In six months, rising West Philly rapper Armani White went from TikTok sensation with his viral hit 'Billie Eilish' to a record deal with Def Jam. Here's how he did it.
- West Philly rapper Armani White recently signed a record deal with Def Jam.
- He is behind of hit "Billie Eilish," which went viral on TikTok.
Armani White wants to inject some joy into hip-hop.
"I think [hip hop] music right now is in a very aggressive position," White, 25, told Insider. "It's either aggressive or melodic."
"There are a few of us, but there's not a wide array of artists like myself who fill that void in the middle where we're just super colorful, super bubbly, but from the same culture," he continued.
That was the genesis of his decision when he posted a 15-second snippet of his now-hit song "Billie Eilish" on TikTok in February, which has now racked up over 38 billion streams on the platform.
People immediately wanted the full version and pressed him to put the song on digital streaming platforms.
And in May, fans finally got their wish.
Currently, the full song has more than 42 million streams and counting on Spotify, 5.3 million on Soundcloud, and the music video has garnered 7.4 million views on Youtube. It also charted in the Top 20 on Apple's Hip Hop/Rap chart.
Since the meteoric rise of his hit song, he was named YouTube's "Artist on the Rise" and recently signed with Def Jam Recordings. White, who unabashedly promotes his music on social media, is also not afraid to take a chance on himself, which he credits as part of his success.
"I want to be the greatest thing in the fucking world," White told Insider. "I want to build the tallest skyscraper in history when it comes to music – I want everyone coming up to look up at me and say, 'Oh, yeah. And that's Armani White."
White's viral hit 'reimagined' a 2002 hip-hop classic
When "Billie Eilish" first starts playing, the nostalgic beat sounds familiar — and that's because it is.
It samples N.O.R.E's 2002 hit "Nothin," which features Grammy award-winning musician Pharrell Williams and was produced by The Neptunes. For White, the use of the early 2000s sample —which was cosigned by N.O.R.E himself — was an ode to his childhood after hearing it on BET, MTV Jams, and Def Jam Vendetta, a wrestling video game released in 2003 that featured hip hop artists.
"That was my hit record as a kid because I could not escape that song, and I loved it so much," White said. "We're talking about taking songs that inspired us and just reimagining them."
The opening line of White's track jumps out at the listener: "Bitch I'm stylish. Glock tucked, Big T-Shirt, Billie Eilish."
The song is a nod to the "Happier Than Ever" singer's androgynous style as she is often seen wearing her signature baggy outfits, unlike her peers.
The music video to the song also pays tribute to visuals of the pop singer's iconic music videos, including "Bad Guy" and "When the Party's Over."
Like Eilish, White is focused on disrupting the current musical landscape and carving out his own lane in his respective music genre — calling it "happy hood music."
"I think that's my landing strip of where I position myself in hip-hop," he said.
'As cloudy as the sky is, I'm still going to find the sun'
Hailing from West Philadelphia, White knew he wanted to rap when he was in second grade — making songs about his favorite Disney characters. His musical roots stem from his bloodline. His grandfather, for instance, was a trombone player, and White grew up surrounded by music in the church.
Additionally, White credits his life experiences as the backbone of his music. Last year, he dropped his five-song "Things We Lost in the Fire" EP, where he opened up about the 2006 death
"Both times I was in such a dark space, I just went into the studio, and I'd be like, 'Yo, play me the happiest beat you have. Play the happiest song you have, or let's make the happiest whatever that we can make," White said. "As cloudy as the sky is, I'm still going to find the sun somewhere."
He added, "If I wasn't from the neighborhood I'm from, if I didn't live in the environment I lived in, I wouldn't be able to tell the stories the way that I tell the stories," he said. " And I wouldn't be able to speak from experience on certain topics that I speak about."
After his father passed away, White's fears of not making it in the industry crept in. But his mother was right by his side and supported his dream, he said. After signing his record deal, he gifted his mother $100,000.
"I hold onto that lady as much as I can, as tight as possible," he said. "She kept me on the right track, kept me on the right path. I just felt like that was really important as just a token of appreciation. Because if it wasn't for her, I don't know if I would've got to where I got."
The World of Armani White
Earlier this month, White released his new single, "Diamond Dallas," a follow-up to "Billie Eilish." The rapper's mother even makes a cameo in the music video, which he co-directed.
White told Insider doesn't plan on getting too comfortable. Although his music blew up on TikTok, he plans to bring his fans a deep look into the world of his artistry.
"My main plan is to just create a world around what's going on, to tell a story, and walk the people into the world of Armani White," he said.
However, in the process of doing so, he doesn't mind using social media to his advantage.
"I think a lot of people's faults is that they play against what's going on," White said. "I will play into what's going on. If the current conversation is, 'Oh, he's a TikTok star,' [well] if being a TikTok star got me 50 million streams in two months, all right, cool. Then let me be a TikTok star for the next ten songs."
"If somebody ran outside tomorrow and was like, 'He only famous because of TikTok.' I'd be like, "So?" he continued. "I feel like that 'so' mentality is what creates the star because you're not letting someone else's opinion impact who you are or who you plan to be — I think that's what's so important."