Name: Smino
Reppin’: St. Louis, Mo.
Genre: Rap
The uncanny lyricism and genre-bending soundscapes on Smino’s debut album blkswn, let you know he’s different from what you’re used to. Music is in the St. Louis, Mo. rapper’s DNA, and it shows.
Growing up surrounded by entertainers – his father plays keys, his mother sings and his grandfather played bass guitar for blues legend Muddy Waters – it was easy for him to get enveloped. Once the 24-year-old MC, born Chris Smith Jr., decided music was his path, he got 10 toes down in the beats and rhymes. While attending college in Chicago, he linked up with producer Chris “Classick” Inumerable and formed Zero Fatigue, an eclectic group of artists who hailed from both cities, including beat maker Monte Booker, and artists Jay2, Bari and Ravyn Lenae.
In 2015, Smith had a breakout year, with the releases of his two EPs, S!Ck S!Ck S!Ck and blkjuptr. He spent the following year building on the buzz he created in the 314 and abroad. With 12 months of material in the stash, in mid-March, he put out his debut album blkswn, an 18-track effort that cohesively blends soul and funk aesthetics with high-powered Hip Hop bars.
Smino didn’t waste any time capitalizing off the push created with the new release, recently rocking shows at the 2017 South by Southwest Music Festival in Austin, Texas. Recognition for his raw talent is starting to roll in as he was named New Artist of the Week by Apple Music in March.
In late April, he will be headlining the Swanita Tour, and hitting up cities like, Chicago, New York, Atlanta, New Orleans, Seattle and more, along with special guests Monte Booker, Jay2, Bari and Jean Deaux. It’s time to show the country how the new St. Lou and the Zero Fatigue unit get down.
“I feel like a lot of people don’t know much about St. Louis period. A lot people don’t know how many cold ass [talented] people that are out there,” Smino recently told Ebony. “I just had a listening party there and it was mainly for the creatives – this person did cut and sow design, another deejaying or whatever, and it was just tight to see all these people coming together creatively. Metro Boomin is from here blowing up and he’s still reppin’ the crib. People need to know that there’s more of that coming.”
Sorry for the wait.
Listen to some of Smino’s latest tracks below.
“Father Son Holy Smoke”
“Anita”
“blkjuptr”
