Matt Champion

Matthew Garrett Champion (born February 14, 1995) is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He is known for his role as a member of hip hop collective and boyband Brockhampton, with whom he released eight studio albums. His debut solo album, '' Mika's Laundry'', was released on March 22, 2024.

Early life

Champion was raised in The Woodlands, Texas, and is of partial Japanese American ancestry. While a student at The Woodlands High School, Champion began rapping and met his future bandmates Kevin Abstract, Ameer Vann, Merlyn Wood, and Russell "Joba" Boring.

Career

2014-2022: Brockhampton

Champion joined AliveSinceForever, an internet music collective, in 2014 shortly before the group reorganized into Brockhampton. Along with the rest of the group, Champion relocated to San Marcos, and later Los Angeles.

Champion contributed to the groups mixtape, ''All-American Trash'' in 2016, and later appeared on the groups breakthrough debut album ''Saturation'', released on June 9, 2017. ''Saturation'' was followed by ''Saturation II'' and ''Saturation III'' on August 25 and December 15, respectively. In May 2018, Ameer Vann was removed from Brockhampton amidst allegations of sexual misconduct. Shortly afterwards, the group cancelled their planned fourth studio album, and released a new record, ''Iridescence'', on September 21. ''Iridesence'' became the group's first album to debut atop the Billboard charts. It was followed by ''Ginger'' on August 23, 2019. In January 2022, the group announced that they would go on an indefinite hiatus, and cancelled all remaining shows in support of their sixth studio album '' Roadrunner: New Light, New Machine'' (2021).

The final Brockhampton albums, ''The Family'' and ''TM'', were released on November 17 and 18, respectively. The latter record, which consisted of outtakes from the groups recording sessions in 2020 and 2021, was curated and executive produced by Champion.

2014-2021: Early solo work

In June 2014, a nineteen year-old Champion's debut single "Die For Me" was featured by Pigeons and Planes in "5 On It", a feature highlighting underground hip-hop artists. The next month, he appeared as a featured artist on bandmate Kevin Abstract's debut studio album ''MTV1987''. On December 31st, Champion released the single "Burn", featuring Memphis rapper Jon Waltz. On April 6, 2015, Champion and Ameer Vann made appearances on Abstract's single "Not On DOASM 01", a cut track from Abstract's sophomore album '' American Boyfriend: A Suburban Love Story'', at the time titled ''Death of a Super Model''. On April 27, Champion was once again a featured artist on "Not On DOASM 02". On May 11, Champion released the single "El Dorado" alongside a corresponding music video.

After a nearly year-long hiatus, his next single "Punks" was released in February 2016, and was described as a refinement of the sound of his previous singles. On March 23, he released the single "Salud", featuring Abstract and Michael Christmas. On December 22, "Mansions" was released along with the promise of a studio album the following year. On February 17th 2017, Champion's next single "Fangs" was listed by Pigeons and Planes as one of the best singles of that week.

On April 6, 2021, Champion appeared as a featured artist on ''97 Blossom'', the debut extended play by The Blossom, released on bandmates Kevin Abstract and Romil Hemnani's record label Video Store. The EP also featured collaborations with Abstract, Hemnani, and Brockhampton producer Jabari Manwa.

2024–present: ''Mika's Laundry''

On February 14, Champion released his first solo work since Brockhampton's dissolution. The single "Aphid", featuring American singer Dijon, was produced by Champion and Henry Kwapis and has been described as "lush" and "melodic". "Aphid" was followed by "Slug", a "nostalgia-inducing funk and soul" track on February 28. On March 3, Champion began teasing a collaboration with South Korean rapper Jennie. The resulting drum and bass song, "Slow Motion", was released on March 8 alongside the announcement of '' Mika's Laundry'', Champion's debut solo album, released on March 22.

On June 20, Champion appeared on the cover of ''Clash'''s 20th anniversary edition, titled "Kool Things". On October 2, it was announced that Champion would appear in the feature film ''Strobe'', directed by Taylor Cohen and produced by Tara Razavi, Nate Matteson, and Hiro Murai. On October 18, Champion was announced as a performer at the 2024 Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival.

On October 24, Champion released "Faye", the first installment of a planned series of singles intended to expand upon ''Mika's Laundry''. On October 30, "Faye" was followed by "Hacker". A third single, "SPJ", was released the following week. On November 13, Champion released the fourth and final single, "Ash" featuring Deb Never, who had previously appeared alongside Champion on the Brockhampton album ''Ginger''. The same day, the four singles were collected and released as part of an extended play titled ''Slint's Favorite''.

Personal life

As of February 2025, Champion is engaged to Canadian model and designer Tavia Bonetti. Champion has starred in campaigns for Bonetti's brand, Friends With Animals. As of 2025, the couple has relocated from Los Angeles to Seoul. Champion has a tattoo on his wrist of the number eleven, a reference to the character of the same name from the television series ''Stranger Things''.

Discography

Studio albums

Extended plays

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

Guest appearances

Filmography

Music Videos

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Champion, Matt
Brockhampton (band) members
Rappers from Texas
People from The Woodlands, Texas
American musicians of Japanese descent
Living people
1995 births
RCA Records artists