SWAVAY

SwaVay is among Atlanta's most pensive and determined rappers. Favoring trap-styled production but ranging lyrically from deep self-analysis to terse polemics, he's been on a steady rise since his debut as a teenager. Over the course of nearly a decade, he built a catalog of independent releases including a handful of full-length projects, and experienced a breakthrough with the track "2 AM" (2019), issued after he appeared on the Grammy-nominated soundtrack for Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. He has since signed with Def Jam through Giant Music, releasing the album Almetha's Son in 2022 and the EP BILLY in 2024. Among the major figures with whom he has worked are Metro Boomin, James Blake, and Jeff Gitelman. An Atlantan since birth, SwaVay (Andre Jones) made his recorded debut as a high schooler with Poet Talk, released in 2012. Following years of low-key activity that included the 2016 full-length Before Eye Die, SwaVay got the attention of Metro Boomin -- specifically with the 2017 track "QuickTrip" -- who subsequently produced "2 AM," a single off the 2019 release Pure Infinity. Metro's involvement, combined with SwaVay's heightened profile from a contribution to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (on DJ Khalil's "Elevate," also featuring Denzel Curry, Cordae, and Trevor Rich), helped make "2 AM" SwaVay's most popular track to that point. Although SwaVay became the first artist signed to Metro Boomin's Republic-affiliated Boominati Worldwide label, releasing the three-track Pure Pack in 2019, the rapper soon returned to early independent label Dolo, issuing material across 2020 and 2021 such as B4DALBUM. Giant Music and Def Jam then partnered to support SwaVay's next moves. "Jugg" and "Faces," respectively produced by the duo of 20 Rocket and Whatupkali and Jeff Gitelman, arrived in 2022 as previews of the full-length Almetha's Son, offered that October. Among the set's other producers was James Blake, who had featured SwaVay on his own Friends That Break Your Heart. Highlighted by the autobiographical standout "Go Shorty," the album was given an expanded deluxe reissue in 2023. The five-song EP BILLY followed in 2024. ~ Andy Kellman, Rovi