Pronounced “black”, alternative R&B/Hip Hop artist 6LACK has long considered six an important number that is central to his identity. Raised in Atlanta’s Zone 6 (hence 6LACK), the musician attributes his hometown as a major influence on his stage name as well as the spiritual significance of the number six. 
 Born in 1992 in Baltimore, Maryland as Ricardo Valdez Valentine, 6LACK started recording at the age of four; the singer, songwriter, and rapper’s first recording experience was at his father’s studio. His initial foray into music consisted of rap battles, and he eventually made the transition from battle rapping, into songwriting. Valentine was also highly influenced by a range of artists such as Sade, Andre 3000, Erykah Badu, Lil Wayne, Usher, The Dream, and T-Pain. It’s also noted that he started to vocally train himself in 2009. 
 His debut album Free 6lack was released in November 2016 and peaked at #34 on the Billboard 200 and included his previously released single “Prblms”, which peaked at #73 on the Billboard 100. “Prblms” marked the rapper and singer’s first platinum record; it entered Billboard’s Twitter Emerging Artists chart as number five and eventually went 3x platinum. He was also featured in Rolling Stone as “10 New Artists You Need to Know” the same month his album debuted. 
 In 2018, 6LACK was nominated for two Grammy Awards in the Best Urban Contemporary Album category and the Best Rap/Song Performance category.