Bas

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Bas, born Abbas Hamad, grew up in Paris, France and later settled in Jamaica, Queens, New York City at age 8. He attended St. Francis Preparatory School in Fresh Meadows, Queens, then Hampton University in Hampton, Virginia on a full scholarship. His brother Ibrahim is a music industry executive and cofounder of Dreamville Records, and another brother is New York-based DJ Moma. Bas is a Muslim; his father was a diplomat working as the Deputy Director of UNESCO. In 2011, Bas released his debut mixtape Quarter Water Raised Vol. 1, followed by Quarter Water Raised Vol. 2 in 2013. That same year, he was featured on J. Cole's "New York Times" alongside 50 Cent from Cole's album Born Sinner, and on DJ Khaled's "Hells Kitchen" from Suffering from Success. He appeared on the Dreamville compilation mixtape Revenge of the Dreamers, released in celebration of Dreamville's partnership with Interscope Records, resulting in Bas being signed to Interscope. Two weeks prior to his debut album Last Winter, he released a free EP titled Two Weeks Notice. Last Winter was released on April 29, 2014, featuring guest appearances from J. Cole, Mack Wilds, KQuick, and Irvin Washington. The album was a conceptual project touching on the cold days in New York City recording the album. It was supported by the single "My Nigga Just Made Bail" produced by GP808 featuring J. Cole, and debuted at 103 on the Billboard 200 with 3,601 copies sold in its first week. Bas went on a 10-city nationwide tour titled after the album, then a 24-city nationwide and international tour with TDE rapper Ab-Soul. In 2015, he supported J. Cole on the '2014 Forest Hills Drive Tour' alongside Omen, Cozz, Jeremih, YG, and Big Sean. Bas released his second album, Too High to Riot on March 4, 2016, with guest appearances from J. Cole, Cozz, and the Hics. It debuted at 49 on the Billboard 200, selling 10,965 copies in its first week. He released a music video for each song on the album and went on tour in June 2016 with Cozz and EarthGang, including 26 cities in North America and 10 cities in Europe, including his hometown of Koewacht. On January 29, 2017, a documentary highlighting the tour was released on Tidal. On April 10, 2018, Bas released the one-off single "Pinball II" featuring Correy C. The first single for his third album "Boca Raton" was released on June 19 featuring ASAP Ferg, followed by "Tribe" featuring J. Cole on August 22. Milky Way was released on August 24, 2018, featuring J. Cole, Ari Lennox, ASAP Ferg, Lion Babe, Moe Moks, mOma+Guy, and Correy C. It debuted at number 35 on the Billboard 200, selling 13,150 album-equivalent units in the first week. Bas announced a 43-city tour beginning in November 2018 and concluding in February 2019. In late 2018, he announced he was working on an album with frequent collaborators The Hics. On August 9, 2019, he released the Spilled Milk 1 EP featuring EarthGang, JID, Falcons, B. Lewis, Ari Lennox, and Kiddominant. On November 5, 2019, Bas was featured on the FKJ single "Risk". In September 2020, Dua Saleh released the single "RE(a)D" featuring Bas. On April 15, 2022, Bas released the [BUMP] Pick Me Up EP featuring Galimatias, Gunna, Ari Lennox, J. Cole and Lil Tjay. On January 24, 2023, Bas released the single "Diamonds". On July 15, 2023, he announced the title of his fourth studio album, We Only Talk About Real Shit When We're Fucked Up. The album's lead single "Passport Bros" featuring J. Cole was released on July 19, 2023, followed by "Ho Chi Minh" on August 19, 2023, "Khartoum" featuring Adekunle Gold on October 24, 2023, and "179 Deli" featuring AJ Tracey on November 28, 2023. The album released on December 15, 2023, featuring Adekunle Gold, AJ Tracey, Amaarae, A$AP Ferg, Blxckie, FKJ, J. Cole and Sha Sha.

In Their Own Story

The studio lights dim as Bas leans over the mic, his voice a low, honeyed hum over a beat that pulses like a heartbeat. Outside, the Charlotte night is quiet, but inside, he's building a world—one where memories of Queens streets mix with North Carolina humidity, where a verse about his father's Sudanese accent sits next to a line about late-night drives. He nods at J. Cole through the glass, a silent understanding passing between them—a shorthand forged over a decade of mixtapes, tour buses, and arguments in the booth. This is their sanctuary, where every verse is a piece of a larger puzzle, and Bas is carving his name into the Dreamville legacy, one bar at a time, with the weight of two continents behind every word.

Reader's Guide

Bas is a French-born American rapper signed to J. Cole's Dreamville Records, an imprint of Interscope Records. His debut studio album Last Winter (2014) entered the Billboard 200 at 103 with 3,601 copies sold in its first week. His second album Too High to Riot (2016) debuted at 49 on the Billboard 200, selling 10,965 copies in its first week. His third album Milky Way (2018) debuted at number 35 on the Billboard 200, selling 13,150 album-equivalent units in the first week. His fourth album We Only Talk About Real Shit When We're Fucked Up (2023) was met with continued praise. Bas was born on May 27, 1987, in Paris, France to Sudanese parents. He is a Muslim. His father was a diplomat working as the Deputy Director of UNESCO. He has three older brothers and an older sister; one brother is New York-based DJ Moma, and another, Ibrahim, is a music industry executive and cofounder of Dreamville Records. At age 8, after having lived in Paris and Qatar, the family settled in Jamaica, Queens, New York City. Bas attended St. Francis Preparatory School in Fresh Meadows, Queens, then Hampton University in Hampton, Virginia with a full scholarship. In 2011, Bas released his debut mixtape Quarter Water Raised Vol. 1. In 2013, his second mixtape Quarter Water Raised Vol. 2 was released. In 2013, Bas was featured on J. Cole's "New York Times" along with 50 Cent from Cole's album Born Sinner, and on DJ Khaled's "Hells Kitchen" from Suffering from Success. He appeared on the Dreamville compilation mixtape Revenge of the Dreamers, released in celebration of Dreamville's partnership with Interscope Records, resulting in Bas being signed to Interscope. Two weeks prior to the release of his debut album Last Winter, Bas released a free EP titled Two Weeks Notice. Last Winter was released on April 29, 2014, featuring J. Cole, Mack Wilds, KQuick, and Irvin Washington. The album was supported by the single "My Nigga Just Made Bail" produced by GP808 featuring J. Cole. Following its release, Bas went on a 10-city nationwide tour titled after the album, then a 24-city nationwide and international tour with TDE rapper Ab-Soul. In 2015, Bas supported J. Cole on '2014 Forest Hills Drive Tour' alongside Omen, Cozz, Jeremih, YG, and Big Sean. Too High to Riot was released on March 4, 2016, featuring J. Cole, Cozz, and the Hics. Bas released a music video for each song on the album. He went on tour in June 2016 with Cozz and EarthGang, including 26 cities in North America and 10 cities in Europe, including his hometown of Koewacht. On January 29, 2017, the documentary highlighting the tour was released on Tidal. Milky Way was released on August 24, 2018, featuring J. Cole, Ari Lennox, ASAP Ferg, Lion Babe, Moe Moks, mOma+Guy, and Correy C. Bas announced a 43-city tour to support the album, which began in November 2018 and concluded in February 2019. In late 2018, Bas announced he was working on an album with frequent collaborators The Hics. On August 9, 2019, Bas released the Spilled Milk 1 EP featuring EarthGang, JID, Falcons, B. Lewis, Ari Lennox, and Kiddominant. On November 5, 2019, Bas was featured on the FKJ single "Risk". On April 15, 2022, Bas released the [BUMP] Pick Me Up EP featuring Galimatias, Gunna, Ari Lennox, J. Cole and Lil Tjay. We Only Talk About Real Shit When We're Fucked Up was released on December 15, 2023, featuring Adekunle Gold, AJ Tracey, Amaarae, A$AP Ferg, Blxckie, FKJ, J. Cole and Sha Sha.

Did You Know?

• Bas was born in Paris, France to Sudanese parents and moved to Jamaica, Queens, New York City at age 8 after living in Paris and Qatar.
• His brother Ibrahim is a music industry executive and cofounder of Dreamville Records.
• His father was a diplomat working as the Deputy Director of UNESCO.
• Bas attended Hampton University in Hampton, Virginia on a full scholarship.
• His debut album Last Winter debuted at 103 on the Billboard 200 with 3,601 copies sold in its first week.