Mansionz is an American alternative hip hop duo composed of American singer-songwriter Mike Posner and American hip-hop recording artist, producer, and singer Matthew Musto, better known by his stage name Blackbear. They released their debut studio album, Mansionz, on March 24, 2017. The album is also available on a Limited Edition 2-Disc Vinyl at mansionz.myshopify.com.
Career
2016–present: Beginnings and debut album
Mansionz was formed when longtime collaborators Matthew Musto (otherwise known as Blackbear) and Mike Posner formally came together and formed a hip-hop and R&B duo. Previously known for his hit singles “Cooler than Me” and “I Took a Pill in Ibiza,” Posner was first featured on a Blackbear track in 2012, when Blackbear’s debut mixtape Sex was released. At that time, the two musicians were already good friends and had worked together in the past on Canadian singer Justin Bieber’s 2012 single “Boyfriend”. Prior to the official debut of Mansionz, Posner and Blackbear had worked together on several tracks, including “Anyone But Me,” Marauder Music,” “Obvious” and “OshFest”. By December 9, 2016, Posner and Musto had released their debut single under the name Mansionz, titled “Stfu.” (At the time of its original release, the song title was stylized as “stfu,” although it appears as “STFU” on the album version.) “Stfu” features rapper Spark Master Tape and has been described as a “slow R&B serenade”. It received mostly positive reviews.
On January 16, 2017, Mansionz posted a video on YouTube titled “intro to mansionz part 1.” The video teases an upcoming album while also posing important questions like “Are you worried about the messages you are sending to your younger fans?” It was shot by “Stfu” collaborator Spark Master Tape, as was the second album teaser, “intro to mansionz part 2,” which was released on January 25.
The duo’s second single, titled “Rich White Girls,” was released on February 3, 2017. It was quickly followed by Mansionz’ first notable public appearance at the 59th Annual Grammy Awards on February 12, 2017, where both Posner and Musto sported lime-green hair, a signature look that would come to characterize the duo in the future. On March 17, “Dennis Rodman,” which featured the retired American professional basketball player of the same name, was released as the duo’s third and final single before the release of their self-titled debut album. “Dennis Rodman” samples Run-DMC’s “Here We Go (Live at the Funhouse)” and quickly became the most popular Mansionz single yet due to the Dennis Rodman feature.
Mansionz was released on March 24, 2017 and featured appearances from Soren Bryce, G-Eazy, CyHi The Prynce, and Snoozegod, as well as Spark Master Tape and Dennis Rodman. It received generally positive reviews from critics, although some reviewers who had enjoyed the earlier solo work of Posner and Musto were disappointed.
After the release of their album, Mansionz provided guest vocals on the track “You Are” from American rapper MOD SUN’s album Movie, released March 10, 2017. This marked their first credited guest appearance under the name Mansionz.
On March 29, 2017, Mansionz released an official music video for their single “Rich White Girls”. The music video for “Dennis Rodman” arrived on May 19, 2017. It was followed by a music video for “Dennis Rodman,” which arrived on May 19, 2017. Although both members of Mansionz have teased further videos on their Twitter and Instagram accounts, none have been confirmed.
In June 2017, Mike Posner made a surprise appearance at a Blackbear concert in Detroit on the latter’s Digital DrugTour, making it the first official Mansionz concert. The duo performed several songs, including “Dennis Rodman” and “STFU,” and teased on Twitter that there would be more to come in 2018. Neither Posner nor Musto have given further information on the rumored 2018 Mansionz tour.
On August 11, 2017, “Wicked” was announced to be the fourth single from Mansionz. A radio edit that replaced the lyric “she’s fucking wicked” with “that girl is wicked” was released that day, as well as a remix by American pop duo Loote, who had worked with Mike Posner before on a remix of his track “Silence.” On August 25, 2017 a second remix released by Norway based production team Rat City.
On January 16, 2018, Mansionz teased their upcoming second album Mansionz 2.
Studio Album: Mansionz
Mansionz is the self-titled debut studio album by American hip-hop duo Mansionz, consisting of singer-songwriter Mike Posner and singer and producer Blackbear, released on March 24, 2017, through Bear Trap Recordings and Monster Mountain, both under Island Records.
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