Pouya

Pouya broke through with the Baby Bone EP highlight “Get Buck,” a track so unrelenting and combative that it lacked space for a hook. The title of its 2013 parent release referred to the rapper’s nickname and love for Bone Thugs-N-Harmony. While the influence of that pioneering melodic rap group can be sensed throughout Pouya’s discography, the Miami native’s highly personal and creative lyricism, combined with his easy adaptability to the wildly varying approaches of his producers, have made him stand out all along. From 2016 through 2018, Pouya’s Underground Underdog, Drop Out of School (with Fat Nick), and Five Five each hit Billboard charts, a period during which the rapper also scored with the Ghostemane collaboration “1000 Rounds.” By the time that single went gold, in 2021, Pouya’s catalog had expanded with additional independent projects such as The South Got Something to Say and Blood Was Never Thick as Water.
Born and raised in Miami, Kevin Pouya started recording in his late teens, forming a duo with childhood friend Fat Nick dubbed the Buffet Boys. Pouya’s first couple mixtapes were released in 2012. The EP Baby Bone arrived the next year, and with it came “Get Buck,” which multiplied his audience by a high factor. Pouya responded with another EP, Gookin’, recorded with the Cool Kids’ Sir Michael Rocks. After a clutch of EPs and tapes that included $outh $ide $uicide (with $uicideboy$), Pouya went on something of a commercial hot streak. In 2016, Underground Underdog became his first of three recordings to register on Billboard’s Independent Albums chart, and it also cracked the Billboard 200. Drop Out of School and Five Five entered the independent chart over the next couple years, and it was during this time that the non-album single “1000 Rounds” — a duo cut with Ghostemane — became one of Pouya’s career high points.
Retaining his artistic independence and regional pride, Pouya in 2019 offered The South Got Something to Say, his third official album, containing the chest-rattling Juicy J collaboration “Six Speed,” and the likes of Ghostemane and Rocci among the other featured artists. A sequel to Drop Out of School was among Pouya’s 2020 output. The next year brought Blood Was Never Thick as Water. The rapper’s fourth album balanced atmospheric tracks such as “Walk In” and “Leave Me Alone” with rumblers like “Wig Split,” featuring Denzel Curry. The four-years-old “1000 Rounds” was certified gold that October. ~ Andy Kellman