Breland (musician)

Breland grew up in Burlington, New Jersey, the son of two ordained ministers who filled their home with gospel music.[2] At 14, he entered the Peddie School, a New Jersey boarding school, and was exposed for the first time to secular music in the hip-hop, R&B, country and pop genres. His favorites were 70s soul artists such as Aretha Franklin and Stevie Wonder.[3]

Breland started writing his own songs, a mix of styles he was listening to and liked.[4] He turned down admission to New York University’s Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music to study business at Georgetown University in Washington, DC. While there, he sang and arranged a cappella with a group called the Phantoms.

Breland began his career as a professional songwriter while at Georgetown, and in his second year, he met rapper Chinx (Chinx Drugz), an associate of French Montana. One night at Chinx's Far Rockaway, New York home, the rapper left Breland working on music to go perform at his show. He never came back, as Chinx was murdered.

“That let me know that hip-hop probably wasn’t going to be for me," Breland told the New York Times. "I don’t think that I’m really cut out to be in the trenches like that.”

After graduation, he moved to Atlanta. While working a job selling language technology during the day, he wrote music usually until late into the morning hours. Breland taught himself how to engineer on Pro Tools, Logic Pro, and FL Studio. With approximately 2,000 songs in three years, he made placements with artists such as Trey Songz[2][4] and wrote nearly half of the tracks on The Golden Child, the debut from Def Jam Recordings R&B artist YK Osiris.[3]

Breland often posted his original material on Instagram. He started the #BrelandVerseChallenge on the app to engage his fans during COVID-19 quarantine. He ended up giving two of his Instagram followers their first major-label writing credit on the song, "In The Woulds," an R&B and pop song featuring Chase Rice and Lauren Alaina, two country music artists.[5]

In September 2019, he wrote the song, "My Truck," about the truck culture found in rural America. The music was a blend of hip hop and country music and when he posted the song on Instagram, he received a great response, and realized he had found his niche with the country-trap genre.

“I just felt like it was time for people to change their perspective on what country music is and what country music can be, because there is an audience of country music listeners under 30 who believe Black Lives Matter," he told the Associated Press. "My Truck" reached No. 26 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart.[6]

In an interview on the television program Extra at the time, Breland termed his musical hybrid sound as cross country,[7] while most media categorizes him as country-trap.

Signed to Bad Realm Records/Atlantic Records, Breland signed with SALXCO Management,[8] and released a remix of "My Truck" that features country music's Sam Hunt.[9] "My Truck" has over 2.6 million U.S. streams, 2,000 downloads sold and 2.8 million radio audience impressions, according to Nielsen Audio,[10] and hit No. 1 on Spotify's Viral 50 Chart in February.[11]

In May 2020, Breland's self-titled EP was released by Bad Realm Records/Atlantic Records. The music crossed genres of country, hip hop, R&B and pop with songs like the single, "My Truck", and "Horseride," as well as "In the Woulds." Producers included Sam Sumser (Lizzo, Jason Derulo), Sean Small (Lizzo, Usher), Charlie Handsome (Post Malone, Kanye West, Khalid) as well as country singers Mitchell Tenpenny, and Walker Hayes.

The EP, Rage and Sorrow followed with a June 2020 release. Breland's theme on the EP was derived from the racial unrest prompted by the murders of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor. "Intro" features a line from the 1960s blues song, "Tobacco Road," and has a rock guitar. Other songs include "Real Men Don’t Cry," and "A Message". Producers include Carson Thatcher (Parson James, Andy Grammer), Brian Kennedy, and Rob Persaud.[11]

Breland and Keith Urban co-wrote two songs for Urban's September 2020 album, Speed of Now Part 1, including the song "Out in the Cage" that has Breland adding vocals, and Nile Rodgers’s on rhythm guitar.[12]

In September 2020, Breland joined Apple Music Country as an on-air host for his own radio show. Other shows are hosted by Luke Bryan, Florida Georgia Line, Carrie Underwood, and more.[13]

• Breland EP
• Rage and Sorrow EP

• "Different" – AdELA
• "5 Gold Rings" – Elijah Blake
• "Black and Blue" – Elijah Blake
• "Misty Jones" – Elijah Blake
• "Snowed In" – Elijah Blake
• "Sweet Love" – Elijah Blake
• "Christmas By Myself" – Elijah Blake
• "Wait" – Kayla Brianna
• "Single Player Game" – Kelly Bridget
• "Liquid Gold" – Colleagues featuring Viibe India
• "No Conversation" – Colleagues featuring Devon Culture
• "Thank You Enough" – Colleagues featuring HamilTones
• "Savage" – Colleagues featuring Wild B. Krystal
• "Dakada (Feel Like Home)" – Diddi Emah
• "Miami Nights" – DJ Luke Nasty Letterrance
• "Nothing Wrong" – Final Draft
• "Selfish" – Final Draft
• "Early In the Morning" – Gene
• "Sunday" – Koryn Hawthorne
• "Pray" – Koryn Hawthorne
• "Fact or Fiction" – Jacquees
• "Good Lovin’" – Jacquees
• "Lil Favorite" – Blaze Jhonni
• "Just Playin’" – Bridget Kelly
• "Lucky You" – Bridget Kelly
• "Favorite" – King Dreams
• "My Body" – Marie Ann
• "Indecisive" – Maycee
• "Promises" – Agnez Mo
• "100% Off" – Natasha Mosley
• "Front Seat" – Next Town Down
• "Be My Guest" – Trey Songz
• "Cat Got My Tongue" – Trey Songz
• "Circles" – Trey Songz
• "Hands On (Interlude)" – Trey Songz
• "Lost & Found" – Trey Songz
• "Nobody’s Watching" – Trey Songz
• "On Call" – Trey Songz
• "Save It" – Trey Songz
• "Two Wayz" – Trey Songz
• "All I Want" – Tiffany Evans
• "Right Now" – Jackson Trevor
• "Soul Food" – Keith Urban
• "Out the Cage" – Keith Urban
• "What You Need" – Dru Hill
• "Yours" – Star Cast featuring Kayla Smith

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