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How Brent Faiyaz became a key figure in R’n’B
American singer Brent Faiyaz, 30, has built one of the most singular careers in contemporary R’n’B. With his latest opus, Icon, released on February 13th, 2026, the former SoundCloud prodigy, who has collaborated with Drake and the Neptunes, cements his status as one of the most influential voices of his generation.
By Alexis Thibault.
Brent Faiyaz, the R’n’B star who bends the rules
Icon, initially scheduled for release on September 18th, 2025, eventually came out on February 13th, 2026. But the day before, a message landed in the group chat of the American R’n’B singer and producer’s team: “I’m cancelling everything.” The album, the tracks, the videos… Everything had to be stopped immediately, without the slightest explanation. A month later, a video posted on his social media finally lifted the veil. In the intro to the track Have To (2026), the 30-year-old artist himself confirmed that he had scrapped the entire project just hours before it was set to go live.
Speculation ran wild. Some fans, and a few media, saw it as a strategic move – avoiding a head-on clash with Cardi B’s highly anticipated album Am I the Drama?, scheduled for release the same day. Others thought it was the whim of an artist known for withholding. Travis Scott, Kanye West and Playboi Carti have all, in their own ways, played with their listeners’ frustration. After one final listen, the American singer apparently felt the album simply wasn’t good enough yet…
Tony Soprano and Peter Pan, the two promotional singles released on July 4th, 2025, did not make the final cut. The final version of that third studio album, unveiled in February 2026, is thus a reworked object. It is shorter, tighter, re-orchestrated under the direction of Raphael Saadiq with Chad Hugo (Neptunes), Dpat and Tommy Richman. Forty minutes, ten tracks and no features… The result is a work that feels both contemporary and vintage, at times evoking early-2000s Usher or 1980s Michael Jackson.
A former rapper turned singer
Born on September 19th, 1995, in Columbia, Maryland, Brent Faiyaz grew up in a quiet suburb between Baltimore and Washington, D.C. The young man immersed himself in the music of D’Angelo, Lauryn Hill and Timbaland, before beginning to share his own music on SoundCloud in 2013. His original plan? To become a rapper. But shortly after releasing his first EP, Black Child (2013), his manager convinced him to focus on singing instead. An asset that would soon become his main strength.
The turning point came in late 2016 with the track Crew, a collaboration with GoldLink nominated at the Grammy Awards. Major labels quickly came knocking at his door. Offers including a $250,000 advance were put on the table. However, Brent Faiyaz turned them all down. “It was never about the money. It was always about the terms. An 18% royalty fee on a two-album deal just didn’t make sense,” his manager Ty Baisden told Vice.
Sonder Son (2017), his most personal and autobiographical album, ultimately laid the foundations for a radically independent career. That record showed the audience that the singer’s real education had taken place elsewhere… In mastering the history of R’n’B.
The leading voice of “toxic R’n’B”
Brent Faiyaz has built his universe around a falsetto carried by an atmospheric, minimalist production. As for his lyrics, they dissect the contradictions of romantic desire in such a sharp way that the press eventually labeled his work as “toxic R’n’B”. This subgenre explores the grey areas of modern love in a light way. Compulsive seduction, inability to commit and painful lucidity about his own contradictions are among his favorite themes. Wasteland (2022), his second album, stands as the most accomplished demonstration of that approach and features collaborations with Drake, Tyler, the Creator and The Neptunes.
Brent Faiyaz’s other distinctive trait? He remains very reluctant to live performances, knowing that he does not want to make mistakes. Nevertheless, the singer has proven that it is possible to build one of the most influential careers in contemporary R’n’B without ever compromising.
Icon (2026) by Brent Faiyaz, available now.
