Bakar (musician)

Abubakar Baker Shariff-Farr (born 12 February 1992), better known as Bakar, is a British singer, songwriter and model. Known for his experimental indie rock style, he made his professional solo debut with the mixtape Badkid in May 2018, subsequently releasing the extended play Will You Be My Yellow? in September 2019.

Bakar
Birth nameAbubakar Baker Shariff-Farr[1]
Born (1992-02-12) 12 February 1992[2][3]
Camden Town, London, U.K.
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Musician
  • singer
InstrumentsVocals
Years active2015–present
LabelsBlack Butter
Associated acts
Websitebadkid.uk

Early life

Bakar grew up in Camden in North London, and attended a state school before being sent to a boarding school in Surrey by his mother.[5] He is of Yemeni and Tanzanian descent. He expressed that "going outside of London and hearing other tastes and how that can relate to [him], it definitely did something to [him]."[6]

Career

2015–2017: Online beginnings and solo debut

Bakar began creating music in 2015 by cutting up samples of Bombay Bicycle Club and King Krule songs and uploading them to an anonymous SoundCloud account.[7] For the next few years, he continuously uploaded projects and works to the platform, several of which are no longer available.[8]

Bakar officially independently released his debut single, "Big Dreams" in March 2017.[9] In 2018, the song later gained popularity after being featured on the official soundtrack of the video game FIFA 19.[10] Bakar performed the song "Scott Free" on the online German music series ColorsxStudios in March 2017,[11] where it has amassed over 300 thousand views as of July 2020.[12] Before the end of 2017, Bakar had self-released the non-album singles "Small Town Girl" and "Something I Said".

2018: Badkid

In early 2018, Bakar released the single "Million Miles" and announced the his debut full length project, Badkid.[4][13] In April 2018, he released the project's third single, "All In", following the lead single "Big Dreams" (2017) and "Million Miles" (2018).[14] Bakar performed at Live at Leeds in May 2018, where he was described by NME as an "electrifying performer" who "cemented himself as one of Britain's most exciting new acts".[15] He released "Badlands" as the final single off of Badkid a week later.[11] Bakar's performance set at The Great Escape in May 2018 was also well received by critics.[16] Badkid was released as a mixtape[17][18] under Bakar's own record label,*bash, on 22 May 2018.[11][19] He marked the release of the mixtape with a headlining performance at Camden Assembly in London.[14] He announced a headlining tour of the United Kingdom including a performance at The Dome in London.[20] After completing the sold out[21] tour, Bakar released the non-album single "Dracula" in October 2018.[22]

2019–present: Will You Be My Yellow?

Bakar signed to both Black Butter Records and September Management in early 2019.[23] In January 2019, American rapper Sheck Wes mentioned a future collaboration with Bakar.[24] In March 2019, Bakar released the non-album single set "Chill" and "Sold Your Soul" alongside the announcement of another headlining European tour, Bakar & The Badkids.[25][26] In August 2019, Bakar announced the release of the EP, Will You Be My Yellow?, and released its lead single "Hell n Back".[27][28] The single became a sleeper hit in the United States, experiencing the longest trip to No. 1 on the Triple A chart in Billboard chart history, eventually peaking on 30 June 2020 (its 27th week).[29] The six-track EP Will You Be My Yellow? was released to critical acclaim under Black Butter Records on 20 September 2019.[30][31][32][33] The project was written and recorded within just eight weeks, and was produced by frequent collaborators Zach Nahome and Matty Tavares.[34] It featured the track "Stop Selling Her Drugs" featuring American musician Dominic Fike.[35]

In November 2019, Bakar performed "Hell n Back" for his second performance on the German music series ColorsxStudios,[36] following his first performance "Scott Free" in March 2017.[12] The former was released commercially as a non-album single and has amassed over one million views on YouTube as of July 2020. In November 2019, British singer Collard released the single "Stone" featuring Bakar.[37] In December 2019, the song "Hell n Back" was used in the promotional ad for Arsenal F.C. x Adidas's Bruised Banana range, highlighting the lyric "Will you be my yellow?" which Bakar sings in the video.[38][39]

In January 2020, the song "Hell n Back" placed No. 62 on triple j's Hottest 100 of 2019.[40] In February 2020, Bakar performed "Circles" by Mac Miller on BBC Radio 1Xtra as a tribute to the late rapper.[41] Bakar was featured alongside American producer Kenny Beats on New Zealand singer Benee's single "Night Garden".[42]

Artistry and other ventures

Musical influences cited by Bakar include Madlib and Foals.[19][11] He has described his music as "schizophrenic", and said that he attempts to "bridge the gap" between different music genres.[19] Ones to Watch described his style as a "melting pot of indie, rap, rock, and punk".[43]

Bakar has also modelled as part of Virgil Abloh's debut runway show for Louis Vuitton In February 2019.[6] In November 2019, he modelled for Prada's "A Gift to Give" campaign alongside models Pixie Geldof and Sara Blomqvist.[44]

Reception

Joe Goggins of DIY compared Bakar's vocal style to that of Kele Okereke from Bloc Party.[7] Alex McFayden of Clash also compared his sound to that of Bloc Party.[5] Ashleigh Kane of Crack Magazine deemed him as "indie's revivalist".[34] Bakar's style has been noted as a progressive shift from the 'stale' sound of British rock in the late 2010s. Bakar has received endorsements from artists like Skepta, Elton John and fashion designer Virgil Abloh.

Discography

Mixtapes
  • Badkid (2018)

Extended plays
  • Will You Be My Yellow? (2019)

As lead artist
List of singles as lead artist, with selected chart positions shown
Title Year Peak chart positions Album
US
AAA
[45]		 US
Alt
[46]		 US
Rock
[47]
"Big Dreams" 2017 ——— Badkid
"Small Town Girl" ——— Non-album singles
"Something I Said" ———
"Million Miles" 2018 ———
"All In" ——— Badkid
"Badlands" ———
"Dracula" ——— Non-album singles
"Chill" 2019 ———
"Hell n Back" 11035 Will You Be My Yellow?
"1st Time" 2020 120— TBA
List of singles as featured artist with year released and release group
Title Year Peak chart positions Album/EP
NZ
Hot
[48]
"Hell of a Heart"
(Jaxxon D. Silva featuring Bakar)[49]		 2017 — Open to Closure
"Like a River"
(Shy Luv featuring Bakar)[50]		 — Lungs
"Sober"
(SebastiAn featuring Bakar)[51]		 2019 — Thirst
"Stone"
(Collard featuring Bakar)[52]		 — Non-album single
"Night Garden"
(Benee featuring Kenny Beats and Bakar)[42]		 2020 4 Hey U X

Guest appearances
Title Year Other performer(s) Album/EP
"$even"[53] 2017 Yeek Sebastian
"Lock and Load"[54] Milkavelli Cult Member
"Ghetto Yout"[55] 2019 Lancey Foux, Monkey 67, Clairo Friend Or Foux

SoundCloud releases
  • Happy BDay To Me - EP (2015)[2]
  • "Little Secret" - Single (2016)[8]
  • "Sharing is Caring" - Single (2016)[8]
  • "Best For You" - Single (2017)[8]
  • "New Day" - Single (2017)[8]
  • "i-D" - Single (2020)[8]

References
  1. Shariff-Farr, Abubakar Baker. "ASCAP Ace Search". American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP). Retrieved 15 July 2020.
  2. Mercer, Lily (16 February 2015). "Bakar – Happy BDay to Me (EP)". LilyMercer.co.uk. Retrieved 15 July 2020 – via Complex. My good friend Bakar celebrated his birthday on February 12th
  3. England & Wales, Birth Index: 1837–1983. England and Wales Civil Registration Indexes. General Register Office, London, England.
  4. Gardner, Alex (15 February 2018). "Meet Bakar, a Madlib-Inspired Londoner Bringing a New Energy to Indie Rock". Complex. ISSN 0806-1912. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  5. McFadyen, Alex (13 November 2018). "Big Dreams: Bakar Interviewed". Clash. ISSN 1743-0801. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
  6. Walker, Lily (9 October 2018). "BAKAR - The genre-spanning guitar band led by a frontman determined to write a new narrative". Wonderland. ISSN 1747-8448. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
  7. Goggins, Joe (17 December 2018). "Class Of 2019: Bakar". DIY. ISSN 0954-8823. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
  8. "Tracks by bakar on SoundCloud". SoundCloud. Archived from the original on 16 July 2020. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  9. Watson, Elliot (10 March 2017). "Indie just came back, introducing Bakar and his new single "Big Dreams"". Hunger Magazine. ISSN 2047-2951. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  10. "FIFA 19 Soundtrack, featuring Childish Gambino, Gorillaz, Logic, and More". Electronic Arts Inc. 31 August 2018. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  11. Greenwood, Douglas (15 May 2018). "meet bakar, london's next gen rockstar with skepta's seal of approval". i-D. ISSN 0262-3579. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
  12. "Bakar - Scott Free | A COLORS SHOW". YouTube. ColorsXStudios. 27 March 2017. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  13. Murray, Robin (19 February 2018). "Listen: Bakar - 'Million Miles'". Clash. ISSN 1743-0801. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  14. Day, Laurence (11 April 2018). "North Londoner Bakar has big plans, and fizzing new track "All In" is just the beginning". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  15. Smith, Thomas (9 May 2018). "Live At Leeds 2018: The best bands we saw at the sweltering one-dayer". NME. ISSN 0028-6362. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  16. Smith, Thomas (21 May 2018). "The Great Escape 2018: The 15 brilliant acts that won this weekend". NME. ISSN 0028-6362. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  17. Murray, Robin (23 May 2018). "Bakar Drops Fiery New Mixtape 'BADKID'". Clash. ISSN 1743-0801. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  18. "Listen to Bakar's brilliant, genre-bending debut mixtape 'BADKID'". DIY. 23 May 2018. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  19. Thomas, Katie (9 August 2018). "Bridging The Gap: Rising London Artist Bakar Seamlessly Blends Genres on 'Badkid'". Complex. ISSN 0891-2513. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
  20. "Bakar announces UK headline tour". DIY. 27 June 2018. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
  21. Brydon, Grant (31 October 2018). "BAKAR returns with spooky new single 'Dracula'". RWD Magazine. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
  22. Murray, Robin (5 November 2018). "Bakar Brings The Noise On 'Dracula'". Clash. ISSN 1743-0801. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  23. Homewood, Ben (16 January 2019). "Making Waves: Bakar". Music Week. ISSN 0265-1548. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  24. Maicki, Salvatore (24 January 2019). "Sheck Wes talks future collabs with Playboi Carti and Offset on Beats 1". The Fader. ISSN 1533-5194. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  25. "Bakar unleashes new tracks 'Chill' and 'Sold Your Soul', plus UK tour". DIY. 22 March 2019. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  26. bakar [@yeaabk] (8 March 2019). "bk n the badkids pt 2 !! i wanna see you allllllll x" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  27. Murray, Robin (17 July 2020). "Bakar Confirms New Project 'Will You Be My Yellow'". Clash. ISSN 1743-0801. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  28. Kenneally, Cerys (16 August 2019). "Bakar announces new EP with breezy lead single "Hell N Back"". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  29. Rutherford, Kevin (30 June 2020). "Bakar's 'Hell N Back' Caps Longest Trip to No. 1 Ever on Adult Alternative Songs Chart". Billboard. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  30. Caraan, Sophie (21 September 2019). "Bakar Drops Comforting New EP 'Will You Be My Yellow?'". Hypebeast. ISSN 2304-1250. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  31. Steinberger, Jeremy (31 October 2019). "Evolution Of A Badkid". Office. ISSN 0269-3046. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  32. Rudas, Matthew (20 September 2019). "Bakar's 'Will You Be My Yellow?' Displays Refreshing Artistry & Vast Potential". Ones to Watch. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  33. Haidari, Niloufar (13 September 2019). "To Hell N Back with Bakar". SSENSE. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  34. Kane, Ashleigh. "Big dreams: Bakar on fashion week and his multidisciplinary approach". Crack Magazine. ISSN 0965-1209. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
  35. Neale, Matthew (20 September 2019). "Bakar teams up with Dominic Fike on 'Stop Selling Her Drugs' from new EP". NME. ISSN 0028-6362. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  36. "Bakar - Hell N Back". ColorsXStudios. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  37. Brown, Bianca (11 November 2019). "Collard Enlists Bakar for the Effortlessly Smooth "Stone"". Ones to Watch. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  38. "adidas and Arsenal launch Bruised Banana range". Arsenal F.C. Official Website. 9 December 2019. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  39. Arsenal [@Arsenal] (10 December 2019). "Will you be my yellow? It's back. Only in selected adidas and Arsenal stores and online. Tomorrow at 9am" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  40. "triple j Hottest 100 2019". triple j. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. ISSN 2203-0905. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  41. BBC Radio 1Xtra [@1Xtra] (5 February 2020). "RIP Mac Miller... Bakar (@yeaabk) performs Circles in session for @JamzSupernova" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  42. Fuamoli, Sose (16 July 2020). "First Spin: BENEE links up with Kenny Beats and Bakar on the creepy-cool 'Night Garden'". triple j. ISSN 2203-0905. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  43. "Ones To Watch: Bakar". Ones to Watch. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
  44. "Special Projects: A Gift To Give". Prada Hong Kong. Archived from the original on 17 July 2020. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  45. Peaks on the Billboard Adult Alternative Airplay chart:
  46. "Alternative Airplay - October 10, 2020". Billboard. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
  47. "Hot Rock Songs - July 18, 2020". Billboard. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  48. "NZ Hot Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. 27 July 2020. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
  49. "Hell of a Heart (feat. Bakar) - Single". Apple Music. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  50. "Premiere: Shy Luv - "Like A River" feat. Bakar". Wonderland. 22 September 2017. ISSN 1747-8448. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  51. Murray, Robin (8 October 2019). "SebastiAn Links With Bakar For New Single 'Sober'". Clash. ISSN 1743-0801. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  52. Murray, Robin (8 November 2019). "Collard And Bakar Team Up On 'Stone'". Clash. ISSN 1743-0801. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  53. "Credits / Sebastian / Yeek". Tidal. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  54. "Credits / CULT MEMBER / Milkavelli". Tidal. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
  55. "Credits / FRIEND OR FOUX / Lancey Foux". Tidal. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
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