Logic

The stylistically dynamic and voluble Logic launched his rap career through uploads and mixtapes before signing a Def Jam deal that fostered a mainstream presence since the mid-2010s. The MC, singer, songwriter, and producer made his recording debut the previous decade and within five years hit the Top Five with his debut album, Under Pressure (2014), the first of several conceptual full-length projects to either top or nearly top the Billboard 200 and rap charts. Logic’s ascent continued through Everybody (2017); his third proper LP debuted at number one with weighty themes including mental health, exemplified by “1-800-273-8255,” a number two pop hit nominated for a Grammy Award. This was followed by secondary volumes of the artist’s Bobby Tarantino and Young Sinatra series, the latter capped by YSIV (2018). After crowning the Billboard 200 again with Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2019), he hit number two with No Pressure (2020). Logic announced his retirement ahead of the latter, but he was back the next year with new singles as well as his seventh mixtape, Bobby Tarantino III. His seventh studio album, Vinyl Days, arrived in 2022; it was his last release with Def Jam before going independent with the release of his next album, College Park, in 2023.
Born Sir Robert Bryson Hall II in Rockville, Maryland, Logic spent much of his childhood in nearby Gaithersburg. Although he was expelled from high school and was surrounded by drugs — his parents struggled with addiction, and his brothers manufactured and distributed crack cocaine — Logic found a creative outlet in hip-hop, inspired at first by the RZA, Wu-Tang Clan, and the Roots. He started rapping in his teens and released his first mixtape in 2009 under the name Psychological. After the 2010 release of Young, Broke, & Infamous — by which point he had shortened his name — Logic joined the independent label Visionary Music Group. A one-tape-per-year schedule continued with a trilogy of Young Sinatra tapes, a period during which he toured internationally without label support and was selected for XXL magazine’s Freshman Class of 2013.
Logic and Visionary Music Group subsequently worked out a contract with Def Jam. The artist released his major-label debut album, Under Pressure, in October 2014. Executive produced by No I.D., it didn’t need any guest appearances to enter the Billboard 200 chart at number four, and was eventually certified gold by the RIAA. The Incredible True Story, an ambitious concept album set 100 years in the future, arrived in November 2015 and peaked at number three on the Billboard 200. The following year, Logic embarked on the Endless Summer Tour with G-Eazy, YG, and Yo Gotti. During the first week of dates, Logic released Bobby Tarantino, a commercial mixtape that debuted at number 16 and later peaked at number 12 despite no advance notice. It featured “Flexicution,” the rapper’s first Billboard Hot 100 single as a lead artist. Around the same time, the Suicide Squad soundtrack’s “Sucker for Pain,” featuring Logic among the likes of Lil Wayne and Wiz Khalifa, became a global smash.
In early 2017, shortly after his second album went gold, Logic issued the first tracks from his third proper album, Everybody, which arrived that May. A diverse cast of guests including Alessia Cara, Chuck D, and Neil deGrasse Tyson supported Logic on a set that explored issues dividing and unifying humanity. It debuted at number one, and its “1-800-273-8255,” titled after the U.S. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, was nominated for Grammy awards in the categories of Song of the Year and Best Music Video. A trio of new singles arrived in the early part of 2018, starting with “44 More” and “Overnight,” followed by the Marshmello collaboration “Everyday.” These tracks landed on the sequel mixtape Bobby Tarantino II, which debuted atop the Billboard 200 in March 2018. Only six months later, Logic released his fourth proper album, YSIV. Another Top Five entry, it featured appearances from Ryan Tedder and Wu-Tang Clan. On the album’s “Everybody Dies,” he bragged about having written a novel. Supermarket was published the following March, and was accompanied by Supermarket (Soundtrack), a rock-oriented album with only one guest appearance. Only two months later, he topped the Billboard 200 again with album five, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind.
In July 2020, Logic announced the imminent release of his sixth LP, No Pressure, as well as his retirement from music. The record, for which No I.D. served again as executive producer, maintained Logic’s streak of Top Five albums. The retirement proved to be short-lived. Early the following year, he and producer Madlib previewed material recorded under the name MadGic, and a handful of stray Def Jam solo tracks commenced shortly thereafter. The YS Collection, Vol. 1, a compilation of material taken from the Young Sinatra series, was issued around the same time. 2021 also saw Logic releasing new music under the Doc D (or Doctor Destruction) alias, a semi-anonymous character whose style and presentation was deeply indebted to MF Doom.
In June 2021, Logic formally announced he was returning to music and issued the single “Intro.” The song was quickly followed by several other new tracks, and on July 30, he released his seventh mixtape and final chapter of his Bobby Tarantino trilogy, Bobby Tarantino III, which debuted at the number 26 spot on the Billboard charts. More tracks arrived in 2022, including “Tetris” and “Therapy Music” (featuring Russ), before the rapper issued his seventh studio album, Vinyl Days. The project, an all-out tribute to the “golden age” of ’90s hip-hop, featured appearances from Blu & Exile, AZ, and RZA, among others. Following the record’s release, Logic cut ties with Def Jam and entered a contract with BMG that let him operate more independently and retain ownership of his master recordings. The first album released under this new deal was 2023s College Park, another star-studded event that included guest spots from stars as wide-ranging as Redman, Joey Bada$$, Norah Jones, and many others. A special vinyl edition of College Park was made available for pre-order through Urban Outfitters in a limited run of 500 copies. As soon as the records were made available, the entire pressing sold out in less than 60 seconds. ~ Andy Kellman & Neil Z. Yeung