Brent Faiyaz
Christopher Brent Wood (born September 19, 1995), known professionally as Brent Faiyaz, is an American R&B singer. He rose to prominence after he was featured on the GoldLink single “Crew” in a group called Sonder alongside Shy Glizzy in 2016, which was certified 6× Platinum by the RIAA, and earned him a nomination for the Grammy Award for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration.
In 2021, his singles, "Wasting Time" featuring Drake and The Neptunes, "Gravity" with DJ Dahi featuring Tyler, the Creator, and "Mercedes", all earned him entries on the Billboard Hot 100. Faiyaz's second album Wasteland debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 chart.

Early life
Brent Faiyaz born Christopher Brent Wood was born and raised in Columbia, Maryland. Faiyaz started making music at the age of 12. His parents were not always understanding of his dreams as a musician; which Faiyaz said was warranted because his love for music "always distracted" him.

Career
2013–2016: Early career and A.M. Paradox
Faiyaz began uploading his experimental music onto SoundCloud in 2014. During that time he moved from his hometown Columbia, Maryland, to Charlotte, North Carolina, before settling in Los Angeles, California, to further his music career. On January 19, 2015, he released his debut single "Allure". On June 1, 2016, Faiyaz released "Invite Me", the lead single from his debut EP. On September 19, 2016, his 21st birthday, the EP entitled A.M. Paradox was released and received positive reviews from music critics.In October 2016, Brent Faiyaz formed a group named Sonder with record producers Dpat and Atu. The group released their debut single, "Too Fast," on October 25. On December 16, 2016, Faiyaz was featured alongside rapper Shy Glizzy on the single "Crew" by rapper GoldLink.

2017–present: Into, Sonder Son, Fuck the World, and Wasteland
On January 26, 2017, Sonder released their debut EP Into, for which Duplion named them their "Artist of the Month" for January 2017. The EP was also ranked 23rd by Complex on its list of "The Best Albums of 2017 (So Far)" on June 6, 2017. On June 21, 2017, Faiyaz was featured in the remix for GoldLink's "Crew," which also featured Shy Glizzy and included rapper Gucci Mane. On March 8, 2019, Faiyaz featured on the song "Demonz (Interlude)" from Juice Wrld's second studio album Death Race for Love.
Faiyaz released his fourth EP, Fuck the World, on February 7, 2020. It peaked at number 20 on the US Billboard 200. On September 18, 2020, a day before his birthday, he released the single "Dead Man Walking". He returned with a new single, "Gravity", on January 29, 2021. Produced by DJ Dahi, the song features Tyler, the Creator, who provides a "spacey" verse, while Faiyaz sings of "uncertain love and raps in a distilled voice praising loyalty from his female companion". On February 8 , he released a new song titled "Circles", alongside a video. He is currently working on a new album, titled Make It Out Alive, which is in the early recording process. On July 1, 2021, Faiyaz released a new single, "Wasting Time" featuring Drake. Following this, he appeared on tracks from Baby Keem's The Melodic Blue ("Lost Souls") and Tems's If Orange Was a Place ("Found"). On December 3, Faiyaz released the single "Mercedes", after having teased a project titled Wasteland on Instagram. On July 8, 2022, Brent Faiyaz would drop his anticipated album Wasteland. Wasteland would debut at #2 on the US Billboard 200 chart in its first week of release. The album would feature past projects such as "Deadman Walking", "Gravity" featuring Tyler the Creator, and "Wasting Time" featuring Drake & The Neptunes. Faiyaz would describe the album to be a "post pandemic culmination of thoughts and ideas" and labeled the pandemic a "Wasteland". The album would consist of favored songs like LOOSE CHANGE, ALL MINE, and JACKIE BROWN.

Musical style and influences
Faiyaz has referred to Lauryn Hill as his biggest influence. When speaking to Fact, Faiyaz stated "It was Lauryn Hill who inspired me to start singing from early on". Faiyaz musical creativity comes from experiences when living in the world. When interviewed by The Angie Martinez Show, Faiyaz would say, "I'm inspired by real life".He has also cited artists such as Currensy, Lil Wayne, Curtis Mayfield, and Gil Scott-Heron among his inspirations.

Discography
Studio albums
Extended plays
Singles
As lead artist
As featured artist
Other charted songs
Notes
References
External links
Official website 
Brent Faiyaz at AllMusic 
Brent Faiyaz on SoundCloud
Brent Faiyaz on Mousai