Ricardo Valdez Valentine Jr. (born June 24, 1992), known professionally as 6lack (stylized as 6LACK, pronounced "black"), is an American R&B singer and songwriter. Born in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the List of United States ...

and raised in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, he gained recognition following the release of his 2016 single " Prblms", which marked his first entry on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. He signed with Love Renaissance, an imprint of Interscope Records to release his debut studio album, ''

Free 6lack ''Free 6lack'' is the debut studio album by American singer 6lack. It was released on November 18, 2016, by LVRN and Interscope Records. The album was supported by two singles: " Ex Calling" and " Prblms". It was nominated at the 60th Annual G ...

'' (2016), which was nominated for Best Urban Contemporary Album at the

60th Annual Grammy Awards The 60th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held on January 28, 2018. The CBS network broadcast the show live from Madison Square Garden in New York City. The show was moved to January to avoid coinciding with the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongch ...

and received

platinum Platinum is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a density, dense, malleable, ductility, ductile, highly unreactive, precious metal, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name origina ...

certification by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

(RIAA). Two years later, he released his second studio album '' East Atlanta Love Letter'' (2018), which peaked at number three on the ''Billboard'' 200. That same year, he released the single " OTW" (with Khalid and

Ty Dolla Sign Tyrone William Griffin Jr. (born April 13, 1982), known professionally as Ty Dolla Sign (stylized as Ty Dolla $ign or Ty$), is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, and record producer. Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, Griffin gai ...

) and guest featured on Normani's single "

Waves United States Naval Reserve (Women's Reserve), better known as the WAVES (for Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service), was the women's branch of the United States Naval Reserve during World War II. It was established on July 21, 1942, ...

"—which earned an

MTV Video Music Award The MTV Video Music Awards (commonly abbreviated as the VMAs) is an award show presented by the cable channel MTV to honor the best in the music video medium. Originally conceived as an alternative to the Grammy Awards (in the video category) ...

. In June 2020, he released his debut extended play (EP) '' 6pc Hot'', which included the single " Know My Rights" (featuring

Lil Baby Dominique Armani Jones (born December 3, 1994), known professionally as Lil Baby, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He rose to prominence following the release of his 2017 mixtapes ''Harder than Hard'' and ''Too Hard'' — the for ...

). Later that year, he guest performed alongside

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. His music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting impact on the music industry, and his songwriting partnership with l ...

Gorillaz Gorillaz are an English virtual band created by musician Damon Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett in London, England in 1998. The band primarily consists of four fictional members: (vocals, keyboards), Murdoc Niccals (bass guitar), Noodle (gui ...

's single " The Pink Phantom". His 2021 single, " Calling My Phone" (featuring

Lil Tjay Tione Jayden Merritt (International Phonetic Alphabet, IPA: ) (born April 30, 2001), known professionally as Lil Tjay ( ), is an American rapper and singer-songwriter. He rose to prominence with his 2017 single "Resume", and signed with Columbi ...

) peaked at number three on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and peaked atop the

Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music industry record chart in Canada for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine. It was launched on the issue dated March 31, 2007 as the standard record chart in Canada; a new chart ...

; it remains his highest-charting song on the former chart. His third album, ''

Since I Have a Lover ''Since I Have a Lover'' is the third studio album by American singer 6lack. It was released on March 24, 2023, through LVRN and Interscope Records. The album received a nomination for Best Progressive R&B Album at the 66th Annual Grammy Awa ...

'' (2023) was met with moderate critical and commercial reception. 6lack joined the Atlanta-Baltimore musical collective

Spillage Village Spillage Village is an American musical collective from Atlanta, Georgia. The group is composed of rappers, singers and producers, and was founded by the members of EarthGang. Spillage Village was primarily made up of five initial members wit ...

—founded by

EarthGang EarthGang (stylized EARTHGANG) is an American hip hop duo from Atlanta, Georgia, composed of Olu (aka Johnny Venus; born Olu Onyemachi Dakarai Fann) and WowGr8 (aka Doctur Dot; born Eian Parker). They are co-founders of the musical collective S ...

and

JID Destin Choice Route (born October 31, 1990), better known by his stage name JID (also stylized J.I.D), is an American rapper, singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Atlanta, he signed with J. Cole's Dreamville Records, an imprint of Interscop ...

—in 2014. He has received three

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

nominations.

Early life

Ricardo Valdez Valentine Jr. was born on June 24, 1992, in

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

, and moved to

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

, with his parents in 1997. He attended Stone Mountain High School and Newton High School. He is the eldest of three siblings. Valentine's first

recording A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, re ...

experience was at 4 years of age, at his father's studio. He began rapping in middle school as a

battle rap Battle rap (also known as rap battling)Edwards, Paul, 2009, p. 25. is a type of rapping performed between two or more performers that incorporates boasts, insults, wordplay and Diss (music), disses originating in the African Americans, African-Amer ...

per and was involved in many freestyle battles in his youth including against rapper

Young Thug Jeffery Lamar Williams II (born August 16, 1991), known professionally as Young Thug, is an American rapper. Known for his eccentric vocal style and fashion, he is considered an influential figure in modern hip hop music, hip hop and trap music ...

Career

2011–2017: Beginnings and ''Free 6lack''

6lack signed a record deal with

Flo Rida Tramar Lacel Dillard (born September 16, 1979), known professionally as Flo Rida ( ), is an American rapper and singer. His 2007 debut and breakout single "Low (Flo Rida song), Low" was number one for 10 weeks in the United States and broke the ...

's International Music Group and Strong Arm Records in July 2011. He left

Valdosta State University Valdosta State University (VSU or Valdosta State) is a public university in Valdosta, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1906, it launched in 1913 as an all-girls college. VSU is one of the four comprehensive universities in the University System ...

once he signed, and spent the next few years learning about the industry. 6lack spent five years with the label, putting music out on his

SoundCloud SoundCloud is a German audio streaming service owned and operated by SoundCloud Global Limited & Co. KG. The service enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is ...

account. 6lack had little financial security and spent most of his time sleeping in the studio or outside on the street after moving to

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

to work on music with the record label. 6lack eventually left his label due to issues over artistic and creative license and management. In 2015, 6lack announced that he had joined the musical collective

after living with the members of

, and appeared on four tracks of Spillage Village EP called ''Bears Like This Too'' in 2015. Once he left the label, he signed with Love Renaissance and

Interscope Records Interscope Records is an American record label based in Santa Monica, California, owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture ...

. In November 2016, ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' included 6lack in their list of "10 New Artists You Need to Know". He then went on to release his debut studio album, ''

'', which peaked at number 34 on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart. The album's single " Prblms" peaked at number 73 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart and became his first platinum record. In April 2017, he joined Canadian singer

The Weeknd Abel Makkonen Tesfaye (; born February 16, 1990), known professionally as the Weeknd, is a Canadian singer-songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is best known for adding Pop music, pop, electronic music, electronic and hip-hop stylings ...

as opening act for his Legend of the Fall tour in North America.

2018–present: ''East Atlanta Love Letter'', ''6pc Hot, and Since I Have a Lover''

In April 2018, he released the single " OTW" with Khalid and

, which has reached at number 57 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. "OTW" became 6lack's highest peaking song on the Hot 100. The first single for his sophomore album, "Switch", was released on June 22, 2018, with a music video released on July 16. "Nonchalant" was released as the album's second single on August 17, with its accompanying music video. On September 14, 2018, 6lack released his second studio album, '' East Atlanta Love Letter'', featuring

guest appearance The term guest appearance generally denotes the appearance of a guest in an artistic or pop-culture setting. The guests themselves (referred to as guest artists, featured artists, guest stars, or guest fighters, depending on context), are disting ...

s from

Future The future is the time after the past and present. Its arrival is considered inevitable due to the existence of time and the laws of physics. Due to the apparent nature of reality and the unavoidability of the future, everything that currently ex ...

, J. Cole, Offset, and Khalid. The album's release was preceded by the singles "Switch" and "Nonchalant." In October 2018, 6lack started a tour for the promotion of the album, with opening acts

THEY. They (stylised THEY.) is an American Contemporary R&B, R&B duo from Los Angeles, California, consisting of Dante Jones and Andrew "Drew Love" Neely. The duo started their career in 2015, releasing the debut extended play ''Nü Religion'', which ...

Tierra Whack Tierra Helena Whack (born August 11, 1995) is an American rapper and singer. She originally performed as "Dizzle Dizz" as a teenager but reverted to her birth name in 2017. Her debut mixtape, '' Whack World'', was released in May 2018 and recei ...

Boogie Boogie is a repetition (music), repetitive, swung note, swung note or shuffle rhythm,Burrows, Terry (1995). ''Play Country Guitar'', p.42. Dorling Kindersley Limited, London. . groove (music), "groove" or pattern used in blues which was origina ...

, Deante' Hitchcock, Summer Walker, and

Ari Lennox Courtney Shanade Salter (born March 26, 1991), known professionally as Ari Lennox, is an American R&B singer-songwriter from Washington, D.C. She signed with J. Cole's Dreamville Records, an imprint of Interscope Records as the former label's ...

. 6lack later featured on several other songs, such as "

" by Normani. and "Crowded Room" by

Selena Gomez Selena Marie Gomez ( ; born July 22, 1992) is an American actress, singer, songwriter, producer, and businesswoman. Gomez began her career as a child actress, appearing on the children's television series ''Barney & Friends'' (2002–2004), a ...

, in 2019 and early 2020, respectively. In May 2020, 6lack released the track "ATL Freestyle". A few weeks later, on June 24, 2020, 6lack celebrated his birthday with the release of the single "Float". He also announced his EP '' 6pc Hot'', which was released on June 26 and included the

-assisted single, " Know My Rights". He also launched his own hot sauce brand 600 Degrees Original. 6lack appeared on two tracks from

's '' Spilligion'' album, released in September 2020. During 2020, he collaborated with British virtual band

and singer-songwriter

on the track " The Pink Phantom", for the band's seventh studio album, '' Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez'', and with rappers

Lil Durk Durk Derrick Banks (born October 19, 1992), known professionally as Lil Durk, is an American rapper. Regarded as a pioneering artist in the Chicago-based hip-hop subgenre drill music, he is often considered the subgenre's most commercially suc ...

and Young Thug for the song " Stay Down" from the former's sixth studio album, '' The Voice''. The song peaked at number 74 on the Billboard Hot 100. In 2021, he released " Calling My Phone" with Bronx rapper

. In 2022, he was featured on Canadian singer-songwriter

Jessie Reyez Jessica Reyez (born June 12, 1991) is a Canadian singer-songwriter. Her 2016 single, "Figures", peaked at number 58 on the Canadian Hot 100 and received triple platinum certification by Music Canada (MC) and platinum by the Recording Industry A ...

's album Yessie, in her song "Forever", and its accompanying music video. On March 24, 2023, 6lack released his album ''

''. The 19-track album featured the artists QUIN, Wale, and

Don Toliver Caleb Zackery "Don" Toliver ( ; born June 12, 1994) is an American rapper and singer. He emerged to fame in 2018 with the release of his debut mixtape, ''Donny Womack'', and his feature on the song "Can't Say" by fellow Houston rapper Travis Sco ...

. The album was nominated for best progressive R&B album at the

Grammys The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

. In an interview with

Complex Complex commonly refers to: * Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe ** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...

, 6lack stated that the title responds to questions such as "Where have you been? What have you been doing? What's the inspiration?" that people asked him. On March 22, 2024, 6lack released his acoustic project ''No More Lonely Nights''. It featured 6 songs off his album ''Since I Have a Lover''.

Artistry

6lack's music focuses or is based on personal and business relationships frequently, especially the topic of heartbreak. 6lack has said that his songwriting is influenced mainly by his personal experiences and failed relationships. ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' magazine has described 6lack's music as "moody hip hop" that "spotlights vulnerability and honesty in a way the emoji generation can understand." 6lack has cited Sade,

T-Pain Faheem Rashad Najm (born September 30, 1984), known professionally as T-Pain, is an American singer and rapper. He is known for popularizing creative use of Auto-Tune pitch correction, often used with extreme parameter settings to create electro ...

The-Dream Terius Adamu Ya Gesteelde-Diamant ('' né'' Youngdell Nash; born September 20, 1977), known professionally as The-Dream, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is known for having written or co-produced songs for artists in ...

, and Usher as his influences.

Discography

*''

'' (2016) *'' East Atlanta Love Letter'' (2018) *''

'' (2023)

Tours

Headlining *Free 6lack Tour (2017) *From East Atlanta with Love Tour (2018) *Since I Have a Lover Tour (2023) Supporting * Starboy: Legend of the Fall Tour (2017) * Heartbreak on a Full Moon Tour (2018) *It Was You All Along Tour (2024)

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:6LACK 1992 births Living people 21st-century American rappers 21st-century African-American male singers American contemporary R&B singers African-American male rappers 21st-century American male rappers African-American male singer-songwriters American male singer-songwriters Interscope Records artists MTV Video Music Award winners Rappers from Atlanta Singer-songwriters from Maryland Singer-songwriters from Georgia (U.S. state)