&B/Rap artist. Starting the game early, he recorded his first line at the age of 4:“My dad makes music so he was kind of messing around in his studio and he had a line for me to say, and I recorded it and that was at the beginning of one of his songs.”
At the beginning of his career, he signed a record deal with an indie label, but quickly realized that he and those he signed with had completely different visions. While they were concerned with solely pumping out ‘hit’ song after ‘hit’ song, 6LACK wanted depth to his records. Because of this, he did not release music for five years (until his contract ended). That was definitely a hindrance at the time, but once he signed to LoveRenaissance and Interscope, he used his past experiences as inspiration for his album.
“I wanted [the album] to serve as kind of a statement for everything, summarize the last five to six years of my life. I wanted to make a statement that I’m free from my older relationships and I’m free from all ways of thinking and my old feelings.”
Once the album, “Free 6LACK”, was finally released, it peaked at #54 on the Billboard 200 charts and, in 2016, and 6LACK was named as one of the ’10 Artists to Watch’ by Rolling Stone. Take a listen to his album below:
6LACK – Free 6lack
Fun fact: The bear on the album cover is a REAL BEAR!!! His aesthetic and sound is just so unique that we can’t stop listening!
It’s just so good. And that HAIR though!
Catch 6LACK live as he opens for The Weeknd on his Starboy: Legend of the Fall 2017 World Tour!
What are your thoughts about this artist? Let us know in the comments or by tweeting us @umusic!