Angel Del Villar II (born September 24, 1980), better known by his stage name Homeboy Sandman, is an American rapper from

Elmhurst, Queens Elmhurst (formerly Newtown) is a neighborhood in the borough of Queens in New York City. It is bounded by Roosevelt Avenue on the north; the Long Island Expressway on the south; Junction Boulevard on the east; and the New York Connecting Rail ...

, New York, United States.

Career

Homeboy Sandman recorded and released his first EP, ''Nourishment'', in March 2007. His debut album, entitled ''Nourishment (Second Helpings)'', was released in August 2007. In early 2008, Homeboy Sandman's work began to be featured on underground radio programs the Squeeze Radio Show on WKCR 89.9 FM and the Halftime Radio Program on WNYU 89.1 FM in New York. In June 2008, he was featured in Source Magazine's "Unsigned Hype" column. His second album, ''Actual Factual Pterodactyl'' was acclaimed upon its release in August 2008. The album received an entry in '' XXL''s ''Chairman's Choice'' column, which praised Homeboy Sandman's "sharp lyrics and irresistibly melodic flow, which, together, form an elastic instrument few MCs can match." Actual Factual Pterodactyl received critical acclaim in a multitude of other print and online publications, including Blender Magazine, Beyond Race Magazine, Okayplayer.com and MSN.com. At the end of 2008, Homeboy Sandman was named "Best Hip Hop Act in NYC 2008" by New York Press. Recently his music has received rotation on NYC's Power 105.1 FM and Hot 97.1 FM, the city's #1 Hip Hop and R&B radio station, as well as airplay on Spitkicker Radio (Channel 65 on XM Satellite Radio), DJ Premier's "Live From HeadQCourterz" (Sirius Satellite Radio's #1 ranked Hip Hop show) and BBC 1Xtra's Hip Hop M1X (Hosted by DJ Sarah Love). In addition to his studio releases, Homeboy Sandman has garnered attention for his live performances. From January 2008 to August 2009, Homeboy Sandman served as the host of “ALL THAT! Hip Hop, Poetry and Jazz” at the

Nuyorican Poets Café The Nuyorican Poets Cafe is a nonprofit organization in the Alphabet City, Manhattan, Alphabet City neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. It is a bastion of the Nuyorican Movement, Nuyorican (Puerto Rican New Yorker) art movement, and has b ...

, New York City's longest running open mic session (originally hosted by Hip Hop icon Bobbito García). He has performed at the biggest hip hop shows around the country, including the

South by Southwest South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...

(SXSW) music festival in

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

, the Brooklyn Hip Hop Festival in Brooklyn, New York, the

Rock the Bells Rock the Bells is an annual hip-hop festival that originally took place in Southern California only, but has since toured throughout the world. The concert features a line-up of high-profile alternative hip-hop artists, often headlined by a mo ...

hip hop festival in

Long Island, New York Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

, the A3C Hip Hop Festival 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 ...

and New York City's

CMJ Music Marathon CMJ Holdings Corp. is a music events, online media company and a distributor of up and coming music CDs, originally founded in 1978, which ran a website, hosted an annual festival in New York City, and published two magazines, ''CMJ New Music ...

. Homeboy Sandman has recorded video interviews with other performers at his live shows, which are captured in his YouTube video series "Homeboy Sandman ''presents'' Live From..." In addition to his own releases, Homeboy Sandman has appeared on records by other artists, frequently with members of the AOK Collective, with whom he is affiliated. He recently appeared on Fresh Daily's 2009 album ''The Gorgeous Killer: In Crimes of Passion'' and the 2008 album ''For Your Consideration'' released by P.SO (formerly P. Casso). Homeboy Sandman collaborated with both Fresh Daily and P.SO for the song "Get On Down," which is featured on ''Sonic Smash'', the album released in 2009 by music producer DJ Spinna. Homeboy Sandman has also laid down tracks for a series of features with RIDES Magazine. The track that Homeboy Sandman created for the Loud.com challenge, "Gun Control," was cited as one of the Top 25 Songs of 2009 by Hot 97 DJ

Peter Rosenberg Peter Elliot Rosenberg (born July 23, 1979)Chris Richards''Washington Post'', May 31, 2013. is an American radio disc jockey, television show host, and professional wrestling personality. He is a co-host of two New York City radio programs: '' E ...

. On June 1, 2010, Homeboy Sandman released his third album, ''The Good Sun'', which features production from 2 Hungry Bros, Ski Beats, Thievin' Stephen, DJ Spinna, Psycho Les (

The Beatnuts The Beatnuts is an American hip hop group and production duo from New York City. Its current members are JuJu and Psycho Les. JuJu (born Jerry Tineo on December 14, 1968) is a Dominican American from Corona and Psycho Les (born Lester Fernandez ...

) and Core Rhythm, among others. The first single from ''The Good Sun'' was "Angels with Dirty Faces," produced by J57. In September 2010, Homeboy Sandman released his first official video for ''The Good Sun'' for the track, "The Essence". In late 2010, Homeboy Sandman was featured as the coach in an episode of MTV's '' Made'', which premiered in October 2010. In August 2011, Homeboy Sandman signed with

Stones Throw Records Stones Throw Records is an American independent record label based in Los Angeles, California. Under the direction of founder Peanut Butter Wolf, Stones Throw has released music ranging from hip hop to experimental psychedelic rock. ''LA Weekly'' ...

and released his debut project, ''Subject: Matter EP'', with the California-based record label on January 24, 2012. Homeboy Sandman released his second EP with Stones Throw Records, titled ''Chimera'' in April 2012 and on September 18, 2012, released his debut full-length LP with Stones Throw entitled '' First of a Living Breed''. The album featured production from

Oddisee Amir Mohamed el Khalifa (born on February 24, 1985), better known by his stage name Oddisee, is an American rapper and record producer from Washington, D.C. He is one third of the hip hop trio Diamond District. He was also part of the Low Budget C ...

, J57, 6th Sense, RTNC and long-time production partners 2 Hungry Bros., along with label mates Jonwayne and Oh No, amongst others. In 2014, Homeboy Sandman released the EP, ''White Sands'', which was produced by Paul White. Nate Patrin of ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

'' commented that the producer and rapper had "a mutually beneficial set of styles" in a positive review. In that year, Homeboy Sandman released the album, '' Hallways''. In the wake of the Donald Sterling scandal, Homeboy Sandman wrote for

Gawker ''Gawker'' was an American blog founded by Nick Denton and Elizabeth Spiers that was based in New York City and focused on celebrities and the media industry. According to SimilarWeb, the site had over 23 million visits per month in 2015. Fo ...

an op-ed called "Black People are Cowards," which attracted more than 1.3 million views in the first seven days of its publication. In 2015, Homeboy Sandman released a collaborative EP with

Aesop Rock Ian Matthias Bavitz (born June 5, 1976), better known by his stage name Aesop Rock, is an American rapper and producer from Long Island, New York. He was at the forefront of the new wave of underground and alternative hip hop acts that emerg ...

, titled ''Lice''. In 2016, he released the album, '' Kindness for Weakness'', which included Edan-produced "Talking (Bleep)". In that year, he released a collaborative EP with Aesop Rock, titled ''Lice Two: Still Buggin. In 2019, Homeboy Sandman announced he had signed a new deal with Mello Music Group and released the new single "West Coast" produced by Aesop Rock to celebrate the new label signing. Homeboy Sandman's first album on Mello Music Group, “ Dusty,” was released on October 18, 2019.

Production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stat ...

was handled entirely by Mono En Stereo. ''Dusty'' garnered positive reviews from

music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on ...

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

writer Paul Simpson praised Mono En Stereo's soundscape of "laid-back, ambling jazz and funk grooves" for complimenting Sandman's "conversational, matter-of-fact rhymes" throughout the album, concluding that "''Dusty'' is another winning set of pointed observations from Sandman, who effortlessly unloads his thoughts without seeming like a burden on the listener." Homeboy Sandman followed up “Dusty” with his 2020 album “Don’t Feed The Monster” produced by Quelle Chris. “Don’t Feed The Monster” was listed in NPR's top 50 albums of 2020. Homeboy Sandman would later receive a pair of awards for music videos that accompanied the album. He received a UK Music Video award for “Monument” (directed by Pavel Buryak) in 2021 and later won Best Foreign Documentary at Rome Film Awards 2022 for ''Don’t Look Down'' Video (directed by Robert Mayer aka Photo Rob). At the beginning of 2021, Aesop Rock and Homeboy Sandman released their single “Ask Anyone,” which was featured on FIFA 21 soundtrack. Following the release Homeboy Sandman announced his EP Anjelitu which was produced entirely by Aesop Rock. Released in August 2021, Anjelitu marked Homeboy Sandman's third studio project on Mello Music Group.

Okayplayer Okayplayer is an online hip-hop and alternative music website and community, described by ''Rolling Stone'' as a "tastemaker" and "an antidote to dull promotional Web sites used by most artists". The community was founded by The Roots' drummer ...

highlighted Anjelitu as one of the best Hip-Hop projects of 2021.

Pete Rock Peter O. Phillips (born June 21, 1970), better known by his stage name Pete Rock, is an American record producer, DJ and rapping, rapper. He is widely recognized as one of the greatest hip hop producers of all time, and is often mentioned along ...

would later give praise to “Go Hard” from Anjelitu. At the end of 2021, Homeboy Sandman garnered unexpected attention after

Doja Cat Amala Ratna Zandile Dlamini (born October 21, 1995), known professionally as Doja Cat (), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer. Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, she began making and releasing music on SoundCl ...

saluted the emcee as “One of my favorite rappers” on Instagram live. Homeboy Sandman's tenth studio album, ''There in Spirit'', was released on February 25, 2022. That same year, he released the mixtape ''I Can't Sell These'' for free on

Bandcamp Bandcamp is an American online music distribution platform founded in 2008 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with an office and record store in Oakland, California. Acquired by Epic ...

, due in part to an inability to clear the various samples used in the music. Music critic

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and later became a ...

soon hailed it as "the finest album of one of hip-hop's most prolific careers", giving it an "A" grade. Homeboy Sandman revitalized his acclaimed Anjelitu EP, by releasing the Anjelitu Deluxe which included two new tracks as well as Aesop Rock's instrumentals from the project. In 2022, Rhymesayers released all three of Homeboy Sandman and Aesop Rock's Lice albums on digital streaming platforms. Homeboy Sandman's Deca-produced eleventh studio album “Still Champion” was released on November 11, 2022, following the pair's 19-stop co-headlining tour. “Still Champion” reached #24 on the iTunes Hip-Hop charts and Riff Magazine included the project in their top 20 Hip-Hop albums of 2022. Homeboy Sandman collaborated with Oakland-based nonprofit organizatio
Oakstop Alliance
on the album “Royalty Summit,” released on December 23, 2022. ''Royalty Summit'' is the debut release from Oakstop Alliance’s ''Oakland Resident'' music initiative. Homeboy Sandman was planning the west coast run for his There In Spirit Tour when longtime friend and Oakstop Alliance Executive Director Damon Johnson pitched him with the concept. The 12-track album was recorded over 3 days in Oakland as a residency collaboration between Homeboy Sandman, and over 20 Oakland musical artists and professionals. On Christmas Day in 2022, Homeboy Sandman announced the debut full-length release for his label Dirty Looks, titled “12 Days of Christmas & Dia De Los Reyes.” Homeboy Sandman rolled out one song from the project each day until the full album’s release on January 6, 2023. In August 2023, Homeboy Sandman connected with New York beatmaker Mono En Stereo–whom the emcee collaborated with on past albums Kool Herc: Fertile Crescent and Dusty–for his studio album “Rich” released via Dirty Looks. The album garnered critical attention from

Vibe Magazine ''Vibe'' is an American music and entertainment magazine founded by producers David Salzman and Quincy Jones. The publication predominantly features R&B and hip hop music artists, actors and other entertainers. After shutting down production ...

HipHopDX ''HipHopDX'' is an online magazine of Hip hop music, hip hop music criticism and news. ''HipHopDX'' has over 3.5M monthly readers, the website encompassing hip hop news, interviews, music, and reviews. The website's founder and CEO is Sharath C ...

, and more. Homeboy Sandman later released "I Can't Sell These Either" in November 2023, continuing the "I Can't Sell These" mixtape series started in 2022. At the

2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

in Paris, Homeboy Sandman's song "The Carpenter" was used during the Women's Breaking Finals in the Japan vs. Netherlands battle. Homeboy Sandman released his studio album Rich II in 2024. Later that year, he followed up with a mixtape Nor Can These Be Sold At Least By Me accompanied by a surprise EP Turns Out I Can Sell A Few Of These After All. Homeboy Sandman released Rich 2.5 in January 2025, a deluxe album that combined Rich and Rich II along with four remixes. Following that, he released collaborative EP's Dancing Tree with Illingsworth, Corn Hole Legend with yeyts., and Manners with Brand the Builder.

Personal life

Del Villar's father and mother were born in the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico respectively. His father boxed as a

heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Male boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 2 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation an ...

before becoming an attorney. He graduated from the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree and went on to accept a scholarship to attend

law school A law school (also known as a law centre/center, college of law, or faculty of law) is an institution, professional school, or department of a college or university specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for b ...

before dropping out to focus on music.

Discography

Albums

* ''Nourishment (Second Helpings)'' (2007) * ''Actual Factual Pterodactyl'' (2008) * ''The Good Sun'' (2010) * '' First of a Living Breed'' (2012) * '' Hallways'' (2014) * '' Kindness for Weakness'' (2016) * ''

Veins Veins () are blood vessels in the circulatory system of humans and most other animals that carry blood towards the heart. Most veins carry deoxygenated blood from the tissues back to the heart; exceptions are those of the pulmonary and fetal c ...

'' (2017) * '' Dusty'' (2019) (w/ Mono en Stereo) * '' Don't Feed the Monster'' (2020) (w/

Quelle Chris Gavin Christopher Tennille (born October 19, 1984), known as Quelle Chris, is an American record producer, rapper and songwriter from Detroit, Michigan. He has released over 15 albums as a solo act and with his collaborative projects. Career Te ...

) * ''Anjelitu Deluxe'' (2022) (w/

) * ''Still Champion'' (2022) * ''12 Days of Christmas & Dia de Los Reyes'' (2023) * ''Rich'' (2023) * ''Rich II'' (2024) * ''Rich 2.5'' (2025)

EPs

* ''Nourishment'' (2007) * ''Subject: Matter'' (2012) * ''Chimera EP'' (2012) * '' Kool Herc: Fertile Crescent'' (2013) (w/ El RTNC) * ''All That I Hold Dear'' (2013) (w/ M Slago) * ''White Sands'' (2014) (w/ Paul White) * ''Homeboy Sandman Is the Sandman'' (2014) (w/ Blu) * ''Lice'' (2015) (w/

) * ''Lice Two: Still Buggin (2016) (w/ Aesop Rock) * ''Lice Three: Triple Fat Lice'' (2017) (w/ Aesop Rock) * '' Humble Pi'' (2018) (w/ Edan) * ''Anjelitu'' (2021) (w/ Aesop Rock) * ''There in Spirit'' (2022) * ''Turns Out I Can Sell A Few Of These After All'' (2024) * ''Dancing Tree'' (2025) (w/ Illingsworth) * ''Corn Hole Legend'' (2025) (w/ yeyts.) * ''Manners'' (2025) (w/ Brand The Builder)

Mixtapes

* ''There Is No Spoon'' (2008) (w/ DJ BabeyDrew) * ''Orphans'' (2013) (w/ DJ Jav) * ''Tour Tape'' (2015) * ''LoveLife'' (2017) * ''I Can't Sell These'' (2022) * ''I Can't Sell These Either'' (2023) * ''Nor Can These Be Sold At least By Me'' (2024)

Compilations

* ''12 Days of Christmas & Dia de Los Reyes'' (2023)

Singles

* "King of Kings" (2010) * "Therapy (Truth Hurts Remix)" (2023)

Guest appearances

* 2 Hungry Bros. - "Parallel Perpendicular" from ''My Crew's All Thinner'' (2009) * P. Casso - "Best in Show" from ''For Your Consideration'' (2009) * Fresh Daily - "Starter Pistol" from ''The Gorgeous Killer: In Crimes of Passion'' (2009) * DJ Spinna - "Thirst" (2009) * Mr. Beatz - "The Cipher" from ''Spit Therapy'' (2010) * Ciph Diggy - "Synchronized Rhymin" from ''Untitled Wave'' (2010) * Jonny October - "Brooklyn Bards" from ''The Wheelhouse'' (2010) * J-Live - "Fitness" from ''Undivided Attention'' (2010) * DJ Spinna - "Get On Down" from ''Sonic Smash'' (2010) * Mick Boogie x Terry Urban - "Intro" from ''Le Da Soul: 20 Years of De La Soul'' (2010) * J.J. Brown - "Up to No Good (Remix)" from ''Connect the Dots'' (2010) * Paul White - "A Weird Day" from ''Rapping with Paul White'' (2011) * Mr. SOS – "O!" from ''Cassette Verité'' (2011) * Illus - "Free" from ''For Adam'' (2011) * Blu & Exile - "The Great Escape" from '' Give Me My Flowers While I Can Still Smell Them'' (2012) * Gensu Dean - "Ramesses" (2012) * Evitan - "Let the Horns Blow" from ''Speed of Life'' (2012) * Jaq - "Hear This" from ''Escape from Radio Prison'' (2012) * Rabbi Darkside - "Clotheslines" from ''Prospect Avenue'' (2013) * Paper Tiger - "The Sting" from ''Laptop Suntan'' (2013) * Paul White - "Find a Way" from ''Watch the Ants'' (2013) * Blu and

Nottz Dominick J. Lamb, (born February 21, 1977) better known by his stage name Nottz (or Nottz Raw), is an American hip hop producer and rapper from Norfolk, Virginia. Life and career Some of Nottz's earliest production work was on the Rawkus ...

- "Crooks in Castles" from ''

Gods in the Spirit ''Gods in the Spirit'' is a collaborative Extended play, EP by Los Angeles Rapping, rapper Blu (rapper), Blu and Virginia record producer Nottz, released on October 22, 2013 through Coalmine Records. The six-track record was entirely produced by ...

'' (2013) * J-Live - "Hang On Tight" from ''Around the Sun'' (2014) * L'Orange - "Mind vs. Matter" from ''The Orchid Days'' (2014) * L'Orange and Jeremiah Jae - "Ignore the Man to Your Right" from ''The Night Took Us In Like Family'' (2015) * Until the Ribbon Breaks - "Perspective" from ''A Lesson Unlearnt'' (2015) * Deacon the Villain - "Little Drummer Boy" from ''Peace or Power'' (2015) * Finale - "Just Due" from ''Odds & Ends'' (2015) * The Difference Machine - "Smoke" from ''The 4th Side of the Eternal Triangle'' (2016) * Dillon & Paten Locke - "Hamsammich" from ''Food Chain'' (2016) * Sammus - "Weirdo" from ''Pieces in Space'' (2016) * Gensu Dean - "Where Is the Love" from ''RAW (Refined Alkaline Water)'' (2016) * Onry Ozzborn - "Wine" from ''Duo'' (2016) *

- "Pendulum Swing" from '' Being You Is Great, I Wish I Could Be You More Often'' (2017) * Billy Woods - "Wonderful" from '' Known Unknowns '' (2017) *

Rob Sonic Robert Smith, better known by his stage name Rob Sonic, is an American rapper and record producer from the Bronx, New York (state), New York. He has been a member of the groups Sonic Sum and Hail Mary Mallon. He is a founder of the record label S ...

- "HORSE" from '' Latrinalia '' (2021) *

& Blockhead - "All Day Breakfast" from ''

Garbology Garbology is the study of modern refuse and trash as well as the use of trash cans, compactors and various types of trash can liners. It is a major source of information on the nature and changing patterns in modern refuse, and thereby, human so ...

'' (2021)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sandman, Homeboy 1980 births American rappers of Dominican Republic descent Living people Rappers from Queens, New York Holderness School alumni 21st-century American rappers 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century American male rappers Puerto Rican rappers University of Pennsylvania School of Arts and Sciences alumni