LOS ANGELES — For a stretch of time in the mid-2010s, the voice of PnB Rock was inescapable on hip-hop radio. Almost as soon as he arrived on the national scene from Philadelphia, he was in demand, a master of the hip-hop hook, soaring on YFN Lucci's "Everyday We Lit" and Kodak Black's sentimental smash "Too Many Years." Crossover success wasn't far behind — from his song "Horses" off the "Fate of the Furious" soundtrack and from his 2019 feature alongside Chance the Rapper on Ed Sheeran's song "Cross Me."
Fans were drawn to his style of melodic rapping, shining on choruses that burrowed into ears. The emotion and vulnerability in his lyrics resonated too, whether Rock was singing a tribute to the friends he'd lost or a love song to the woman on his mind.
"He made honest music that reflected how a lot of us feel in this city and how a lot of us have felt for a long time," said John Morrison, a writer and DJ from Philadelphia whose work has appeared on NPR, Bandcamp Daily and more. "Folks in my age group, folks younger than me, across the board."
