HappyBirthdayCalvin

Emerging from Chicago’s underground as an introspective rapper and producer, HappyBirthdayCalvin issued a pair of notable 2019 recordings—“No Friends” and “Kari’s Song (Long Way from Home)”—the latter of which reached a wider audience after its placement in the film Beats.

Born Calvin Holmes, the artist began crafting rhymes in childhood and, during his early teens, shifted into production using a digital audio workstation. While enrolled at the Chicago High School for the Arts, his SoundCloud tracks drew the interest of William “Lpeezy” Jones, owner of a local facility that operated the At the Studio label. A subsequent arrangement with L.A. Reid’s Hitco Entertainment brought a signing to ATS, resulting in Calvin’s first official releases in 2019. These comprised the three-track No Friends EP, a G Herbo-assisted remix of the title song, the reflective “Kari’s Song (Long Way from Home),” and “Alone.” Produced by Rex Rideout and Timothy Bullock for the soundtrack of the Chicago-set drama Beats, “Kari’s Song” quickly enlarged the artist’s following.