6LACK

Atlanta-based contemporary R&B artist 6LACK, whose name is pronounced "black," centers his work on hazy slow jams that pair with candid lyrics rooted in lived experience. Displaying steady resolve, the singer, rapper, and songwriter spent years grinding before securing a promising arrangement with LVRN (Love Renaissance), where he played a key role in elevating the Interscope-affiliated imprint's profile. The Atlanta native broke through in 2016 via the single "PRBLMS" and the follow-up album FREE 6LACK, both Grammy-nominated entries that established him as a regular presence on Billboard's R&B/hip-hop and pop charts in lead and supporting roles alike. His second full-length, East Atlanta Love Letter, came within a hair of topping the Billboard 200 upon its 2018 arrival and yielded four gold or platinum singles. The 2023 release Since I Have a Lover wove in varied stylistic turns alongside both cocky and emotionally exposed ballads, while the 2024 EP No More Lonely Nights offered acoustic renditions of material from that prior project.

Ricardo Valdez Valentine, Jr. entered the world and grew up in Baltimore before relocating to Atlanta alongside his family. Though naturally reserved, he earned notice as a battle rapper during middle school and kept competing through his teenage years and into his time at Valdosta State University, where he once squared off against future studio partner Young Thug in 2010. Adopting the moniker 6LACK out of fascination with numerology—the handle also nods to his East Atlanta base, known as Zone 6—he attracted modest label attention and inked a deal with Flo Rida's International Music Group/Strong Arm imprint in 2011. That arrangement produced scant forward motion across multiple years, a stretch punctuated by his involvement with the Spillage Village collective, before 6LACK opted to go independent. He soon aligned with the Interscope-distributed Love Renaissance and achieved his 2016 breakthrough with "PRBLMS." A trap-inflected slow jam born from a troubled relationship, the track climbed to number 72 on the Billboard Hot 100 and lifted the parent album FREE 6LACK to number 11 on the R&B/hip-hop chart. Both the single and the LP earned Grammy nods—the former for Best Rap/Sung Performance and the latter for Best Urban Contemporary Album—and achieved platinum status.

The gold-certified Jhené Aiko collaboration "First Fuck" stood out among a run of non-album singles 6LACK issued throughout 2017 and into early 2018. He also joined Khalid and Ty Dolla $ign to co-headline "OTW," a platinum-certified cut that peaked at number 57 on the Hot 100. Buzz around his second album mounted steadily, culminating in East Atlanta Love Letter's September 2018 release, which debuted at number three on the Billboard 200 and featured a tracklist ultimately boasting four gold or platinum singles: "Switch," "Nonchalant," "Pretty Little Fears" (with J. Cole), and "Seasons" (with Khalid). By year's end, 6LACK had headlined multiple tours and broadened his reach by opening for the Weeknd and Chris Brown. "Pretty Little Fears" secured him a second Grammy nomination—his third overall—for Best Rap/Sung Performance. Throughout the album's promotional cycle, he added another platinum single to his credits with Jessie Reyez's "Imported." While his featured-artist credits kept expanding between albums, 6LACK satisfied supporters with the 6pc Hot EP, led by the assertive Lil Baby collaboration "Know My Rights." Among numerous later 6LACK-assisted tracks, Lil Durk's "Stay Down" and Lil Tjay's "Calling My Phone" performed strongest; the latter topped the R&B/hip-hop chart and reached number three on the Hot 100, marking 6LACK's highest pop placement at the time.

He first teased his third album in March 2023 with the atmospheric, strum-driven "Since I Have a Lover," a sonic shift shaped by producers Fwdslxsh, Sounwave, and Dylan Wiggins (aka Sir Dylan). Several more familiar ballads followed ahead of Since I Have a Lover's month-end arrival, after which the LP bowed at number 24 on the Billboard 200. He next issued "Homicide" alongside Reyez. No More Lonely Nights, an EP that pairs acoustic takes on singles from Since I Have a Lover with their original versions, surfaced in 2024.