Veeze

A shrouded yet essen-al figure in the Michigan rap scene, Veeze is somewhat of a musical enigma, building one of the genre's most die-hard fan bases despite rarely releasing material of his own. Though he solidified his inimitable, lethargic style on debut mixtape, Navy Wavy (2019), and a sparse collection of 2020s anthems, he remained as prominent outside of music as within it, a constant presence in the social spheres and music videos of the region's most prolific artists. The release of his 2023 effort, Ganger, brought him major critical attention and Billboard chart placings.

Appearing on the scene in 2019, rapper Veeze was immediately iden-fiable through his understated vocals and breathy ad-libs, debuting singles "Big Draco" and "Itself" before landing a local hit with the inimitable "Rusty." In what would become his most prolific run, the rapper quickly capitalized with a string of 14 singles and collaborations, including several tracks with close associate and fellow Michigan mainstay Babyface Ray ("Half & Half," "Red Key," "Exotics"). His slick, effortless take on the region's sound continued on the rapper's first mixtape, Navy Wavy (2019), an 11-track set with appearances from local figureheads Beno, Babyface Ray, and Peezy.

In the early 2020s, Veeze appeared in music videos and social media while dropping sporadic features and singles of his own. He began 2020 with some one-off experimentation -- the drowsy "Them One Guys," the Kanye West flip "Flamie Foxx," and the Big Pun-sampling "Fat Albert" -- before his regional sound continued to develop on solo singles "Veeze Glo," "Yoa Twin," and "Friend of Mine." This loose schedule continued into 2021 and 2022, with the rapper drip-feeding singles like "A&W," "Kurt Angle," "Choppas in Hawaii," and "Let It Fly." With a slower release schedule came a more dedicated fan base -- several online channels dedicated to the rapper soon attracted a following of their own, piecing together unreleased songs previewed on his social media.

In 2023, he released one of his biggest singles, "GOMD," as well as a remix featuring Lil Uzi Vert. Both versions appeared on the second Veeze full-length, Ganger, which also included appearances by Lucki and Lil Yachty. The rapper received increased press coverage, and the release charted in the Billboard 200.