The Break Presents: 645AR

Every artist wants to be unique in order to stick out from the pack. 645AR's way to separate himself? The extremely high-pitched voice he raps in, which is so off the beaten path that he became a viral sensation with his song "4 Da Trap," which he released in January of this year. That momentum led to the rapper signing a record deal with Columbia Records. Now, his single "In Love With a Stripper" is rolling, with more music tucked away.

645AR's roots are in the birthplace of hip-hop, the Bronx. Over a decade ago, he then moved to Atlanta around 10 years old, giving him the opportunity to absorb two completely different cities. In 2016, he ended up coming back to New York, where he attended Hostos Community College and played basketball at the school. However, music was on his mind so 645AR came back to Atlanta and wanted to get involved in its hot music scene in 2016.

Back in the ATL, he shot a few videos, then decided to do music on his own by the end of that year. In 2018, the rapper had a few songs out, but was looking for a way to be different. That moment came on his spring 2018 track "Crack," the first time he used the squeaky baby voice that he would become known for. Lil Tecca reposted the "Crack" video and 645AR begins to get industry attention. He dropped his self-titled project in September of 2019, then released "4 Da Trap" soon after. A bunch of viral tweets later and he's here, with more music to come.

Learn more about 645AR in this week's edition of The Break.

Age: 22

Hometown: New York City

I grew up listening to: "Fleetwood Mac, Elton John, T-Pain, Jay-Z and Lil Wayne. 50 Cent, he was one of my favorite artists. He was just going crazy. When I was in New York and Get Rich or Die Tryin' came out, I used to look up to 50 Cent. I wanted to be gangsta so bad."

My style’s been compared to: "A lot of people say [Playboi] Carti. A lot of people say [Young] Thug. A lot of people say 100 Gecs."

I’m going to blow up because: "Nobody is doing what I'm doing. Everybody's going crazy right now because they think it's a gimmick and it's not a gimmick. Personally, nobody could do what I'm doing. People could try."

What’s your most slept-on song, and why? "What I want them to listen to is not even out yet. Just coming from the past, say an artist just tryna get on, he has no type of following whatsoever, the first thing they're gonna do is 'My first video gotta go crazy!' So they gonna shoot a high budget video with no following, you gonna waste your content. I don't want that to happen to me ’cause I experienced it."

My standout records to date have been: "People feel it ['4DaTrap']. The young folks can feel it. When people hear the song, for the first time, you're gonna say 'What the fuck?' Then you can listen to it again, then one of your friends is gonna listen to it. Now it's a melody in your head. Then it gets stuck."

My standout moments to date have been: "Signing to Columbia [Records]. It was crazy, ’cause I ended going to Spain, out the country for the first time in my life. It was just a crazy day. It felt unreal. I had two shows in Spain, but that's been planned out since November. We were just tryna get it locked in before I left the country. I signed and went straight to the airport."

Most people don’t know: "I'm serious. People don't know I'm being dead serious, they think I'm just fuckin' around. I actually put a lot of emotion into my music. And before I was a rapper, I had hoop dreams. I started playing when I was in 10th grade."

I’m going to be the next: "Biggest thing."

Follow 645AR on SoundCloud and Instagram.

Standouts:

"Crack" Featuring Tony Shhnow and Bag Ty

"In Love With a Stripper"

"4 Da Trap"