This time last year, you almost definitely hadn’t heard the name ILOVEMAKONNEN.
It’s not even like, ‘Oh, if you were a hip-hop fan, you knew Makonnen before this year — now the mainstream is finally catching up.’ Nope. Most hip-hop listeners had never heard the name, and few outside of Atlanta were familiar with his music.
He had maintained a blog — he interviewed Lil B and says he corresponded with Adele — but his own songs were playing under the radar — that is, until he got a couple of tracks to buzz in 2014.
Now, he’s nominated for a Grammy Award, for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration for his work with Drake on “Tuesday.”
How did he do it?
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A few years back, after being on house arrest for an incident that ended in the death of his friend, Makonnen started focusing on music, and steadily built relationships with some of ATL’s most promising producers, including Mike Will Made It, Sonny Digital and Metro Boomin. Together, they worked on his EP, ILoveMakonnen, which dropped in July 2014.
The EP was an eclectic mashup of styles, with the chant raps of “I Don’t Sell Molly No More;” the odd-yet-pleasant singing of “Rumor;” and, of course, the catchiness of “Tuesday.”
Cried When He Heard The Remix With Drake
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Because there’s really no other way to react.
Shot A Video And Signed To Drake’s Label, OVO Sound
And get the club and your career goin’ up.
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Voilà. (This comes, of course, after you’ve already won a #HoodGrammy, courtesy of Drake.)
ILOVEMAKONNEN’s Road To The Grammys: Singing, Tears And Drake
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