Prior to stepping forward as a solo act through a run of early-2010s mixtapes, Los Angeles-born rapper, singer, producer, and songwriter Luke Christopher supplied behind-the-scenes contributions for Usher and John Legend. His first proper album, the sleekly pop-oriented hip-hop statement TMRWFRVR, appeared in 2017.
Raised in Los Angeles, Christopher began writing and producing material while still a teenager. He first surfaced in 2012 via the mixtapes Building Skies and TMRW, TMRW, the latter of which yielded the breakout track “Life Jackets,” propelled by its deft interpolation of Scala & Kolacny Brothers’ cover of Radiohead’s “Creep.” In 2013 he joined the ByStorm/RCA roster ahead of issuing the self-released EP The Wonder Years, Pt. 1. The follow-up mixtape TMRW, TMRW, Pt. 2 arrived in 2014 and featured beats from Foster the People, Wave Racer, Shlohmo, and Asher Roth.
Christopher returned in 2015 with the paired EPs YSTRDY and TMRW. The 2016 single “Lot to Learn” reached the Top 30 on the Australian, Belgian, Norwegian, and Swedish charts and maintained momentum into 2017 via a Tungevaag & Raaban remix. Several further singles paved the way for the official debut TMRWFRVR, which showcased his gift for concise pop melodies alongside soulful singing and agile rapping. Additional tracks, among them “HEART$” and the Siena Steiber collaboration “In the Night,” surfaced the following year.
