gabriel black

With his distinctively home-cooked blend of emo-rock and hip-hop, Los Angeles-based singer/songwriter Gabriel Black first grabbed listeners online in 2017. Along with his genre-bending sound, Black’s songs like “Pine Trees” and “Sad Boy” showcased his raw, emotive lyrics detailing his struggles with depression and isolation. A visual artist, he also set himself apart by animating most of his own videos with a scribbly style that balanced his dark lyrics with a childlike innocence.
Born in New Jersey and raised in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, Black was first introduced to music by his mother, who played him the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Marvin Gaye. From there, he made his own discoveries, listening to artists like Kid Cudi, My Chemical Romance, Nirvana, Immortal Technique, and more. At the same time, he picked up a love of the visual arts from his father, an artist who taught him how to draw. By his teens he was splitting his time between working on music, writing lyrics, and sketching in his notepads. However, it wasn’t until after dropping out of college in Boston that his career took off.
First he moved to New York, where took a job at Viper Records. From there he relocated to Los Angeles, where he interned with singer Imad Royal. It was during this period, plagued by depression and self-doubt, that Black moved to Monterey, California; he holed up in his apartment there, channeling his emotions into writing and recording songs.
He began uploading his tracks online and animating videos for songs like “Pine Trees” and “Sad Boy” with a caricatured version of himself done in a scribbly, lo-fi style. The videos quickly went viral, aided by Black’s responsive social media presence and penchant for connecting directly with his audience (even posting his personal cell phone number online). In 2018, he released his seven-track debut EP, Beautiful Life, which included the songs “Pine Trees,” “Sad Boy,” and “Light My Fire,” and in 2019 he teamed with rapper Phem for the single “Dead Yet.” ~ Matt Collar