Wes Period

Wes Period, the Los Angeles rapper whose luminous yet somewhat blurred lyrical style adapts to multiple production palettes, first emerged in 2011 and already commanded a substantial catalog when Grammy-nominated songwriter Justin Tranter helped him secure a major-label agreement. He has kept refining his idiosyncratic yet pop-leaning sound, notably on the 2018 album Pretty Words and through the equally distinctive 2019 singles “My Benz” and “Beautifully Broken.”

Born Wesley Austin Smith and raised in La Habra, California, Period established deeper ties to L.A. once he began focusing seriously on music in the early 2010s. He shaped his approach through initial projects such as the 2011 Friendly Fire EP and its accompanying singles, which frequently evoked partying and the perpetual sunshine of California living. The year 2015 brought both the Photosynthesis EP and the single “Champaign Champion,” after which rapper Vic Mensa selected him to open several concerts. In 2016, Period joined Ye Ali and singer Tommy Genesis in the side project baby.daddi, issuing a four-song EP that summer. Bolstered by fresh visibility, he finished his long-developed debut LP, Late Bloomer, which arrived in 2017. He subsequently joined Facet, the Interscope-affiliated imprint co-founded by Justin Tranter, co-writer of hits for the likes of Fall Out Boy, Selena Gomez, and Julia Michaels. Period’s major-label bow came with Pretty Words in 2018, followed in 2019 by further Hank Solo collaborations on “My Benz” and “Beautifully Broken.”