Brent Faiyaz

As R&B entered a renaissance with young, adventurous artists in the 2010s, Maryland-bred singer-songwriter Brent Faiyaz emerged as one of its standard-bearers with his honest lyrics, social media-ready one-liners, and soothing voice.

Born Christopher Brent Wood in 1995, he left his Maryland hometown for Charlotte, North Carolina after high school before jetting to LA to pursue his musical dreams.

There, he seemed to pop up virtually out of nowhere.