Originally hailing from Jersey City, but raised in South Florida, Yeek (real name Sebastian Carandang) moved to Los Angeles in his early 20s, and the city came to define his first full-length releases. Take the singer-slash-rapper’s 2015 debut album Love Slacker, which takes us on a journey through LA via a series of relationships, break-ups and one-off flings. 

Sebastian, his eponymous breakthrough project from 2017, follows a similar theme: Yeek speaks about his “West Coast blues” over hazy guitars and sunset visuals, forming an album that’s reminiscent of contemporaries including Rex Orange County and Dominic Fike (who fittingly makes a guest appearance on the 2019 EP IDK Where).

In the run-up to his most recent record, Valencia, Yeek’s music has also won him favour with the likes of A$AP Mob – A$AP Rocky has been a fan since 2017 – and collaborations with fellow rising stars like UMI and Duckwrth. Add to that two sold-out tours, more than 40 million Spotify streams for Sebastian’s “Only in the West” alone, and a coveted spot on the 2021 Governors Ball lineup, and it’s clear that Yeek is on the way up.

Text Thom Waite