Corbin

Raised in St. Paul, Minnesota, Corbin Smidzik grew up with a desire to examine what ails us. He found kinship in the music of Lil Ugly Mane and Bones, whose work first inspired the grade school-aged Smidzik to make songs himself. His first mixtape, Forest, was a dark, warped, experimental record that caught the attention of the niche Soundcloud community. Inspired by R&B legends Joe and Keith Sweat, Corbin continued to innovate and delivered his follow-up mixtape in 2014, Black Silk, which cemented his place in the cultural canon. Though he had a small internet following, the young Smidzik struggled to find an audience and promote his music. But with Black Silk, he'd catch a break when someone posted his music video for "Without You" on Worldstar HipHop, quickly passing Millions of views and becoming a viral sensation. Complex and Consequence Of Sound named it one of the best songs of 2014, leading to a follow-up EP that same year, Leaving, which solidified Corbin's status as a rising voice for the alienated and alone. The project grew a huge cult following that extends to this day, and was immortalized by the legends of the past when Janet Jackson used his song "Idle" as part of a video interlude on her State Of The World Tour. Soon, Smidzik left school to pursue music full-time and attempt to manage the attention he received from fans around the world.

Despite his perceived introvertedness, Corbin decided to put energy into collaborations over his solo work, forming Thestand4rd with noted Minnesota artists Allan Kingdom, Bobby Raps, and producer Psymun, leading to more acclaim and a sold-out tour across the nation, covered by Billboard and The New York Times during their stop at the iconic SOBs. After this, Corbin teamed up with Bobby Raps in 2015 for Couch Potato, sparking hits such as "Frozen Tundra" and "Welcome To The Hell Zone." After a two-year hiatus, he returned in 2017 with Mourn, an album that flaunted his renewed focus, growth, and maturity, while also giving fans the timely wail of yearning "Ice Boy," a meditative and tortured desire for reciprocated love and connection.

Then, he retreated to the shadows, other than a few one-off singles, before a surprise return in 2020, featuring on The Kid Laroi's debut mixtape Fuck Love with "Not Fair." In 2021, he dropped Ghost With Skin, a collection of musings detailing his inner turmoil through music with a contemporary rap production sound balanced with his signature glacial vocal delivery. During the making of the album, Corbin began writing to guitar-led melodies that naturally progressed to a full band sound. The first song from this new direction, "Carbon Monoxide," would spark a shift, and later, culminate in a prolific two-week period that resulted in the bulk of a new album.

A little over 3 years later, Corbin resurfaces with Crisis Kid, a daring, inquisitive sonic clash of existential dread and understanding the plight of the common person in a rigged capitalistic society in the post-digital age. Recorded in an intimate setting with close collaborators Elliott Kozel (Gloomer) and Psymun, Crisis Kid is a declaration of trying to find meaning in the malaise, a record filled with dreamy, shoegaze and drone-inspired instrumentals that ponder the suffering and beauty of existence. Songs such as the meditative "Corpses" sound like coming up for air amongst a sea of paranoia, while the reflective "Crow" details the struggle of escaping harsh realities when they perpetually surround us. As Corbin philosophizes the universal suffering of our world, he finds pain and beauty in embracing the absurd, culminating in a new era for Corbin. He acts as the melancholic jester, poking fun at the systems which ail us, but expressing empathy for the ones afflicted, exposing the truth behind the lies we've been conditioned to accept. In a time where people feel more alone than ever, Corbin's art offers an olive branch to feel heard.

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BOILERPLATE

Corbin (FKA Spooky Black) makes captivating, honest, and raw music that harkens back to the days when the singer-songwriter's artistic vision prioritized vulnerability over image. For over a decade, the SoundCloud legend has made moody and intimate R&B that has helped listeners through some of their most difficult times. The 26-year-old St. Paul, Minnesota native came to prominence during the rise of the SoundCloud gold rush, helping to influence the new generation of Gen Z songwriters. Songs such as the haunting portrait of addiction "Diazepam," (8.5M+ Streams) and his battle with insecurity and instability in relationships "ICE BOY," (24M+ Streams) showed off his ability to connect with the plight of modern adolescence. But it was the internet-breaking, classic ballad of yearning "Without You," (31M+ Streams) that inspired a generation of disaffected and abandoned adolescents, serving as a soundtrack to make the alienated feel a little less alone. The song was named one of the best of 2014 by Complex and Consequence Of Sound. His work, notably 2017's Mourn, has been lauded by Pitchfork, Dazed, NPR, TheNeedleDrop and was named one of the best albums of the year by Dazed. He's attracted some of the biggest names in music, featuring on songs with Chief Keef, Trippie Redd, and The Kid Laroi, among others. With his latest record, Crisis Kid, Corbin dials back the angst in favor of an intimate vocal style that sounds like he's reading his diary. A more polished and refined version of Corbin resurfaces as he contemplates collective suffering, generational trauma, and the quest to find hope during the bleakest timeline, offering a voice for the voiceless.