Ben Lasky adopted the moniker Quadeca during preschool recess in an attempt to name his imaginary superhero alter-ego. At ten years old, he took on the heroic task that’d become the central focus of his multi-hyphenate creative career: building one-of-a-kind worlds through self-produced music and visuals. Now at the age of 24, he has garnered over half a billion streams and views, attracting an intense cult-like audience who obsessively theorize and analyze his work communally. Quadeca’s first forays into concept albums, Voice Memos and From Me To You, both made impressive debuts across streaming platforms for an independent musician. Lasky responded by channeling his focus towards achieving greatness in his LP’s craftsmanship, and turned away from his past virality on his premier platform, YouTube, where his subscribership was nearing two million. In 2022, the release of his spectral and impressionistic album, I Didn’t Mean To Haunt You, signified a watershed moment for Lasky, with contributions from Danny Brown, Thor Harris of Swans, and the Sunday Service Choir. A statement-piece of his signature creative independence, the project is a fully self-produced opus with an accompanying film that landed him newfound levels of acclaim from music fans and critics alike, topping many year-end album lists and winning over critic Anthony Fantano (theneedledrop) who named the album’s lead single “Born Yesterday” as the 7th best song of 2022. The release was jarring for music fans and spurred widespread discourse about the validity of multi-media creators evolving in the internet age. This discourse was only amplified by his 2024 mixtape, SCRAPYARD, a wholly unique genre-bending potpourri of experimental hip hop, neo-psychedelia, alternative r&b, pop, bossa nova, and indie rock, that became his most celebrated release to date despite being advertised as a project of leftovers. SCRAPYARD was given a coveted score of 9/10 from Anthony Fantano and currently sits as the #28 highest rated mixtape of all time on rateyourmusic.com. Lasky’s recent collaborators consist of Danny Brown, Kevin Abstract, Lil Nas X, brakence, and Sky Ferreira. In 2025, Quadeca has set his sights on the rollout of Vanisher, Horizon Scraper, a sailor-themed concept album that has been stirring cultish anticipation for almost a year since the title was revealed to fans during his performance with Kevin Abstract at Coachella. In recent interviews Quadeca has described Vanisher as his “most musically ambitious album,” promising listeners, “there’s never been anything like it.”
