A year-long journey of explosive viral moments and big-stage co-signs and collabs culminates today as gold-certified, charismatic West Philly rapper Armani White delivers on his promise as the breakout new artist of 2022, unveiling his bold first body of work with the highly anticipated debut EP Road to CASABLANCO. out now via Def Jam Recordings.
Listen HERE.
WATCH PROUD OF ME PERFORMANCE VIDEO BELOW:
To celebrate the arrival of the EP, Armani released a captivating lyric/performance video for the EP’s emotional centerpiece “PROUD OF ME.” [feat. Fridayy]. Watch HERE. The intimate clip finds him in a dark room surrounded by boxes with the names of his various song titles as he raps to the camera. Over wavy production, he makes confessions, “I lived long enough to trap and see the other side of that,” before a chantable chorus. Blurring genre lines, it once again highlights his knack for a knockout hook.
He paved the way for the project with the flashy “SILVER TOOTH.” [feat. Ferg]. REVOLT applauded, “The catchy cut is perfect for White’s rhymes about his talents, women, and much more,” and Variance raved, “This is shaping up to be a huge year for White, and this addictive new track only further cements his status.”HotNewHipHop declared, “Def Jam’s Armani White already won us over with ‘GOATED.’ Earlier this year, but now the lyricist has more heat.” It’s just one brick on Road to CASABLANCO. though.
The EP notably includes the standout “GOATED.” [feat. Denzel Curry]. It has already piled up 19 million Spotify streams, 3 million YouTube views on the music video, and exploded on TikTok with over one million creates and north of a billion views.
Armani delivered a show-stopping performance of “GOATED.” on NBC’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. Right out of the gate, Complex proclaimed, “Armani White and Denzel Curry bring out the best in each other in the new track ‘GOATED.’,” and UPROXX christened him “one of rap music’s most promising new acts.”Consequence asserted, “On the track, White displays the same infectious energy that made ‘BILLIE EILISH.’ so popular.”HotNewHipHop raved, “Armani White has another bop on his hands with his latest single, ‘GOATED.’.”
Earlier this year, Armani’s breakthrough “BILLIE EILISH.” picked up gold certification from the RIAA in the US, clocked over half-a-billion streams, and generated 36 million-plus YouTube views.
After turning up alongside N.O.R.E. for a much talked-about performance at the BET Hip Hop Awards 2022, Armani performed a medley of “THANKSGIVING” and “BILLIE EILISH.,” on Jimmy Kimmel Live!BET recently proclaimed Armani its “BET Amplified Artist” of January 2023. MTV soon followed suit, naming Armani its coveted Global PUSH artist for February.
Armani closed out a massive 2022 with a showstopping performance on ABC’s Dick Clark’s NEW YEAR’S ROCKIN’ EVE, delivering energetic live renditions of “GOATED.” and his gold-selling breakout “BILLIE EILISH.” He also performed a medley of the tracks at the MTV EMAs. Check it out HERE.
His runaway smash “BILLIE EILISH.” – a playful, energetic homage to the pop singer’s stylish videos, set to a clever sample of NORE and the Neptunes’ classic “Nothin’” – exploded as a phenomenon. In addition to recognition as a “YouTube Trending Artist on the Rise,”the track went truly viral socially, inspiring billions of TikTok views, and earning a big co-sign from Tom Brady, who posted the track on his Instagram.
Get ready for more very soon! Follow Armani on the Road to CASABLANCO. now!
ABOUT ARMANI WHITE:
Profound, yet buoyantly energetic, Armani White wants to trademark happy hood music. Pairing dexterous flows with dense introspection and spurts of impassioned melodies, the 26-year-old delivers a colorful, but poignant soundtrack for survivors. On the freewheeling “Billie Eilish,” he lets loose, fusing zany wordplay with machismo he earned from his upbringing in West Philadelphia, where he soaked up the sounds of Ludacris, State Property and Eminem. The fledgling young MC, who grew up in a troubled home and found healing in beats and bars, took to spitting lyrics from his favorite rappers when he played outside with friends. At age 11, Armani and a friend began using trial versions of Mixcraft to compose their first tracks. After winning both Class Clown and Most Likely to Be Heard a Mile Away in his high school yearbook, the idea of a rap career quickly crystallized. “Stick Up” (2015) was a pulsing boom bap single coated in braggadocio and comical flashes of danger. The video netted tens of thousands of views, and Pharrell even played one of Armani’s songs on his Beats 1 Radio show. But the back-to-back tragedies of his father’s death of cancer, and his uncle’s killing put his musical plans on hold for a couple years. He re-emerged with the lighthearted but existential “Public School” (2018), and Keep in Touch(2019), a project that reaffirmed his all-around songwriting abilities. Soon Armani was hitting the stage for shows with Vince Staples, Nas, James Blake and Aminé, to name a few. Armani’s next EP, Things We Lost In The Fire (fall 2021) addressed personal tragedy with unflinching transparency. It was the prelude to “Billie Eilish” in the new year, and the deal with Def Jam in the bargain. “The reason why I call my songs happy hood music is because I went through a lot of trauma and pain,” Armani says, “and I take that dark, murky color, throw it at the wall and watch a rainbow come out.”
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