Dallas native 4batz—real name Neko Bennett—has been making music since the third grade but was reluctant to share it with the world. However, after his father’s passing, he decided to give music a shot. 4batz became a breakout star when he walked up to the mic on the popular performance YouTube series From the Block with a black ski mask, a full set of gold grillz, a double cup in hand, and his crew in the background, looking like he was about to rap about his trials and tribulations living in Dallas. But many listeners were shocked to hear the complete opposite when he opened his mouth. Instead of hard-spitting bars, 4batz mines his love of ’90s R&B for pitched-up and slowed vocals laced with emotive lyrics to tell his story and provide a compelling juxtaposition with his visual presentation. After his two appearances on the From the Block series, where he performed his debut single “act i: stickerz ‘99’” and “act ii: date @ 8,” the singer-rapper went viral and amassed a huge following—as well as a couple of co-signs from artists in the industry like SZA, Timbaland, and Drake, who appears on the remix of “act ii: date @ 8.” In 2024, he was named an Apple Music Up Next artist.