Biography
Initially recognized under the name Spooky Black before adopting his given name, Corbin Smidzik cultivated an intense cult audience through his stark, somber strain of lo-fi R&B and hip-hop. The withdrawn musician consistently declined interviews, allowing only his tracks and videos to communicate. After issuing multiple EPs and mixtapes, he unveiled Mourn, his first full-length release under the Corbin moniker, in 2017.
Although born in Baltimore, Maryland, he established his base in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and entered the scene in 2013 at age 15 via the EP Forest. Every song on that project featured his rapping, framing a horror-inflected approach to hip-hop distinct from his subsequent output. Early the next year came Black Silk, which signaled his pivot to R&B and introduced his fluid crooning style. The unpolished yet charming clip for “Without You” spread rapidly online, prompting multiple outlets to rank the track among the year’s strongest. Leaving followed later in 2014 and drew comparisons to Yung Lean and King Krule. Around the same period, Smidzik joined Allan Kingdom, Psymun, and Bobby Raps to form the hip-hop/R&B collective the Stand4rd; their self-titled album arrived in November, after which the group completed a sold-out headlining trek across the United States.
By year’s end, Smidzik had abandoned his prior alias and performed simply as Corbin. He and Bobby Raps issued the Couch Potato EP in 2015, yet Corbin remained largely inactive for the following two years. After unexpectedly dropping the track “Destrooy” in early 2017, he released the album Mourn later that year. Far more cathartic than most of his prior material, with Corbin nearly shouting across several cuts, the set was produced by D33J and Shlohmo and appeared on their WeDidIt imprint. The three artists subsequently toured North America as a unit.
Although born in Baltimore, Maryland, he established his base in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and entered the scene in 2013 at age 15 via the EP Forest. Every song on that project featured his rapping, framing a horror-inflected approach to hip-hop distinct from his subsequent output. Early the next year came Black Silk, which signaled his pivot to R&B and introduced his fluid crooning style. The unpolished yet charming clip for “Without You” spread rapidly online, prompting multiple outlets to rank the track among the year’s strongest. Leaving followed later in 2014 and drew comparisons to Yung Lean and King Krule. Around the same period, Smidzik joined Allan Kingdom, Psymun, and Bobby Raps to form the hip-hop/R&B collective the Stand4rd; their self-titled album arrived in November, after which the group completed a sold-out headlining trek across the United States.
By year’s end, Smidzik had abandoned his prior alias and performed simply as Corbin. He and Bobby Raps issued the Couch Potato EP in 2015, yet Corbin remained largely inactive for the following two years. After unexpectedly dropping the track “Destrooy” in early 2017, he released the album Mourn later that year. Far more cathartic than most of his prior material, with Corbin nearly shouting across several cuts, the set was produced by D33J and Shlohmo and appeared on their WeDidIt imprint. The three artists subsequently toured North America as a unit.
Singles
