Buddy

Compton artist Buddy announced his presence in the early 2010s as a down-to-earth yet unorthodox rapper and singer. Following <a href="spotify:artist:4ULO7IGI3M2bo0Ap7B9h8a">Teyana Taylor</a>, he joined a small class of artists signed as teenagers to <a href="spotify:artist:0KuF7reCTOZwV7YJnHQqgr">the Neptunes</a>' <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Star+Trak+Entertainment%22">Star Trak Entertainment</a>, and like that eventual <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22G.O.O.D.+Music%22">G.O.O.D. Music</a> signee, Buddy truly hit his creative stride years later with another label. Since signing with <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22RCA%22">RCA</a>, he has hit Billboard's Heatseekers chart with Harlan & Alondra (2018) and followed up with the commercial mixtape Janktape, Vol. 1 (2020) and Superghetto (2022) -- the latter two higher-profile releases in a substantial body of work that includes other mixtapes, a handful of EPs, and numerous stray tracks as a headliner and featured artist. Buddy's network is consequently just as vast. <a href="spotify:artist:7hJcb9fa4alzcOq3EaNPoG">Snoop Dogg</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:0EeQBlQJFiAfJeVN2vT9s0">Nipsey Hussle</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:2YZyLoL8N0Wb9xBt1NhZWg">Kendrick Lamar</a> account for a mere portion of his collaborators from his native Los Angeles County.

Buddy was nicknamed at an early age by his sister. The tag stuck with the young Simmie Sims III, who began to take music-making seriously as a middle schooler. While in his mid-teens, through his manager, Buddy found an admirer in <a href="spotify:artist:2RdwBSPQiwcmiDo9kixcl8">Pharrell Williams</a>, who added him to the roster of <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Star+Trak%22">Star Trak</a>, and subsequently that of later venture <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22I+Am+Other%22">I Am Other</a>. <a href="spotify:artist:2RdwBSPQiwcmiDo9kixcl8">Williams</a>-produced tracks such as the rambunctious "Awesome Awesome" and reflective "Staircases" (featuring <a href="spotify:artist:2YZyLoL8N0Wb9xBt1NhZWg">Kendrick Lamar</a>) arrived across 2011 and 2012 and culminated with the February 2014 release of Idle Time. In addition to primary producer <a href="spotify:artist:2RdwBSPQiwcmiDo9kixcl8">Williams</a>, Cardo and <a href="spotify:artist:2RQnTQM6OQd8dTUDF7UsT7">Boi-1da</a> were among the mixtape's beatmakers, while the likes of <a href="spotify:artist:0ZrpamOxcZybMHGg1AYtHP">Robin Thicke</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:5YGY8feqx7naU7z4HrwZM6">Miley Cyrus</a> made featured appearances.

Individual tracks were scattered throughout the next couple of years and led to the independent 2017 EPs Ocean & Montana and Magnolia, produced respectively by <a href="spotify:artist:6qgnBH6iDM91ipVXv28OMu">Kaytranada</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:5J0hy1k4Ghvo1iIZ8P7cd4">Mike & Keys</a>. Buddy then joined major-label <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22RCA%22">RCA</a>, and in July 2018 made his proper full-length debut with Harlan & Alondra. Titled after the cross streets of his childhood home, the album contained collaborations with <a href="spotify:artist:7hJcb9fa4alzcOq3EaNPoG">Snoop Dogg</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:7c0XG5cIJTrrAgEC3ULPiq">Ty Dolla $ign</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:6LuN9FCkKOj5PcnpouEgny">Khalid</a> and entered the Heatseekers chart at number 22. A deluxe edition was issued the next year. By the end of the decade, Buddy's extensive credits as a featured artist included tracks by <a href="spotify:artist:0EeQBlQJFiAfJeVN2vT9s0">Nipsey Hussle</a> ("Status Symbol"), <a href="spotify:artist:07d5etnpjriczFBB8pxmRe">BJ the Chicago Kid</a> (two tracks off the Grammy-nominated In My Mind), <a href="spotify:artist:0b2XeWDPeBiLeskT6RFqMb">DJ Quik</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:0399oiMcmbOzzsYQDNYqxn">Problem</a> ("This Is Your Moment"), and <a href="spotify:artist:7MNEVabc4cs19CbzAFZmXz">Terrace Martin</a> ("Trail Mix"). He also contributed to several cuts on <a href="spotify:artist:1iNqsUDUraNWrj00bqssQG">Dreamville</a>'s Revenge of the Dreamers III, such as "Costa Rica," which cracked the Hot 100.

Buddy's high rate of output continued throughout 2020. That April, <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22RCA%22">RCA</a> issued Janktape, Vol. 1, an EP-length mixtape collaboration with <a href="spotify:artist:4JgGhWEWcKIyT84mknHP2w">Kent Jamz</a>. Buddy and <a href="spotify:artist:0txgDz2yNToARuN2vD7SWD">Raedio</a> teamed up for "Bad Decisions," which was included on the soundtrack for the fourth season of Insecure. The singles "Black 2" and "Faces," the latter featuring <a href="spotify:artist:5Vuvs6Py2JRU7WiFDVsI7J">Lucky Daye</a>, appeared shortly thereafter. The Rapper's second full-length, Superghetto, arrived in March 2022. Along with "Black 2," the album featured the single "Glitch" with <a href="spotify:artist:0NIIxcxNHmOoyBx03SfTCD">Tinashe</a>. Also featured were guest spots by <a href="spotify:artist:4qXC0i02bSFstECuXP2ZpL">Blxst</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:3aQeKQSyrW4qWr35idm0cy">T-Pain</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:1vaQ6v3pOFxAIrFoPrAcom">Ari Lennox</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:6dPh96zLnVMZVHnr66WRjg">Gwen Bunn</a>. ~ Andy Kellman, Rovi