Eric Whitney (born April 15, 1991), known professionally as Ghostemane or Eric Ghoste, is an American musician, singer, and songwriter. He has released eight solo albums and three collaborative albums under his Ghostemane moniker, primarily merging elements of heavy metal, hip hop and

industrial music Industrial music is a genre of music that draws on harsh, mechanical, transgressive or provocative sounds and themes. AllMusic defines industrial music as the "most abrasive and aggressive fusion of rock and electronic music" that was "initiall ...

. Whitney has also released music with a number of additional solo projects, pursuing styles including

black metal Black metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include Tempo#Beats per minute, fast tempos, a Screaming (music)#Black metal, shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted Electric guitar, guitars played with t ...

as Baader-Meinhof,

noise music Noise music is a genre of music that is characterised by the expressive use of noise within a musical context. This type of music tends to challenge the distinction that is made in conventional musical practices between musical and non-musical ...

as GASM, and

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroac ...

as Swearr. He began his career in local

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (also known as simply hardcore) is a punk rock music genre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots can be traced to earlier punk ...

and

doom metal Doom metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music that typically uses slower tempos, low-tuned guitars and a much "thicker" or "heavier" sound than other heavy metal genres.K. Kahn-Harris, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'' ...

bands around

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. In 2015, he moved to

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, starting a career as a rapper, under the moniker Ill Bizz. Around this same time, he was a member of the hip hop collective Schemaposse. Ghostemane's merging of trap and metal gained him popularity on

SoundCloud SoundCloud is an online audio distribution platform and music sharing website that enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is one of the largest music streaming se ...

. In 2018, Ghostemane released his seventh

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

, ''N/O/I/S/E'', which was highly anticipated in the underground music scene due to its heavy influence from

industrial Industrial may refer to: Industry * Industrial archaeology, the study of the history of the industry * Industrial engineering, engineering dealing with the optimization of complex industrial processes or systems * Industrial city, a city dominate ...

and

nu metal Nu metal (sometimes stylized as nü-metal, sometimes called aggro-metal) is a subgenre of that combines elements of heavy metal music with elements of other music genres such as hip hop, alternative rock, funk, industrial, and grunge. Nu met ...

Early life

Eric Whitney was born on April 15, 1991 in Lake Worth, Florida to parents from New York. Whitney grew up in West Palm Beach, Florida. As a teenager, he was mainly interested in

music. He learned to play the guitar and performed in several bands, including Nemesis and Seven Serpents. He also played football while he was in high school, saying he was practically forced to by his father, who died when Whitney was seventeen. Whitney was introduced to rap music when he was the guitarist in the hardcore punk band Nemesis and a band mate introduced him to

Memphis rap Memphis rap, also known as Memphis hip hop or Memphis horrorcore, is a regional subgenre of hip hop music that originated in Memphis, Tennessee in the mid-late 1980s. Aesthetic It has been characterized as being low budget, using repetitive v ...

Career

Prior to his musical career, Whitney worked in several B2B sales positions. In 2015, Whitney moved to Los Angeles, California due to him not musically thriving in Southern Florida. He also gave up his employment. Meeting up with JGRXXN, Whitney joined his collective Schemaposse, which included artists such as

Craig Xen Craig J. Gordwin (born October 24, 1994), known professionally as Craig Xen, is an American rapper, best known for his collaborations with XXXTentacion and hip hop collective Members Only. Early life Gordwin was born on October 24, 1994, in ...

and

Lil Peep Gustav Elijah Åhr (November 1, 1996 – November 15, 2017), known professionally as Lil Peep, was an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He was a member of the emo rap collective GothBoiClique. Helping pioneer an emo revival-style of Rapp ...

. In April 2016, after just 1 year with the group, Whitney left Schemaposse. He subsequently released his self-produced album "Blackmage" and his first cinematic music video with his single "John Dee". Whitney eventually began to associate with fellow Florida rapper

Pouya Kevin Pouya (born December 20, 1994), known mononymously as Pouya, is an American rapper from Miami, Florida. Considered as a pioneer of the early underground rap scene that began on SoundCloud in 2012, along with discovering the well known hi ...

, who released the video for "1000 Rounds" with Ghostemane in April 2017. The video quickly went viral and as of May 2021, has over 29 million views. In late 2017, Whitney saw greater success when art collective TRASH GANG created and released their 1930s cartoon edit music video for his song "Mercury: Retrograde". The cartoon was a 1933 Betty Boop short, Snow-White, featuring

Cab Calloway Cabell Calloway III (December 25, 1907 – November 18, 1994) was an American singer, songwriter, bandleader, conductor and dancer. He was associated with the Cotton Club in Harlem, where he was a regular performer and became a popular vocalist ...

as Koko singing St. James Infirmary. The video has since climbed to over 419 million views, making it his most well known single. In October 2018 he teamed up with Zubin to release a track titled ''Broken''. Also in 2018, he released his seventh studio album, ''N/O/I/S/E'', in which many of the songs are influenced by

industrial metal Industrial metal is the fusion of heavy metal and industrial music, typically employing repeating metal guitar riffs, sampling, synthesizer or sequencer lines, and distorted vocals. Prominent industrial metal acts include Ministry, Nine In ...

Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...

Marilyn Manson Brian Hugh Warner (born January 5, 1969), known professionally as Marilyn Manson, is an American rock musician. He came to prominence as the lead singer of the band which shares his name, of which he remains the only constant member since it ...

and

Nine Inch Nails Nine Inch Nails, commonly abbreviated as NIN and stylized as NIИ, is an American industrial rock band formed in Cleveland in 1988. Singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Trent Reznor was the only permanent member of the band ...

. In May 2020, he unveiled his latest project, a lo-fi

band called Baader-Meinhof, of which he is the sole member (credited as Eric Ghoste). Ghostemane is also the sole producer of his former fiancée

Poppy A poppy is a flowering plant in the subfamily Papaveroideae of the family Papaveraceae. Poppies are herbaceous plants, often grown for their colourful flowers. One species of poppy, ''Papaver somniferum'', is the source of the narcotic drug opi ...

's Christmas EP ''A Very Poppy Christmas'' released in December 2020. In 2021, Ghostemane's music video "AI", directed by Nick Cinelli, was nominated for Most Bizarre at the Berlin Music Video Awards.

Artistry

Lyrically, Ghostemane's themes focus around

occult The occult, in the broadest sense, is a category of esoteric supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving otherworldly agency, such as magic and mysticism a ...

ism, depression,

nihilism Nihilism (; ) is a philosophy, or family of views within philosophy, that rejects generally accepted or fundamental aspects of human existence, such as objective truth, knowledge, morality, values, or meaning. The term was popularized by Ivan ...

death Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

and

illuminism The Illuminati (; plural of Latin ''illuminatus'', 'enlightened') is a name given to several groups, both real and fictitious. Historically, the name usually refers to the Bavarian Illuminati, an Enlightenment-era secret society founded on ...

. He started his career as a musician playing guitar in

bands, and drums in

bands. He has stated that his biggest influence is

band Bathory. He spent most of his teenage years listening to

extreme metal Extreme metal is a loosely defined umbrella term for a number of related heavy metal music subgenres that have developed since the early 1980s. It has been defined as a "cluster of metal subgenres characterized by sonic, verbal, and visual tran ...

bands such as

Deicide Deicide is the killing (or the killer) of a god. The concept may be used for any act of killing a god, including a life-death-rebirth deity who is killed and then resurrected. Etymology The term deicide was coined in the 17th century from m ...

Death Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

Carcass Carcass or Carcase (both pronounced ) may refer to: *Dressed carcass, the body of a livestock animal ready for butchery, after removal of skin, visceral organs, head, feet etc. *Carrion, the decaying dead body of an animal or human being *The str ...

and Mayhem. In terms of rap music, Ghostemane is influenced by Southern rap groups such as Outkast and

Three 6 Mafia Three 6 Mafia is an American Hip hop music, hip hop group from Memphis, Tennessee, formed in 1991. Emerging as a horror-themed underground hip hop group, they would eventually go on to enjoy mainstream success. The group's 1995 debut album ''Mys ...

. He has also gone on to cite Midwest rap group Bone Thugs-n-Harmony as an early influence.

Personal life

In October 2019, Ghostemane began dating musician and YouTuber

. In July 2020, Poppy announced on social media that the two were engaged. The couple separated and called off their engagement in late 2021. He is currently engaged to American model, Skye Boysen aka Skyefires. On July 3, 2022, he announced on social networks that he would be a father with his current partner, Skyefires.

Backing band

;Current *Parv0 – DJ *Nolan Nunes – bass *Marcus Johnson – drums ;Former *Mark Bronzino – guitar *Cayle Sain - drums

Discography

As Ghostemane

Studio albums

*''Oogabooga'' (2015) *''For the Aspiring Occultist'' (2015) *''Rituals'' (2016) *''Blackmage'' (2016) *''Plagues'' (2016) *''Hexada'' (2017) *''N / O / I / S / E'' (2018) *''ANTI-ICON'' (2020)

Collaboration albums

*''Pallbearers , , Tales from the Grave'' (w/DJ Killa C) (2015) *''GRXXNGHOSTENAGROM'' (w/JGRXXN x Nedarb Nagrom) (2015) *''Elemental'' (w/

x JGRXXN) (2016) *''LXRDMAGE'' (w/Scarlxrd) (2021)

Compilations

*''Astral Kreepin (Resurrected Hitz)'' (2015) *''Get To Know Us'' (w/Lil Peep x JGRXXN) (2016) *''Hiadica'' (2019)

Extended plays

*''Ghoste Tales'' (2015) *''Dogma'' (2015) *''Kreep lassics Out Tha AtticFeaturing Dj Insane '' (2015) *''DÆMON'' (w/Nedarb Nagrom) (2016) *''DÆMON II'' (w/Nedarb Nagrom) (2016) *''DÆMON III'' (w/Nedarb Nagrom) (2017) *''Dahlia I'' (w/

Getter A getter is a deposit of reactive material that is placed inside a vacuum system to complete and maintain the vacuum. When gas molecules strike the getter material, they combine with it chemically or by . Thus the getter removes small amounts of ...

) (2018) *''Fear Network'' (2019) *''Opium'' (2019) *''HUMAN ERR0R'' (w/Parv0) (2019) *''Digital Demons'' (w/Nolife) (2019) *''Lxrdmage'' (w/

Scarlxrd Marius Lucas Antonio Listhrop (born 19 June 1994), better known as Scarlxrd (pronounced "Scarlord"), is an English rapper and former YouTuber. He is known for his unique musical style combining elements of trap music and Heavy metal music, heavy ...

) (2021) *''Fear Network II'' (2021)

Mixtapes

*''Blunts n' Brass Monkey'' (2014) *''Taboo'' (2014) Singles * ''Technicolor'' (2014) * ''Kronol'' (2015) * ''John Dee'' (2016) * ''Hades'' (2017) * ''Kybalion'' (2017) * ''Tartarus'' (2017) * ''Kali Yuga'' (2017) * ''Nails'' (2017) * ''Blood Oceans (How Many?) (w/ PHARAOH)'' (2018) * ''D(R)Ead'' (2018) * ''AI'' (2020) * ''Lazaretto'' (2020)

As Ill Biz

Mixtapes

*''Revival'' (ft. Shepherd) (2012) ''(on tracks "Revival" and "Lean Wit It" only)'' *''No Holds Barred'' (2012) ''(exclusive mixtape for datpiff.com)'' * *''versatyle'' (2013) ''(unreleased)'' *'' oh ahymixtape'' (ft. Infinite SoFi) (2013) ''(on track "Southside" only)'' *''ILL BiZ EP'' (ft. Infinite SoFi) (2013) *''1991'' (2014)

As GASM

Studio albums

*''Www'' (2018)

As SWEARR

Extended plays

*''Technomancer'' (2019)

As Baader-Meinhof

Extended plays

*''EP'' (2016) *''Evil Beneath a Veil of Justice'' (2019) *''Baader-Meinhof'' (2020)

With Nemesis

Extended plays

*''From the Neighborhood'' (2012)

With Seven Serpents

Extended plays

*''Seven Serpents'' (2015)

As Eric Ghoste

* ''Music from the Motion Picture'' (2021)

References

External links

* {{authority control 1991 births Living people 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century American rappers Alternative hip hop musicians American black metal musicians American hip hop singers American industrial musicians American male rappers American noise musicians Hardcore punk musicians People from Lake Worth Beach, Florida Rappers from Florida Singer-songwriters from Florida Trap metal musicians