How Armani White Paved His Path To 41 Billion Streams, ‘BILLIE EILISH’ Hit

Hollywood & Entertainment How Armani White Paved His Path To 41 Billion Streams, ‘BILLIE EILISH’ Hit Andrea Bossi Contributor Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. I cover music and, often, its intersections with social matters. New! Follow this author to stay notified about their latest stories.

Got it! Sep 1, 2022, 09:00am EDT | New! Click on the conversation bubble to join the conversation Got it! Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Armani White always wanted to be an icon to his hometown Philly. Now, we feels a bit closer. Chad Grifith Armani White caught the attention of the internet and record labels alike after dropping the perfect summer song.

The lyrics and catchy beat drop in “BILLIE EILISH” helped elevate the music artist to a new level. The track samples N. O.

R. E. ’s “Nothin’,” one of his favorite songs growing up, and compliments Billie Eilish’s style and creativity.

Since its May 2022 release, “BILLIE EILISH” amassed over 60 million views across music streaming platforms and at least 41 billion on TikTok. Then, White signed with Def Jam late July. “Armani is a dynamic artist who’s been bubbling underground for a while now and has caught lightning in a bottle with ‘BILLIE EILISH,’” Def Jam CEO Tunji Balogun told Billboard .

For the West Philadelphia-born rapper, the song going viral wasn’t overnight fortune but the result of decades of dedication. Surrounded by family that played music and the church, White found himself drawn to music from a young age. He experimented with rap starting in second grade and grew determined to be a rapper.

By his late teens, White completed speech therapy on his own to rid his lisp and refine his sound. MORE FOR YOU ‘Dune’ Tops Foreign Box Office With Promising $77M Cume ‘Shang-Chi’ Box Office: Marvel Movie Tops $360M Worldwide 4 Series Coming To Netflix In October That Are Worth The Binge He later dropped out of a college to double down on pursuing his craft. White remembers that he could see the skyscrapers of New York from his dorm at Rutgers University.

It felt like a metaphor, he said, as if the buildings were a beacon of his dreams, just awaiting his arrival. At the end of his first year, while on the way to take a final, White said his body went on a sort of autopilot. Instead of walking to the exam, he found himself boarding a train that led to the middle of Manhattan.

“It was the first time I felt peace. I felt real again. .

. I felt like a human being, and I felt like I was in control of my life,” he said. Since then, White has created his own sound.

The 25-year-old calls his genre “happy hood music,” a multifaceted musical style that faces pain and hardship as well as joy and gratitude. “My idea is on the darkest days, I still look out in the sky and find the sun,” he said. “And if I can do that.

. . I want to be able to lead other people to that light.

” This was especially put to the test in 2020 when White’s home caught on fire. Shortly after, he and his brother were wrongfully arrested and entered a year-long legal battle that concluded with all charges being dropped. Beyond the pain of the experience, the fire dug at a deep wound.

White previously lost four family members to a fire in 2006. Turning to music to heal, White crafted his 2021 EP Things We Lost in The Fire. The EP exemplifies White’s “happy hood music,” balancing vulnerability and gratitude with grief and pained longing for lost loved ones.

“BILLIE EILISH” was Armani White’s first song after the EP. After studying how to grow on social media, he was serious about getting the song to a wider audience than ever before. “I wanted to be someone for Philly for so long,” White said.

“This city has inspired me so much, especially with my genre happy hood music. I write music from pain in a more bright, colorful way. But I have experienced so much pain.

I have learned so much in this city. It’s given me the option to choose the brighter, colorful, more happy route in an aggressive environment. And I don’t think I would have been able to do that without growing up here.

” Armani White first performed at Made In America in 2018. Four years later, he’s returning to Made in . .

. [+] America after an his 2021 EP, viral hit “BILLIE EILISH” and signing with Def Jam. (Photo by Lisa Lake/Getty Images for Roc Nation) Getty Images for Roc Nation His latest single “DIAMOND DALLAS,” named after the WWE Hall of Famer, dropped in August.

White is preparing for this year’s Made in America Festival , curated by Jay-Z and featuring Tyler, The Creator and Bad Bunny as headliners. Often seen in his signature look—two watches, a scarf on his head and beaded braids—Armani White is already moving the goal posts of his ambitions. His next project is in the works, to be titled Selfish .

“By the time you reach your peak, you should find a new mountain,” he said. Follow me on Twitter . Check out my website .

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