* En anglais uniquement
Compton artist
Buddy announced his presence in the early 2010s as a down to earth yet unorthodox rapper and singer. Following
Teyana Taylor, he joined a small class of artists signed as teenagers to
the Neptunes' Star Trak Entertainment, and like that eventual G.O.O.D. Music signee,
Buddy truly hit his creative stride years later with another label. Since signing with RCA, he has hit Billboard's Heatseekers chart with
Harlan & Alondra (2018) and followed up with the commercial mixtape
Janktape, Vol. 1 (2020), and Superghetto (2022) -- the latter two higher-profile releases in a substantial body of work that includes other mixtapes, a handful of EPs, and numerous stray tracks as a headliner and featured artist.
Buddy's network is consequently just as vast.
Snoop Dogg,
Nipsey Hussle, and
Kendrick Lamar account for a mere portion of his collaborators from his native Los Angeles County.
Buddy was nicknamed at an early age by his sister. The tag stuck with the young Simmie Sims III, who began to take music-making seriously as a middle schooler. While in his mid-teens, through his manager,
Buddy found an admirer in
Pharrell Williams, who added him to the roster of Star Trak, and subsequently that of later venture I Am Other.
Williams-produced tracks such as the rambunctious "Awesome Awesome" and reflective "Staircases" (featuring
Kendrick Lamar) arrived across 2011 and 2012 and culminated with the February 2014 release of Idle Time. In addition to primary producer
Williams,
Cardo and
Boi-1da were among the mixtape's beatmakers, while the likes of
Robin Thicke and
Miley Cyrus made featured appearances.
Individual tracks were scattered throughout the next couple of years and led to the independent 2017 EPs
Ocean & Montana and
Magnolia, produced respectively by
Kaytranada and
Mike & Keys.
Buddy then joined major-label RCA, and in July 2018 made his proper full-length debut with
Harlan & Alondra. Titled after the cross streets of his childhood home, the album contained collaborations with
Snoop Dogg,
Ty Dolla $ign, and
Khalid and entered the Heatseekers chart at number 22. A deluxe edition was issued the next year. By the end of the decade,
Buddy's extensive credits as a featured artist included tracks by
Nipsey Hussle ("Status Symbol"),
BJ the Chicago Kid (two tracks off the Grammy-nominated In My Mind),
DJ Quik and Problem ("This Is Your Moment"), and
Terrace Martin ("Trail Mix"). He also contributed to several cuts on
Dreamville's
Revenge of the Dreamers III, such as "Costa Rica," which cracked the Hot 100.
Buddy's high rate of output continued throughout 2020. That April, RCA issued
Janktape, Vol. 1, an EP-length mixtape collaboration with
Kent Jamz.
Buddy and
Raedio teamed up for "Bad Decisions," included on the soundtrack for the fourth season of Insecure. The singles "Black 2" and "Faces," the latter featuring
Lucky Daye, were out shortly thereafter. The Rapper's second full-length, Superghetto, arrived in March 2022. Along with "Black 2," the album featured the single "Glitch" with
Tinashe. Also featured were guest spots by
Blxst,
T-Pain, and
Ari Lennox. ~ Andy Kellman