Philly singer, rapper, and songwriter
Rakim Hasheem Allen, who operates under the moniker
PnB Rock, broke through in 2015 with the single "Jealous" featuring
Fetty Wap. Deftly combining elements of hip-hop, R&B, trap, and, pop,
PnB issued his debut album,
Catch These Vibes, in 2017, followed in 2019 by the star-studded
TrapStar Turnt PopStar, which debuted at number four on the Billboard 200.
Rakim "PnB Rock" Allen got his moniker from Pastorius and Baynton Streets in his hometown of Philadelphia. He debuted in 2014 with the mixtape RnB, its title referencing
Rock's blend of R&B and rap. The RnB2 mixtape appeared early in 2015 and caught the attention of Atlantic. The Warner-affiliated label signed
Rock and released
RNB3 that same year, along with his single "Jealous" featuring
Fetty Wap. The two released a mixtape, Money, Hoes & Flows, in 2016. Throughout the year,
Rock made a multitude of guest appearances on tracks by
Kodak Black,
YFN Lucci, Kevin Hart, and others.
GTTM: Goin Thru the Motions, was released by Atlantic in early 2017; originally referred to as
Rock's first proper album, it was later considered a mixtape.
Wiz Khalifa,
Ty Dolla $ign, and
A Boogie wit da Hoodie all made guest appearances. The release was a success, hitting the Top 30 of the Billboard 200 album chart. That summer, he was named one of XXL's 2017 Freshman Class before issuing the single "Time."
Catch These Vibes,
Rock's actual debut studio full-length, appeared in November of 2017, and hit the Top 20 of the Billboard 200. The following year, he appeared on
XXXTentacion's track "Smash!" and "S.W.I.N.G." with
Tory Lanez and
Trey Songz. Official sophomore full-length
Trapstar Turnt PopStar arrived in 2019.
PnB's 2020 single, "Ordinary," was a collaboration with
Pop Smoke. Also that year, he released the song "Rose Gold" featuring
King Von. 2021 marked the arrivals of "Need Somebody" and "Forever Never," the latter of which saw
PnB join forces with
Swae Lee and
Pink Sweat$. ~ David Jeffries