Comethazine
Though he got his start with a traditional, lyrics-based focus, St. Louis rapper Comethazine turned his attention toward bass-heavy, trap-inspired party starters similar to Playboi Carti and Tay-K and a grim lyrical style to match the ghoulish grin he sported in many of his promotional photos. After issuing a series of singles and EPs in the mid-2010s, he released his debut full-length, Bawskee, in 2018. Within a year, he issued a sequel before concluding the trilogy with his highest-charting effort to date, Bawskee 3.5. 2020 saw the arrival of the nervy Pandemic, followed in 2021 by second studio outing Comethazine the Album.
Born Frank Childress in 1998, he was a lean-loving high school dropout. Influenced by Nipsey Hussle, Odd Future, Lil B, and Chief Keef, he started rapping in 2015. He soon discovered that his initial output was not as well-received as party-oriented cloud rap, so he switched angles and scored a pair of local underground hits with "Run It" and "Hella Choppers." The Aloe Vera EP landed in 2016, which resulted in a late 2017 deal with Alamo Records. A slew of short singles followed, including "Deathwish," "Piped Up," "Oowee," and "Hero." "Bands" became a viral hit, landing on Comethazine's first full-length, Bawskee, which debuted on the Billboard 200 upon its release in 2018. A year later, he issued the sequel, Bawskee 2, which landed just outside the Top 50. That summer, he concluded the series with Bawskee 3.5, another collection of dark, sex- and hustle-obsessed trap bangers. The set became his highest-charting effort to date, rising to 53 on the Billboard 200 and peaking just outside the Top 20 on the R&B/Hip-Hop and Rap charts.
In 2020, in the midst of the global coronavirus panic, Comethazine issued his aptly titled studio debut, Pandemic. Loaded with the singles "Glide" and "No Front," the set debuted just inside the Billboard 200. Months later, he returned with Bawskee 4, yet another collection of short, belligerent tracks packed with typical themes of violence, sex, and hard living that also cracked the Billboard 200. In October 2021, the rapper's second studio effort, Comethazine the Album, was released, hitting the number 185 spot on the charts.
© Neil Z. Yeung /TiVo
