Blackbear (musician)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Blackbear
Birth nameMatthew Tyler Musto
Born (1990-11-27) November 27, 1990 (age 30)
Daytona Beach, Florida, U.S.[1]
OriginPalm Coast, Florida, U.S.
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Musician
  • singer
  • songwriter
  • record producer
Years active2008–present
Labels
Associated acts
Children1
Websitebeartrap.la

Matthew Tyler Musto (born November 27, 1990), professionally known as Blackbear (stylized as blackbear), is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He has released five studio albums, six EPs, one mixtape and two collaborative albums. Musto is also a member of the alternative hip hop/R&B duo Mansionz with singer-songwriter Mike Posner.

Early life[]

Musto was born in Daytona Beach, Florida and moved to Palm Coast, Florida as a child.[1] His father is an Italian Catholic.[5] In fourth grade, he became interested in music through Rancid, Blink-182, and bands his babysitter introduced him to like New Found Glory and Alkaline Trio.[6]

Career[]

2006–2014: Early career[]

In high school, Musto was the singer of Florida-based rock band Polaroid. They released one album, Paint The Town; one EP, Inside And Out; and one demo, The Cure Demo and have been variously described as being a pop punk,[6] punk rock[7] and garage band.[1] During Musto's freshman year of high school, the band signed to Leakmob Records.[6][2] Musto dropped out of school in the 10th grade to focus on music.[1] As Polaroid progressed, their music became increasingly influenced by emo. By 2008, Musto had also begun to write his own solo music.[6]

After leaving Polaroid, Musto began a solo career when he moved to Atlanta to work with Ne-Yo.[8] He put out his first EP entitled Brightness in 2008, followed by Contrast in 2009, and Exposure in 2010. He put out a Christmas song with Tyler Carter, then-member of the band Woe, Is Me in 2010, shortly followed by a new single, 'Douche Bag'. In July 2011, Musto released his Year of the Blackbear EP. In fall 2011, he decided to take his nickname of Blackbear and use it as his pseudonym for making music. The first song to be released with the Blackbear moniker was Mike Posner's song, 'Marauder Music' in November 2011.[9]

Musto co-wrote Justin Bieber's "Boyfriend",[10] a number two hit on the Billboard Hot 100 in early 2012. Intent on pursuing a career as an R&B singer, Musto released his debut EP Foreplay on April 20, 2012, and his debut mixtape Sex on October 31, 2012. Both releases were under the name Blackbear, and Sex featured collaborations from fellow "Boyfriend" co-writer Mike Posner, along with producers, singers, and songwriters James Blake and Maejor Ali.[11] He also appeared on MGK's End of the Road from the Lace Up album. Blackbear released an EP, The Afterglow, on April 20, 2014.[12] This landed him as number four on Billboard's Uncharted listing of releases from upcoming artists.[13]

In 2014, Blackbear became one of the first independent artists to monetize streaming on SoundCloud.[14]

2015: Deadroses and Help[]

Blackbear released his first full-length album, Deadroses, a self-released set of 10 tracks, on February 14, 2015. The album received favorable reviews, one of which stating that the album had "pleasantly mixed together a plethora of genres, sounds, and emotions to create a completely cohesive and unique project."[15] The lead single, "idfc", charted on Billboard's R&B Hot 100 and held a spot on the Billboard R&B charts for over a year. The track has earned millions of streams on both SoundCloud and Spotify. It has been streamed over 22.5 million times on SoundCloud and Idfc (Tarro Remix) has over 192 million views as of June 2019. "idfc" shot Blackbear to the top 20 of the Billboard charts.[16] The second single, "90210", features G-Eazy and gained over 11 million streams on SoundCloud and over 9 million streams on Spotify.[17][4]

In May 2015, his track "NYLA" was featured in the documentary Hot Girls Wanted on Netflix.[18]

Deadroses was followed by the EP Dead, which featured acoustic versions of four Deadroses tracks, as well as one new track, "Weak When Ur Around".[19][20]

He released his second full-length album, Help, on November 27, 2015.[21]

2016: Drink Bleach, Cashmere Noose, and Mansionz[]

On April 20, 2016, Blackbear released his fourth EP, Drink Bleach, which featured appearances from "Boyfriend" collaborator Mike Posner as well as American hip-hop recording artist and The HBK Gang co-founder P-Lo.[22]

Throughout the year, Blackbear collaborated with other artists such as American rock band Linkin Park as well as Jacob Sartorius and Phoebe Ryan. He also toured with Hoodie Allen, whose 2016 track and Happy Camper promotional single "Champagne and Pools" also featured Blackbear. Mid-year, he joined Super Duper Kyle and Tinashe on their tours.

On August 2, 2016, Blackbear released his fifth EP, titled Cashmere Noose, through SoundCloud.[23] He handled the EP's production entirely on his own through his production collective Bear Trap Records. The EP originally included a feature from American rapper Mod Sun on the track "Spent All My Money On Rick Owens Cargo Pants"; however, this track was removed from the EP's final cut and replaced with "Wanderlust" and "Flirt Right Back".[24] The original version of Cashmere Noose, however, can still be found on Blackbear's SoundCloud page.[25] The final version of Cashmere Noose peaked at number one on the iTunes R&B charts and number six overall on iTunes, just behind Beyonce's Lemonade and Drake's Views.[26]

Blackbear was also featured in Olivia O'Brien's single "Root Beer Float", released September 15, 2016.[27] He also released the track "If I Could I Would Feel Nothing," a freestyle originally posted on his Twitter that eventually became a promotional single for his upcoming third studio album.[28]

In late 2016, Blackbear formed the alternative hip hop and R&B duo Mansionz with frequent collaborator and singer-songwriter Mike Posner. Mansionz have been active since 2016 and are based out of Los Angeles, California. The duo released their debut single, "STFU", on December 9, 2016. The song features rapper Spark Master Tape. Mansionz released two more singles in early 2017, "Rich White Girls" and "Dennis Rodman", the latter of which features the basketball player Dennis Rodman. Both of these singles, along with "STFU", were featured on Mansionz' self-titled debut album which was released on March 24, 2017, and features guest appearances from G-Eazy, Soren Bryce, CyHi the Prynce, and Snoozegod.[29]

2017–2018: Digital Druglord and Cybersex[]

On January 29, 2017, he posted the track "Make Daddy Proud", which was a remix of Jeremy Zucker's "Heavy", on his SoundCloud page. The track was later confirmed to be the next promotional single for his third studio album Digital Druglord. On March 17, 2017, Blackbear released the lead single for the album, titled "Do Re Mi".[30]

On April 2, 2017, shortly before the release of Digital Druglord, Blackbear released a short acoustic EP titled Salt on his SoundCloud. Digital Druglord was released on April 20, 2017, featuring the single "Do Re Mi" along with promotional singles "If I Could I Would Feel Nothing" and "Make Daddy Proud".[31] In an interview with Vice's music channel Noisey, he revealed that he wrote Digital Druglord while in the hospital based on his experiences with alcohol and drugs. He states that the cover art for the album, a woman with pill bottles attached to her chest, is not to glorify the use of pharmaceuticals, but because he now has to take prescription drugs to stay alive due to his illness.[32]

On June 22, 2017, he signed a 10 million dollar distribution deal with Interscope that gave the label the rights to Digital Druglord and the following studio album and their respective singles.[2]

On August 18, 2017, Blackbear announced his next project, a mixtape named Cybersex. The name Cybersex comes from Blackbear's infatuation with the internet. In an interview with Pigeons & Planes, he talks about how the internet is why he is here and how cybersex was the first form of sexting. He states how he finds the internet interesting and how you can now fall asleep with your loved one in another country, due to technology.[8] He released a song on SoundCloud in September 2017 titled "froze over". The track was written and produced by Good Intent and Blackbear and it would later appear in Cybersex as a two part interlude titled "thursday/froze over". On October 6, 2017, a song titled "Playboy Shit", which features rapper Lil Aaron, was released on Blackbear's PornHub account and confirmed to be a part of the project.[33] On October 20, 2017, Blackbear released the single "Bright Pink Tims" featuring Cam'ron. This day also marked the first day of his tour in support of Fall Out Boy's Mania Tour, running until November 18. On November 27, 2017, Musto's 27th birthday, Cybersex was released.

On April 26, 2018, "About You", a song written by Linkin Park's Mike Shinoda regarding the death of his bandmate Chester Bennington, was released featuring Blackbear.[34]

On August 23, 2018, Blackbear released his single titled "the 1", produced by FRND.[35]

2019-2020: Anonymous and Everything Means Nothing[]

In February 2019, Blackbear said he would be releasing a single per week until April 26, which is when his fourth studio album would be released. On Valentine's Day 2019, he released his single "1 SIDED LOVE". On February 20, he released his single "HIGH1X". On March 13, he released his single "SWEAR TO GOD" during Zane Lowe's transmission on Beats 1.

April 26, 2019, he released the full album, Anonymous.[36][37] This album is his longest album yet, containing 18 tracks lasting a total of 51 minutes. Along with the release of this album, he posted a photo on Instagram with a caption discussing his gratefulness of a second chance after his health complications at age 27, and he discusses how meaningful this album is to him.

On August 23, 2019, he released the lead single "Hot Girl Bummer" from his upcoming fifth studio album Everything Means Nothing.[38] On November 13, 2019, Blackbear released the one off single "Tongue Tied", with American producer Marshmello and English singer Yungblud. On January 16, 2020, he released the album's third single "Me & Ur Ghost".

On March 13, 2020, Ellie Goulding's single "Worry About Me" was released featuring Blackbear.

On April 3, 2020, he was featured on the All Time Low song "Monsters" from their album Wake Up, Sunshine.

On July 5, 2020, Blackbear tweeted the release date of the coming album, stating it would be a "2 part LP", with the first part releasing July 17, 2020 and the second part releasing August 21, 2020.[39] On July 9, 2020, he released the album's first promotional single, "Queen of Broken Hearts". On July 17, 2020, he released the first part of the album consisting of three new singles and the three already released, with new songs "I Feel Bad", "I Feel 2 Much", and "I Felt That". The tracklist for part two of Everything Means Nothing was also released, with songs "Sobbing In Cabo", "Clown" with Trevor Daniel, "Half Alive", "If I Were U" with Lauv, "Why Are Girls", and "Smile Again".[40]

On August 7, 2020, Machine Gun Kelly's single "My Ex's Best Friend" was released featuring Blackbear. On October 16, 2020, G-Eazy's single "Hate the Way" was released featuring Blackbear.

On December 25, 2020, Blackbear released the song cheers, with American rapper Wiz Khalifa.

2021: misery lake[]

On March 12, 2021, Blackbear was featured on Mod Sun's Single "Heavy"

On May 21, 2021, Blackbear released the single “Jealousy” Alongside Mansionz partner Mike Posner, the first track in 4 years following the duo's self titled debut album.

On June 4, 2021, Blackbear released "u love u" with Canadian singer-songwriter Tate McRae, as the lead single from his upcoming extended play, misery lake. On July 14, 2021, Blackbear announced the track list to his ep "misery lake", alongside a tweet that the ep would be delayed to August 13, 2021, as a result of his departure from Alamo Records to Columbia Records.

Producing and songwriting[]

In addition to his own music, Musto has produced and written for many popular artists. He has collaborated with numerous musical artists such as Justin Bieber, G-Eazy, Mike Posner, All Time Low, Nick Jonas, Machine Gun Kelly, Ellie Goulding, Cam’ron, Gucci Mane, 2 Chainz, Mod Sun, Rivers Cuomo, Linkin Park, Billie Eilish, Pharrell Williams, Miley Cyrus, Mike Shinoda, Charlie Puth, Tiny Meat Gang, and Maroon 5.[41] He co-wrote "Boyfriend" by Justin Bieber, alongside Mike Posner, which debuted at number two on the Billboard Hot 100.[42][43] He also produced the title track from G-Eazy's album These Things Happen, as well as featuring on the album.[42]

Producing and Songwriting Credits
Title Artist Year Role
"End of the Road" Machine Gun Kelly 2012 Songwriter[44]
"Boyfriend" Justin Bieber
"Windows Down" Big Time Rush
"Lost Boy" Relient K 2013
"PTL"
"These Things Happen" G-Eazy 2014 Songwriter/producer[44]
"Toy Guns" Tokyo Police Club Producer
"Through The Wire"
"Numb" Nick Jonas Songwriter
"Look Up" Mod Sun 2015 Producer[44]
"Mind Games" Palisades Songwriter[44]
"Flex Your Way Out" Sofi De La Torre 2016
"Holy Water" Ro James
"Ocean Eyes (blackbear remix)" Billie Eilish
"Root Beer Float" Olivia O'Brien
"Forgetting All About You" Phoebe Ryan 2017
"Sorry For Now" Linkin Park Producer[44]
"talk is overrated" Jeremy Zucker Songwriter[44]
"About You" Mike Shinoda 2018 Songwriter/producer[44]
"Idwk" DVBBS Songwriter
"Ice Out" Fat Nick
"Dreamin" The Score 2019
"Right Now" Sober Rob
"BACK2YOU" nothing,nowhere.
"short kings anthem" Tiny Meat Gang
"Tongue Tied" Marshmello
"Worry About Me" Ellie Goulding 2020
"Monsters" All Time Low
"Tinted Eyes" DVBBS
"Am I High Rn" Quinn XCII
"Be Happy (remix)" Dixie D'Amelio
"Hard on Yourself" Charlie Puth
"Hate The Way" G-Eazy
"My Ex's Best Friend" Machine Gun Kelly
"Better Off Dead" Jxdn
"Pill Breaker" Trippie Redd 2021
"Beautiful Mistakes" Maroon 5 Songwriter/producer
"Echo" Maroon 5 Songwriter
"Memory" Kane Brown Songwriter/producer

Personal life[]

In April 2016, he was hospitalized and diagnosed with chronic pancreatitis due to excessive alcohol use. During his time in the hospital, he wrote his album "Digital Druglord" and took this time to become sober.[45][46] In August 2018, Musto joined forces with Mission: Cure, a non-profit dedicated to finding a cure for chronic pancreatitis. He was a recipient of the "Courage Award" for his inspiration to others living with pancreatitis and gave a speech at their gala event. [47] In November 2018, Musto collaborated with the brand PopSockets and donated 50% of the proceeds of his branded products to Mission: Cure. [48]

On September 25, 2019, Musto announced that he and his girlfriend Michele Maturo were expecting their first child in January 2020.[49] On January 29, 2020, the couple announced the birth of their son, Midnight Thomas Musto, born on January 26, 2020.[50][51]

On April 11, 2021, the couple announced their engagement via Maturo's Instagram page.[52]

Discography[]

Studio albums

Awards and nominations[]

Year Award Nomination Work Result Ref.
2018 iHeartRadio Music Awards Best Remix "do re mi (feat. Gucci Mane)" Nominated [53]
2020 MTV Europe Music Awards Best Alternative "me & ur ghost" Nominated [54]
2021 MTV Video Music Awards Best Alternative "My Ex’s Best Friend" Nominated [55]
2021 iHeartRadio Music Awards Best New Pop Artist Himself Nominated [56]
2021 Billboard Music Awards Top Rock Song "Monsters" Nominated [57]
2021 Billboard Music Awards Top Rock Song "My Ex's Best Friend" Nominated [58]

Filmography[]

Year Title Role Notes
2021 Downfalls High Himself [59]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c d "Who Is Blackbear?". YouTube. Retrieved May 28, 2020.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c "Rapper and R&B Singer Blackbear is Reinvention, Personified". Complex. Retrieved November 3, 2018.
  3. ^ Broderick, Ryan. "TikTok's emo revival emerged from the creative chaos of quarantine". Polygon. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b "blackbear". Spotify.
  5. ^ Haithcoat, Rebecca. "blackbear Is Extremely Famous, Even If You Don't Know Who He Is". www.vice.com. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Campbell, Rachel. "REMEMBER WHEN BLACKBEAR USED TO BE IN A SCENE BAND?". Alternative Press. Retrieved February 8, 2021.
  7. ^ STERN, MACKLIN. "Rapper and R&B Singer Blackbear is Reinvention, Personified". Retrieved February 19, 2021.
  8. ^ Jump up to: a b Caitlin. "The Pop Star Who Never Wanted to be Famous". Pigeons & Planes.
  9. ^ "Internet Archive Search: creator%3A%22Matthew Tyler Musto%22". archive.org. Retrieved December 6, 2017.
  10. ^ "Justin Bieber Releases New Single, 'Boyfriend' [Audio]".
  11. ^ Rubenstein, Jenna (November 1, 2012). "blackbear's 'Sex the Mixtape' features blackbear's 'Sex The Mixtape' Features Collabs with Mike Posner, T. Mills, and Other Really Famous People". MTV. MTV. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
  12. ^ "The Afterglow – EP by Blackbear on iTunes". iTunes. April 20, 2014. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
  13. ^ "blackbear – Biography – Billboard". Archived from the original on July 29, 2019. Retrieved July 3, 2016.
  14. ^ "SoundCloud Debuts Monetization Play With 'On SoundCloud', Announces $100 Million In Funding". Billboard.
  15. ^ "Did Blackbear Discretely Drop The Album Of The Year?". rlgtcanada.com. July 29, 2015.
  16. ^ "Blackbear - Chart history - Billboard". www.billboard.com. Archived from the original on July 26, 2018. Retrieved April 24, 2017.
  17. ^ Hamilton, BreeAngela. "Review: Deadroses by blackbear". coogradio. Coogradio. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
  18. ^ "Hot Girls Wanted". May 29, 2015 – via IMDb.
  19. ^ "Dead (Acoustic) – EP by blackbear on iTunes". iTunes. June 2, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
  20. ^ "dead (Acoustic) - EP by blackbear" – via music.apple.com.
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  22. ^ "Drink Bleach – EP by blackbear on iTunes". iTunes. April 20, 2016. Retrieved April 20, 2016.
  23. ^ "cashmere noose".
  24. ^ Blackbear (Ft. MOD SUN) – Spent All My Money On Rick Owens Cargo Pants, retrieved April 8, 2017
  25. ^ "cashmere noose". SoundCloud. Retrieved April 8, 2017.
  26. ^ "[CHART TOPPERS] This Week in Music Sales: Nov. 22, 2016 – Hip Hop Weekly Radio".
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  28. ^ "blackbear on Twitter".
  29. ^ Coleman III, C. Vernon. "G-Eazy and CyHi The Prynce Show Up on Mansionz's New Album - XXL". XXL Mag. Retrieved April 3, 2017.
  30. ^ blackbear – do re mi, retrieved May 19, 2017
  31. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on March 28, 2017. Retrieved March 28, 2017.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  32. ^ "blackbear Is Extremely Famous, Even If You Don't Know Who He Is". Noisey. November 14, 2017. Retrieved June 24, 2018.
  33. ^ "Playboy S**t (feat. lil aaron) - Single by blackbear on Apple Music". itunes.apple.com. Retrieved October 14, 2017.
  34. ^ "LINKIN PARK's MIKE SHINODA: 'I Had Terrible Days, And Now I Have Less Bad Days'". BLABBERMOUTH.NET. April 24, 2018. Retrieved May 12, 2018.
  35. ^ "Blackbear Is Back With "The 1"". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved November 3, 2018.
  36. ^ Preston, Devon. "Exclusive: Blackbear Dishes on His Upcoming Album". Tattoo Ideas, Artists and Models. Retrieved April 13, 2019.
  37. ^ "ANONYMOUS by blackbear". Retrieved April 13, 2019.
  38. ^ Darus, Alex (August 23, 2019). "blackbear drops "Hot Girl Bummer" anthem after defending track title".
  39. ^ "Tweet". twitter.com. Retrieved May 2, 2021.
  40. ^ "everything means nothing by blackbear". Retrieved July 18, 2020.
  41. ^ "Who Is blackbear And Why Do Your Faves Love Him?". Pop Buzz.
  42. ^ Jump up to: a b Trust, Gary. "Justin Bieber's 'Boyfriend' Debuts at No. 2 on Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved April 3, 2017.
  43. ^ "Boyfriend - Warner/Chappell Music". www.warnerchappell.com. Retrieved March 6, 2019.
  44. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g "Blackbear | Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved March 6, 2019.
  45. ^ "Blackbear Looked Death in The Eyes And Released His Best Album to Date". Hypefresh Inc. May 25, 2017. Retrieved January 23, 2020.
  46. ^ "How a Near-Death Experience Helped blackbear Make His Most Successful Album Yet". Billboard. Retrieved January 23, 2020.
  47. ^ "LA Party for a Cure to Welcome Multi-Platinum Recording Artist Blackbear". www.newswire.com.
  48. ^ "im 1 of many w/ chronic pancreatitis mission : cure are closer everyday to finding a cure. donating half to them!". Twitter. November 16, 2018. Retrieved January 23, 2020.
  49. ^ Shoemaker, Whitney (September 26, 2019). "blackbear and Michele Maturo announce pregnancy". Alternative Press. Retrieved October 4, 2019.
  50. ^ "blackbear on Instagram: "MIDNIGHT THOMAS MUSTO IS HERE im a papa im a daddy!!!!!!!! omg omg i havent stopp crying"". Instagram. Retrieved January 30, 2020.
  51. ^ "Michele on Instagram: "Midnight Thomas Musto is here + healthy & weighs 7lb 3oz & arrived January 26th. No other way to describe how I feel besides perfect.…"". Instagram.
  52. ^ "Michele on Instagram: "Said yes to my forever person". Instagram.
  53. ^ "2018 iHeartRadio Music Awards: See The Full List of Nominees". iHeartRadio. January 10, 2018. Retrieved January 10, 2018.
  54. ^ "MTV EMA 2020 VOTING". www.mtvema.com. Retrieved November 12, 2020.
  55. ^ "THE 2021 VMA NOMINATIONS ARE HERE: JUSTIN BIEBER, MEGAN THEE STALLION, AND MORE". www.mtv.com. Retrieved August 15, 2021.
  56. ^ "2021 iHeartRadio Music Awards: See The Full List of Nominees". iHeartRadio. April 7, 2021. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
  57. ^ "The Weeknd Leads All Finalists for the 2021 Billboard Music Awards: See the Full List". Billboard. Retrieved July 13, 2021.
  58. ^ "The Weeknd Leads All Finalists for the 2021 Billboard Music Awards: See the Full List". Billboard. Retrieved July 13, 2021.
  59. ^ Weston, Christopher. "IS DOWNFALLS HIGH GOING TO BE ON NETFLIX? HOW TO WATCH THE 2021 MACHINE GUN KELLY MOVIE". Retrieved February 12, 2021.

External links[]

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