24kGoldn

With melodic flows inspired by a love of both high-end fashion and his music-industry lifestyle, Bay Area rapper 24kGoldn achieved platinum success before his 18th birthday. He rose quickly from posting his songs online to a major-label deal, bringing a passionate rap/singing hybrid style and ample amounts of pop accessibility to the chart-topping 2020 single "Mood" and releases like his gold-certified 2021 debut studio album, El Dorado.

24kGoldn was born Golden Landis Von Jones in 2000. Growing up in a lively neighborhood in the Bay Area, he was exposed to different cultural perspectives early on, which would later inform his versatile approach to music. He began singing, but during his formative years he was more interested in fashion and sneakers than music. When he started rapping at age 14, his musical persona took shape quickly. By 2016, he had begun posting songs online, and early singles like "iPhone" and "Trapper's Anthem" attracted moderate attention. He steadily released new songs, and it was 2018's "Ballin' Like Shareef" that broke through to wider audiences. At this point, 24kGoldn was attending University of Southern California and signed to Columbia affiliate Records LLC while working toward his degree. From there, he recorded several songs that would become viral hits, beginning with the danceable and hooky "Valentino" in late 2018 and continuing in 2019 with "Games on Your Phone" and "A Lot to Lose."

24kGoldn's first EP, Dropped Outta College, was released in November 2019 and charted in the Billboard 200. The song "Mood" featuring Iann Dior arrived in July 2020 and topped the Billboard Hot 100. The track reached the number one position in multiple countries and was popular enough to merit a remix featuring Justin Bieber and J Balvin. His debut studio album, El Dorado, arrived in March 2021 and featured appearances from Future, DaBaby, and Swae Lee. It was a significant success for 24kGoldn, reaching number 24 on the Billboard 200 and, rather appropriately, going gold. He returned later in the year with the single "Prada" featuring Lil Tecca. In 2022, 24kGoldn released the singles "In My Head" (with Travis Barker) and "Overthinking" (with Mabel). ~ Fred Thomas