Pink Sweat$

The Philadelphia native, Pink Sweat$, born David Bowden, was slow to the music scene, as his conservative Christian upbringing narrowed the scope of his musical influences. Not to mention any hopes of singing would have been hindered for him at the time by his esophageal achalasia, a rare condition wherein those suffering from it are unable to experience relaxed digestive systems and routinely vomit as a result.

By the time he reached his late-teens, however, both his influences and medical status would change. While he was subject to a successful esophageal surgery, he also found his adoration for Michael Jackson, Prince, and Kanye West had bubbled over into eclectic creativity. As fate would have it, PinkSweat$ got his start as a wide-spanning producer, crafting tunes for Florida Georgia Line, MAX, and Tierra Whack. It was only a matter of time before the musical jack-of-all-trades looked inward for original material. This inevitability culminated in the 2018 release of his debut project, Volume 1. The soul-pop penman/producer’s EP captivated streaming audiences and TikTok remixes alike, chiefly thanks to the EP’s hit lead single, “Honesty.” The lingering success of the EP came just before the release of the comparably successful Volume 2 (2019) and The Prelude (2020). Both of the ensuing EPs gained notoriety for not only being associated with the success of the first, but furthering it with the respective singles, “Body Ain’t Me” and “Icy.”