Watsky 11,593

A slam poet turned rapper, Watsky first gained attention through ‘Russell Simmons’ HBO Def Poetry,’ and a later burst of viral success for his fast rapping. At every turn, Watsky has refused to be pigeonholed, following up his speed rap success with 2013 LP Cardboard Castles, an eccentric ode to creativity, and 2014’s Anderson. Paak-produced All You Can Do. After a hiatus to work on new material, Watsky pivots again, this time to prose, returning simultaneously with the essay collection How To Ruin Everything, published by Plume/Penguin-Random House, of which Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda writes, “funny, subversive […] you find yourself nodding your head in wonder and recognition.” How To Ruin Everything debuted in the New York Times best-selling list. In total, he has created five studio albums and two live albums. Watsky released his fifth album, x INFINITY in August 2016, describing it as his most ambitious project yet. Most recently, in 2020, he released his 6th studio album, Placement.