Larger than Life (2023)

Larger than Life is American R&B singer Brent Faiyaz's debut mixtape. It was released independently through Faiyaz's label ISO Supremacy and distributed through UnitedMasters on October 27, 2023, as a surprise release. The project features guest appearances from ASAP Ant, ASAP Rocky, Babyface Ray, Coco Jones, Cruddy Murda, Felix!, Flee, Lil Gray, Missy Elliott, N3WYRKLA, Princess Cro, Tommy Richman, and TTM Dawg. The majority of the album was produced by Dpat alongside Mannyvelli and Sparkheem who also produced several tracks on the project.

Larger than Life received generally positive reviews from critics who highlighted Faiyaz's vocals and the album's "sleek" production. It debuted at number 11 on the US Billboard 200 chart, in which it earned 42,000 album-equivalent units, of which 1,000 were pure album sales. Eight of the album's fourteen tracks charted on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The mixtape was preceded by two singles: the Coco Jones-assisted "Moment of Your Life" and "WY@".

Background and recording

Upon the release of the mixtape, Faiyaz appeared in an interview with Rolling Stone in which he spoke about how astrology plays a part in the creation of his music as he's always surrounded by women who he states are "the number one conversation" he has with them. When asked about the mixtape's thirteenth cut, "WY@", Faiyaz stated that the "record reflects having access and opportunity, and having to say no to certain shit—or the inability to say no to certain shit" and it's "about addiction in a way, shape, or form, but more from the perspective of submitting to it versus fighting against it". In November 2023, Faiyaz appeared in another interview with Swizz Beatz on behalf of Wonderland. In the interview, Swizz asked about the inspiration behind the project's title, to which Faiyaz responded that: "I'm kind of in a place where I feel like I can do whatever the fuck I wanna do. I feel like I'm one of the best at what I do. That's how I feel with Larger than Life". A standout point of the mixtape was the abundance of features it debuted with. When asked about what made Faiyaz comfortable enough to pull all the artists together, he went into depth about the process:I just pull from what I like, man. I do what feels good to me. It would be more difficult for me to chase streams and make something that fits with what everyone else is doing. With every project I put together, it’s the project I want to hear right now. If I was looking at a 15-year-old me, and it’s back to school time, what would I want my favourite artist to put out? That’s how I make music.

In the same month, Sonder member and one of the mixtape's primary producers, Dpat appeared in an interview with Billboard in which he revealed that he and Faiyaz began to work on the project in December 2022 after landing in Tulum, Quintana Roo. He stated that the majority of the songs on the mixtape were "made [during] that one week at lock-in with a couple made throughout the year" and that Faiyaz was "writing one, two songs every day". He expanded on how he and Faiyaz originally met, while also covering Timbaland's involvement on the record and the recording and production process of the mixtape:We did a studio lock-in for this album. [It] was basically a studio in a hotel that Brent booked for a week straight. So, it was just wake up, [go to the] studio until ungodly hours, go to sleep, wake up, studio. On the sixth day of this lock-in, Brent was like, “Oh, Timbaland’s coming to the studio and I want him to be talking on an intro.” I was like, okay, cool, let me make a beat. In my head, I’m thinking, What could be cool for Timbaland to talk on? All of us [grew] up listening to Timbo talk his shit, beatboxing, the ad-libs—they’re just so iconic. And so, in my mind, I’m like I want this to be a statement.

Release and promotion

On May 2, 2023, Billboard reported that Brent Faiyaz signed a new distributed deal with UnitedMasters, rumored to be valued at up to $50 million. UnitedMasters CEO, Steve Stoute, spoke on the addition of Faiyaz to the company: "Brent Faiyaz is one of the most prolific independent artists today, and we are extremely excited to embark on this new partnership with him. It's been inspiring to watch his journey as an artist over the years, and with this partnership we look to further amplify his creative vision and support his entrepreneurial ambitions".

On August 16, 2023, Billboard reported the start-up of Faiyaz's new record label and creative company, ISO Supremacy, distributed by UnitedMasters ahead of a new project. On August 23, 2023, Faiyaz released the album's lead single, "Moment of Your Life" featuring Coco Jones. Just a month later, on September 19, 2023, Faiyaz released the album’s second single, "WY@".