Bas (US rapper)

Abbas Hamad (born May 27, 1987), known professionally as Bas, is a French-born Sudanese-American rapper. He signed with J. Cole's Dreamville Records, an imprint of Interscope Records to release his debut studio album, Last Winter (2014). It was met with positive critical reception and entered the Billboard 200, along with his second and third albums, Too High to Riot (2016) and Milky Way (2018). His fourth album, We Only Talk About Real Shit When We're Fucked Up (2023) was met with continued praise. Bas was born on May 27, 1987, in Paris, France, to Sudanese parents. He is a Muslim. His father was a diplomat working as the Deputy Director of UNESCO. Bas has three older brothers and an older sister; one brother is New York-based DJ Moma, and another, Ibrahim, is a music industry executive and cofounder of Dreamville Records. At age 8, after having lived in Paris and Qatar, the family settled in Jamaica, Queens, New York City. Bas attended St. Francis Preparatory School in Fresh Meadows, Queens, then Hampton University in Hampton, Virginia, with a full scholarship. In 2011, Bas released his debut mixtape titled Quarter Water Raised Vol. 1. In 2013, his second mixtape was released entitled, Quarter Water Raised Vol. 2. In 2013, Bas was featured on J. Cole's "New York Times" along with 50 Cent from Cole's album Born Sinner, and then on DJ Khaled's "Hells Kitchen" from Suffering from Success. He then appeared on the Dreamville compilation mixtape Revenge of the Dreamers. That mixtape was released in celebration of Dreamville's partnership with Interscope Records, resulting in Bas being signed to Interscope. Two weeks prior to the release of his debut album Last Winter, Bas released a free EP titled Two Weeks Notice. Last Winter was released on April 29, 2014, by Dreamville Records/Interscope Records. It featured guest appearances from J. Cole, Mack Wilds, KQuick, and Irvin Washington. The album was a conceptual project that touches on the cold days in New York City recording the album. The album was supported by the single "My Nigga Just Made Bail" produced by GP808 and featured guest appearances by J. Cole. Last Winter would debut at 103 on the Billboard 200 with 3,601 copies sold in its first week. Following its release, Bas went on a 10-city nationwide tour titled after the album. Bas followed his own "Last Winter" tour by going on a 24-city nationwide and international tour with TDE rapper Ab-Soul. In 2015, Bas supported J. Cole on '2014 Forest Hills Drive Tour' alongside Omen, Cozz, Jeremih, YG, and Big Sean. Bas released his second album, Too High to Riot on March 4, 2016. The album also includes guest appearances from his labelmates J. Cole and Cozz, as well as the Hics. The album would debut at 49 on the Billboard 200 chart, selling 10,965 copies in its first week. He also later released a music video for each song on the album. Bas went on tour titled after the album in June 2016 with Cozz and EarthGang. It included 26 cities in North America and 10 cities in Europe, including his hometown of Koewacht. On January 29, 2017, the documentary highlighting the tour was released on Tidal. On April 10, 2018, Bas released the one-off single "Pinball II", featuring Correy C. The first single for his third album "Boca Raton" was released on June 19, and featured ASAP Ferg. On August 22, he released the second single "Tribe" featuring J. Cole. Bas released his third album, Milky Way on August 24, 2018. It featured guest appearances from J. Cole, Ari Lennox, ASAP Ferg, Lion Babe, Moe Moks, mOma+Guy, and Correy C. The album debuted at number 35 on the Billboard 200, selling 13,150 album-equivalent units in the first week. Bas announced a 43-city tour to support the album, which began in November 2018 and concluded in February 2019. In late 2018, Bas announced he was working on an album with frequent collaborators The Hics. On August 9, 2019, Bas released the Spilled Milk 1 EP. The EP features guest appearances from EarthGang, JID, Falcons, B. Lewis, Ari Lennox, and Kiddominant. On November 5, 2019, Bas was featured on the FKJ single "Risk". In September 2020, Dua Saleh released the single "RE(a)D" featuring Bas. On April 15, 2022, Bas released the [BUMP] Pick Me Up EP. The EP features guest appearances from Galimatias, Gunna, Ari Lennox, J. Cole and Lil Tjay. On January 24, 2023, Bas released the single "Diamonds". On July 15, 2023, Bas announced the title of his fourth studio album, We Only Talk About Real Shit When We're Fucked Up. On July 19, 2023, Bas released the single "Passport Bros" featuring J. Cole as the album's lead single. He released the single "Ho Chi Minh" on August 19, 2023, alongside the official music video. He released the single "Khartoum" featuring Adekunle Gold on October 24, 2023. The album's fourth and final single, "179 Deli" featuring UK rapper AJ Tracey was released on November 28, 2023. The album released on December 15, 2023. It features guest appearances from Adekunle Gold, AJ Tracey, Amaarae, A$AP Ferg, Blxckie, FKJ, J. Cole and Sha Sha. "Tribe" did not enter the Billboard Hot 100, but peaked at number eight on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart. "Down Bad" did not enter the NZ Top 40 Singles Chart, but peaked at number 10 on the NZ Hot Singles Chart. "The Jackie" did not enter the NZ Top 40 Singles Chart, but peaked at number seven on the NZ Hot Singles Chart. "Passport Bros" did not enter the NZ Top 40 Singles Chart, but peaked at number 28 on the NZ Hot Singles Chart. Ortiz, Edwin. "Interview: Bas Talks About His New Album "Last Winter" and Working With J. Cole and John Lennon". Complex. KBonaa (April 7, 2021). "Abbas Hamad better known by his stage name "Bas"". The Hip Hop African. Retrieved January 13, 2025. Cantor, Paul (June 28, 2016). "The Making of Bas, Dreamville's Heir Apparent". The Fader. Retrieved January 13, 2025. Alexis, Diamond (January 30, 2017). "Rappers Who Prove Hip-Hop Will Never Support a #MuslimBan". BET. Retrieved January 13, 2025. "Bas - Quarter Water Raised Me Vol. I". DatPiff. "Bas - Quarter Water Raised Me Vol. II". DatPiff. Platon, Adelle (2016-03-10). "Bas Talks 'Peeling Back Layers' on Sophomore Set 'Too High to Riot,' Protesting in Ferguson With J. Cole & Dreamville". Billboard. Retrieved 2023-12-27. Kramer, Kyle. "J. Cole Releases A New Mixtape "Revenge of the Dreamers" and Announces Partnership Between His Dreamville Imprint and Interscope". Complex Music. "Bas Releases New Mixtape âTwo Weeks Noticeâ". XXL. 15 April 2014. Frydenlund, Zach. "Download Bas' "Two Weeks Notice" EP". Complex. Nostro, Lauren. "Stream Bas' "Last Winter" Project With Features From J. Cole, Mack Wilds and More". Complex. Retrieved 2023-12-27. "Bas "Charles de Gaulle To JFK" - XXL". XXL Mag. 10 April 2014. "Hip Hop Album Sales: Week Ending 05/04/2014". HipHopDX. Archived from the original on 2014-05-08. Retrieved 2014-06-22. "Listen to Bas' Newest Release, "Methylone," Off His Forthcoming 'Too High to Riot' - The Source". 5 February 2016. Dreamville (February 4, 2017). "Too High To Riot (Documentary)". YouTube. Retrieved March 12, 2017. "Bas Joins Forces With Correy C on New Song "Pinball II'". Complex. "Stream Bas' Summer-Ready Single "Boca Raton" f/ ASAP Ferg". Complex. Saponara, Michael (22 August 2018). "Bas & J. Cole Travel Through Miami's Lil Haiti for New 'Tribe' Video: Watch". Billboard.com. Retrieved 18 December 2021. "Bas Announces "Milky Way" Album & Drops Video With A$AP Ferg". HipHopDX. 9 August 2018. "Bas Announces "Milky Way" Tour". Hotnewhiphop.com. 26 September 2018. Ivey, Justin (2019-08-08). "Bas Shares "Spilled Milk Vol. 1" Project". HipHopDX. Retrieved 2023-12-27. Espinoza, Joshua. "FKJ Connects With Bas on New Single "Risk"". Complex. Retrieved 2023-12-27. Thomas, Jessica (September 9, 2020). "Dua Saleh & Bas Explore Forbidden Alien Love Amid Intergalactic Warfare in "RE(a)D"". Ones to Watch. Retrieved 2023-12-27. Callas, Brad. "Bas Releases New EP '[Bump] Pick Me Up' f/ J. Cole and Ari Lennox,