Buddy

Rapper and singer Buddy is known for an idiosyncratic style that is down to earth yet unorthodox, and both casual and purposeful. The Compton artist made his presence known in the early 2010s, following <a href="spotify:artist:4ULO7IGI3M2bo0Ap7B9h8a">Teyana Taylor</a> as part of 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>. 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. Signed to <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22RCA%22">RCA</a>, he hit Billboard's Heatseekers chart with Harlan & Alondra (2018) and followed up with the commercial mixtape Janktape, Vol. 1 (2020) and Superghetto (2022). He went independent with Don't Forget to Breathe (2024), an album fueled by his experience at a psychedelic retreat. In addition to his higher-profile releases, Buddy is behind multiple EPs, a mixtape, and numerous featured appearances. His network is consequently vast, with <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> accounting 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>. Buddy's next project arrived in March 2024 and marked a creative rebirth of sorts. Don't Forget to Breathe, an independent set distributed by <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Empire%22">Empire</a>, was written and recorded after Buddy spent time at a psychedelic retreat in Portugal. <a href="spotify:artist:4JgGhWEWcKIyT84mknHP2w">Kent Jamz</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:1ybINI1qPiFbwDXamRtwxD">Smino</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:07d5etnpjriczFBB8pxmRe">BJ the Chicago Kid</a> were among the album's guests. A slew of singles as a headliner and featured artist -- most notably <a href="spotify:artist:0A0FS04o6zMoto8OKPsDwY">YG</a>'s "2004" -- followed over the rest of 2024 and into 2025. During the latter year, Buddy was cast in a spinoff of the television series Snowfall. ~ Andy Kellman, Rovi