Pouya

Pouya first gained traction through the standout cut "Get Buck" from the Baby Bone EP, a fiercely aggressive number devoid of any chorus. Its 2013 full-length parent project took its name from the rapper’s own moniker along with his longstanding admiration for Bone Thugs-N-Harmony. Traces of that group’s melodic style recur across his body of work, yet the Miami native distinguishes himself through introspective, inventive writing and a fluid ability to adjust to his producers’ shifting sounds. Between 2016 and 2018, Underground Underdog, Drop Out of School (with Fat Nick), and Five Five all registered on Billboard rankings, a stretch that also included the Ghostemane-assisted single "1000 Rounds." By the time that track earned gold status in 2021, further independent releases such as The South Got Something to Say and Blood Was Never Thick as Water had joined his catalog.

Born and raised in Miami, Kevin Pouya began committing tracks to tape during his late teenage years and formed the Buffet Boys duo alongside childhood friend Fat Nick. His initial pair of mixtapes surfaced in 2012. The Baby Bone EP followed the subsequent year, and "Get Buck" dramatically enlarged his following. He answered with the Gookin’ EP, a joint effort alongside Sir Michael Rocks of the Cool Kids. After issuing several more EPs and tapes, among them the $uicideboy$ collaboration $outh $ide $uicide, Pouya entered a commercially stronger phase. Underground Underdog arrived in 2016 as the first of three projects to appear on Billboard’s Independent Albums chart while also reaching the Billboard 200. Drop Out of School and Five Five landed on the independent tally in the following two years, and the non-album Ghostemane duet "1000 Rounds" emerged as a major career peak during the same period.

Holding fast to his independent status and local allegiance, Pouya delivered The South Got Something to Say in 2019 as his third proper album, featuring the hard-hitting Juicy J collaboration "Six Speed" along with guest spots from Ghostemane and Rocci. A follow-up to Drop Out of School appeared among his 2020 releases. The next year saw the arrival of Blood Was Never Thick as Water, his fourth album, which offset atmospheric selections such as "Walk In" and "Leave Me Alone" with heavier cuts like the Denzel Curry-featured "Wig Split." That October, the four-year-old track "1000 Rounds" received gold certification.