Rapper Armani White joins the world famous Def Jam Recordings family this week. The signing comes after the West Philadelphia artist reached over 30 million global streams and 38 billion views on TikTok for the single “Billie Eilish.”
“’Billie Eilish’ helped me finish my 2022 wish list in a month,” says White in a statement. “The sky opened up and things I couldn’t have imagined fell in front of me.” White’s characteristically energetic sound is part of what he dubs “happy hood music,” a genre created as a reaction to the pain and trauma he faced growing up.
His chilling 2021 EP Things We Lost In The Fire exhibited just that, and how White can create beauty out of destruction and loss. “I take that dark, murky color, throw it at the wall and watch a rainbow come out.”
Listen to the viral “Billie Eilish” below. And watch Armani White explain more about the inspiration behind the song’s lyrics in his episode of ‘Verified’ by Genius on Youtube. The artist’s next single, “Diamond Dallas,” comes out August 5th.