There’s power in making a plan, with even more in executing it. In 2016, 26ar was locked up on a four-year conspiracy sentence. While incarcerated, his friends told him about the drill music takeover his hometown of Brooklyn and New York City at large. 26 decided then and there that he would start rapping when he got out, drop every week and do what he could to build his buzz.
Once he was freed in early 2019, he held himself accountable. By the next year, he picked up local buzz with his song “My Set.” The track had a familiar drill bounce, but his way with words and focus on lyrical skill made him stand out. He followed this up in October of 2020 with “Maneuver” featuring Rocko Ballin (a track that has over seven million YouTube streams), his debut project Drench Em in December of that year and an additional set of loosies. As of this spring, the now 22-year-old is a Def Jam signee, fresh off the release of his major label debut Flyest Oota. It all started with a dream.
26ar’s focus on lyrics and showing off his flows is heard on the aforementioned Drench Em. But his music after that showed an artist who didn’t want to sound like everyone else. He attributes listening to lyrical rappers as his foundation. Also, at his core, he understands the strength in being unique. The varied beats he chooses to rap over and the artists he collabs with like PGF Nuk and Rob49 all show that there’s still room for evolution within BK drill. This commitment to being different has taken 26ar far and will continue to pay dividends.
On the newest episode of The Break: Live, 26ar joins XXL to talk about launching his rap career once he got out of jail, signing to Def Jam, being chosen by Jay-Z to perform at the Made In America festival and much more. Check out the interview below.
Follow 26ar on SoundCloud and Instagram.
Standouts:
“My Set”
“Maneuver”
“Walk Em”
Flyest Oota
See the Best Hip-Hop Projects of 2022 So Far
Which project is your favorite?
