Abbas Hamad (born May 27, 1987), known professionally as Bas, is a French-born American rapper. He signed with J. Cole's Dreamville Records, an imprint of Interscope Records to release his debut studio album, Last Winter (2014). It was met with positive critical reception and entered the Billboard 200, along with his second and third albums, Too High to Riot (2016) and Milky Way (2018). His fourth album, We Only Talk About Real Shit When We're Fucked Up (2023) was met with continued praise.
Early life Bas was born on May 27, 1987, in Paris, France, to Sudanese parents. He is a Muslim. His father was a diplomat working as the Deputy Director of UNESCO. Bas has three older brothers and an older sister; one brother is New York-based DJ Moma, and another, Ibrahim, is a music industry executive and cofounder of Dreamville Records. At age 8, after having lived in Paris and Qatar, the family settled in Jamaica, Queens, New York City. Bas attended St. Francis Preparatory School in Fresh Meadows, Queens, then Hampton University in Hampton, Virginia, with a full scholarship.
Musical career
2011–2013: Career beginnings and mixtapes In 2011, Bas released his debut mixtape titled Quarter Water Raised Vol. 1. In 2013, his second mixtape was released entitled, Quarter Water Raised Vol. 2.
In 2013, Bas was featured on J. Cole's "New York Times" along with 50 Cent from Cole's album Born Sinner, and then on DJ Khaled's "Hells Kitchen" from Suffering from Success. He then appeared on the Dreamville compilation mixtape Revenge of the Dreamers. That mixtape was released in celebration of Dreamville's partnership with Interscope Records, resulting in Bas being signed to Interscope. Two weeks prior to the release of his debut album Last Winter, Bas released a free EP titled Two Weeks Notice.
2014–2015: Last Winter
Last Winter was released on April 29, 2014, by Dreamville Records/Interscope Records. It featured guest appearances from J. Cole, Mack Wilds, KQuick, and Irvin Washington. The album was a conceptual project that touches on the cold days in New York City recording the album. The album was supported by the single "My Nigga Just Made Bail" produced by GP808 and featured guest appearances by J. Cole. Last Winter would debut at 103 on the Billboard 200 with 3,601 copies sold in its first week.
Following its release, Bas went on a 10-city nationwide tour titled after the album. Bas followed his own "Last Winter" tour by going on a 24-city nationwide and international tour with TDE rapper Ab-Soul. In 2015, Bas supported J. Cole on '2014 Forest Hills Drive Tour' alongside Omen, Cozz, Jeremih, YG, and Big Sean.
2016–2017: Too High to Riot
Bas released his second album, Too High to Riot on March 4, 2016. The album also includes guest appearances from his labelmates J. Cole and Cozz, as well as the Hics. The album would debut at 49 on the Billboard 200 chart, selling 10,965 copies in its first week. He also later released a music video for each song on the album. Bas went on tour titled after the album in June 2016 with Cozz and EarthGang. It included 26 cities in North America and 10 cities in Europe, including his hometown of Koewacht. On January 29, 2017, the documentary highlighting the tour was released on Tidal.
2018–2019: Milky Way
On April 10, 2018, Bas released the one-off single "Pinball II", featuring Correy C. The first single for his third album "Boca Raton" was released on June 19, and featured ASAP Ferg. On August 22, he released the second single "Tribe" featuring J. Cole. Bas released his third album, Milky Way on August 24, 2018. It featured guest appearances from J. Cole, Ari Lennox, ASAP Ferg, Lion Babe, Moe Moks, mOma+Guy, and Correy C. The album debuted at number 35 on the Billboard 200, selling 13,150 album-equivalent units in the first week. Bas announced a 43-city tour to support the album, which began in November 2018 and concluded in February 2019. In late 2018, Bas announced he was working on an album with frequent collaborators The Hics.
On August 9, 2019, Bas released the Spilled Milk 1 EP. The EP features guest appearances from EarthGang, JID, Falcons, B. Lewis, Ari Lennox, and Kiddominant. On November 5, 2019, Bas was featured on the FKJ single "Risk".
2020-2025: We Only Talk About Real Shit When We're Fucked Up
In September 2020, Dua Saleh released the single "RE(a)D" featuring Bas. On April 15, 2022, Bas released the [BUMP] Pick Me Up EP. The EP features guest appearances from Galimatias, Gunna, Ari Lennox, J. Cole and Lil Tjay. On January 24, 2023, Bas released the single "Diamonds".
On July 15, 2023, Bas announced the title of his fourth studio album, We Only Talk About Real Shit When We're Fucked Up. On July 19, 2023, Bas released the single "Passport Bros" featuring J. Cole as the album's lead single. He released the single "Ho Chi Minh" on August 19, 2023, alongside the official music video. He released the single "Khartoum" featuring Adekunle Gold on October 24, 2023. The album's fourth and final single, "179 Deli" featuring UK rapper AJ Tracey was released on November 28, 2023. The album released on December 15, 2023. It features guest appearances from Adekunle Gold, AJ Tracey, Amaarae, A$AP Ferg, Blxckie, FKJ, J. Cole and Sha Sha.
Discography Studio albums + List of albums, with selected chart positions Title Album details Peak chart positions US USR&B/HH USRap BEL(FL) CAN NLD Last Winter Released: April 29, 2014 Label: Dreamville, Interscope Format: CD, digital download 103 18 13 — — — Too High to Riot Released: March 4, 2016 Label: Dreamville, Interscope Format: CD, LP, digital download 49 7 6 — — — Milky Way Released: August 24, 2018 Label: Dreamville, Interscope Format: CD, LP, digital download 35 19 17 180 65 109 We Only Talk About Real Shit When We're Fucked Up Released: December 15, 2023 Label: Dreamville, Interscope Format: CD, LP, digital download — — — — — —"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.
Extended plays Title Album detailsSpilled Milk 1 Released: August 9, 2019 Label: Dreamville, Interscope Format: Digital Download[BUMP] Pick Me Up Released: April 15, 2022 Label: Dreamville, Interscope Format: Digital Download
Compilation albums + List of albums, with selected chart positions Title Details Peak chart positions Certifications US USR&B/HH USRap Revenge of the Dreamers II Released: December 8, 2015 Label: Dreamville, Interscope Format: CD, digital download 29 4 3 Revenge of the Dreamers III Released: July 5, 2019 Label: Dreamville, Interscope Format: CD, digital download 1 1 1 RIAA: Platinum D-Day: A Gangsta Grillz Mixtape Released: March 31, 2022 Label: Dreamville, Interscope Format: Digital download 11 6 4
Mixtapes Title Mixtape details Quarter Water Raised Me Vol. 1 Released: June 7, 2011 Format: Digital download Quarter Water Raised Me Vol. 2 Released: May 26, 2013 Format: Digital download Two Weeks Notice Released: April 15, 2014 Format: Digital download
Singles As lead artist Title Year Peak chart positions Certifications Album US USR&B/HH USRap CAN NZ UK "Lit" 2013 — — — — — — Last Winter "My Nigga Just Made Bail" 2014 — — — — — — "Charles De Gaulle to JFK" — — — — — — "Night Job" 2015 — — — — — — Too High to Riot "Housewives" — — — — — — "Methylone" 2016 — — — — — — "Don't Front"2017—————— rowspan="2" "Pinball II"2018—————— "Boca Raton" — — — — — — Milky Way "Tribe" — 48 — — — — RIAA: Platinum BPI: Silver "Fragrance" — — — — — — "Purge" 2019 — — — — — — "Down Bad"(with J. Cole, JID, and EarthGang featuring Young Nudy) 64 26 22 69 — — RIAA: Platinum RMNZ: Gold Revenge of the Dreamers III "Costa Rica"(with JID, featuring Guapdad 4000, Reese Laflare, Jace, Mez, Smokepurpp, Buddy and Ski Mask the Slump God) 75 30 — 71 — — RIAA: Platinum RMNZ: Gold "Fried Rice" — — — — — — Spilled Milk 1"Jollof Rice" — — — — — — "Smoke From Fire"——————"The Jackie" 2021 78 26 22 60 — 100 [Bump] Pick Me Up"Admire Her" 2022 — — — — — —"Run It Up" — — — — — — Madden NFL 23 "Diamonds"2023——————We Only Talk About Real Shit When We're Fucked Up"Passport Bros" — — — — — —"Ho Chi Minh" — — — — — —"Khartoum" — — — — — —"179 Deli" — — — — — — "H.Y.B." 2024351715343629 Might Delete Later"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.
As featured artist +List of singles, with year released and album name shown Title Year Album "Braille" 2016 Do What Thou Wilt. "Can't Call It" Bears Like This Too Much "Risk" 2020 Ylang Ylang EP "B.Q.E." Everything "GPS" Renaissance Boy "Fallin'" "RE(a)D" "Romeo" 2021 Loving in Stereo "Selfish" F.O.E.S. "Spill" Approved "Show Me Something"Show Me Something New "Overseas" 2022 "For Good"2023 "Blood, Sweat & Tears"Creed III: The Soundtrack "Enthralled"Testament
Other charted songs + List of songs, with selected chart positions, showing year released and album name Title Year Peak chart positions Certifications Album US USR&B/HH USRap AUS CAN NZHot "100 Mil'" 2021 14 10 8 30 24 — RIAA: Gold The Off-Season "Let Go My Hand" 19 13 11 27 23 — RIAA: Gold "Hunger on Hillside" 28 17 15 46 33 — "Home Alone" 2023 — — — — — 19 We Only Talk About Real Shit When We're Fucked Up"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.
Guest appearances + List of non-single guest appearances, with other performing artists, showing year released and album name Title Year Other artist(s) Album "Cousins" 2013 J. Cole Truly Yours 2 "New York Times" J. Cole, 50 Cent Born Sinner "Hell's Kitchen" DJ Khaled, J. Cole Suffering from Success "I Need That" 2014 Cozz Cozz & Effect "Sketches of Paranoia" 2015 Omen Elephant Eyes "Keep On Goin" 2017 Russ "And You"2018Token, IDKBetween Somewhere "Addicted 2 (Keep Cool Remix)" 2019 VanJess Silk Canvas (The Remixes) "Link Up" Buddy, Guapdad 4000, Kent Jamz, JID, Ari Lennox Harlan & Alondra "Ap3x (Remastered)" Shane Eagle "Don't Hit Me Right Now" Cozz, Yung Baby Tate, Guapdad 4000 & Buddy Revenge of the Dreamers III "Self Love" Ari Lennox, Baby Rose "Dead Body"The C!rcle, AKA KeyzA 249 Experience, Vol. 1 "Vanya" Shane Eagle, Santi Dark Moon Flower "No Permission Needed" Rexx Life Raj Father Figure 3: Somewhere Out There "Flick It Up (Remix)" 2020 Reason, Junii, Jah The Great "Nobody Knows"Cassper Nyovest, YoungstaCPT, Apu SebekediA.M.N (Any Minute Now) "Outta Pocket" Cozz Revenge of the Dreamers III: Director's Cut "Spin Move" Smino, Saba, The Hics "No Chorus" Buddy, Guapdad 4000, Dreezy "Party"2021Kddo, JidennaToo Late Too Lit "Lifestyle" 2022 ASAP Ferg D-Day: A Gangsta Grillz Mixtape "Jozi Flows" EarthGang "Fretless"Beau Diako, Etta BondNylon "Wish You"Juls, MannywellzSounds of My World "On & On"Alex Isley, Jack DineMarigold "Pretty Little Thing"2023JungleVolcano "Romeo II"2026JungleSunshine
Awards and nominations Year Award Category Work Result 2020 Grammy Award Best Rap Performance"Down Bad" (with J. Cole, JID, EarthGang and Young Nudy)
Notes
References