ian

Dallas-based rapper and producer ian makes trap songs with woozy synths, Auto-Tuned delivery, and blunt punchlines. Producing music since the late 2010s, he blew up quickly in 2024, when his brief mixtape Valedictorian became a viral sensation.
Ian O'Neill Smith was born in St. Louis but resides in Dallas. He started his SoundCloud page in 2018, initially going by the name suburbancerberus. After posting a mix of Chief Keef songs, he started producing beats for rappers such as Lil Xelly and Izaya Tiji. He released his first track as a rapper, the self-produced "G63," in 2022, followed by several other singles and the EPs Only for a While and Remembrance. Another EP, Empty Suit, appeared in 2023. While ian's early releases bordered on cloud rap and emo rap, he switched to a more straightforward trap sound for 2024's Valedictorian, his debut mixtape. The release attracted widespread attention online and charted at number 54 on the Billboard 200.