The Internet is an American

alternative R&B Alternative R&B (also referred to as alt-R&B, indie R&B, hipster R&B, dark R&B, emo R&B and left-field R&B) is a term used by music journalists to describe a stylistic alternative to contemporary R&B that began in the mid 2000s and came to pro ...

band from

Los Angeles 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' ...

, California. It consists of vocalist Syd, keyboardist

Matt Martians Matthew Martin (born September 12, 1988), better known by his stage name Matt Martians, is an American record producer, illustrator, singer, and songwriter from Atlanta, Georgia. Aside from his solo career, Martians was a founding member of Los ...

, bassist Patrick Paige II, drummer Christopher Smith, and guitarist Steve Lacy. Their music is a blend of R&B, hip hop, jazz, funk, and electronic dance music. They have released four studio albums and three extended plays since their formation in late 2011. The band's 2015 album ''

Ego Death Ego death is a "complete loss of subjective self-identity". The term is used in various intertwined contexts, with related meanings. Jungian psychology uses the synonymous term psychic death, referring to a fundamental transformation of the psych ...

'' was nominated for the

Grammy Award for Best Urban Contemporary Album The Grammy Award for Best Progressive R&B Album is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards to recording artists for quality works on albums in the urban contemporary subgenre within the R&B field. Honors in several categories are presented at t ...

History

The Internet was formed in early 2011 by

Odd Future Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All, better known as Odd Future and often abbreviated as OF, was an American Hip hop music, hip-hop Musical collective, music collective formed in Los Angeles County, California in 2007. The original members were Ty ...

members Syd and

, along with touring members Patrick Paige, Christopher Smith, and

Tay Walker Taylor Walker (born November 27, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer from Inglewood, California. Taylor performed as a writer, keyboardist and vocalist on The Internet's debut album '' Purple Naked Ladies'' as well as p ...

. The band's name originally started out as a joke, inspired by Left Brain's answer to a reporter asking where he was from, to which he responded, "I hate when people ask me that, I'm going to start saying I'm from the Internet". The idea amused Syd, and inspired the name for her side project that eventually became The Internet. Their debut album ''

Purple Naked Ladies ''Purple Naked Ladies'' is the debut studio album by American Soul music, soul band The Internet (band), The Internet, a duo consisting of Syd tha Kyd and Matt Martians of Odd Future at the time.

'' was released on December 20, 2011. It was the first physical album to be released through

Odd Future Records Odd Future Records was an American record label founded by rapper and producer Tyler, the Creator of Odd Future in 2011. It operated as a division of Sony Music Entertainment. History Odd Future Records was founded by Tyler, the Creator in 2011 ...

. Two songs from the album, "Cocaine" and "Fastlane", had music videos to accompany their release. The Internet has a song included on the Odd Future album ''

The OF Tape Vol. 2 ''The OF Tape Vol. 2'' is the debut studio album by American hip hop collective Odd Future. It was released on March 20, 2012, by Odd Future Records and RED Distribution. It serves as the sequel to their debut mixtape, '' The Odd Future Tape'' ...

'', called "Ya know". The band released their second album '' Feel Good'' in September 2013, and received praise from fans and critics. The first single from the album, "Give It Time", was released through Odd Future's official

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 ...

. On June 10, 2013, The band backed

Mac Miller Malcolm James McCormick (January 19, 1992 – September 7, 2018), known professionally as Mac Miller, was an American rapper and record producer. Miller began his career in Pittsburgh's hip hop scene in 2007, at the age of fifteen. In 2010, h ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

in promotion of his second album ''

Watching Movies with the Sound Off ''Watching Movies with the Sound Off'' is the second studio album by American rapper Mac Miller. It was released June 18, 2013, by Rostrum Records. The album continued his changes in musical sound that began with the mixtape '' Macadelic''. Miller ...

''. Their third album ''

'' was released by

& Columbia on June 30, 2015 to widespread acclaim.

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

said about the album's title: "A lot of people that we know rejust having their egos checked in many ways. Some people losing their jobs when, last year, they were at the top of the mountain; certain people's careers going in different directions that they didn't anticipate. And just kind of two words that you want people to think about these days, because we do have a lot of people who, on the Internet — whether it's Instagram, Twitter — it's a lot of egos that are really based on nothing backing it up." Following the release of ''Ego Death'', the band's members each focused on releasing individual solo projects. 2017 saw the release of

' ''

The Drum Chord Theory ''The Drum Chord Theory'' is the debut solo studio album by musician Matt Martians, member of groups and sub-groups The Internet, Odd Future, The Jet Age of Tomorrow, The Super D3shay, and Sweaty Martians. It was released on January 27, 2017 by Thr ...

'', Syd's ''

Fin A fin is a thin component or appendage attached to a larger body or structure. Fins typically function as foils that produce lift or thrust, or provide the ability to steer or stabilize motion while traveling in water, air, or other fluids. Fin ...

'', ''

Steve Lacy's Demo ''Steve Lacy's Demo'' is the first extended play by American musician Steve Lacy. It was released on February 24, 2017, by Three Quarter (3Qtr) and AWAL. The project has been described by Lacy as a song series. Background Lacy created most of t ...

,'' Patrick Paige II's ''Letters of Irrelevance'' and Christopher A. Smith's ''Loud'', as a part of the duo C&T. In December 2017, Steve Lacy told DJ Matt Wilkinson of

Beats 1 Apple Music 1, previously branded as Beats 1, is a 24/7 music radio station owned and operated by Apple Inc. It is accessible through iTunes or the Apple Music app on a computer, smartphone or tablet, smart speaker (such as the Apple HomePod), ...

that the follow-up to

was "95%" finished. He added: "I feel like this is on a higher echelon than Ego Death. I love Ego Death, that was a great record, but I know this one is a step up." In April 2018, Patrick Paige II announced his debut album ''Letters of Irrelevance''. Later that month, the band released the single "Roll (Burbank Funk)", in promotion of their fourth studio album, '' Hive Mind''. The track features joint lead vocals by Steve Lacy and Syd. The next month the band announced their fourth album, '' Hive Mind'', which released on July 20, 2018. In October 2018, The Internet was the opening act at all but one show for

Gorillaz Gorillaz are an English virtual band formed in 1998 by musician Damon Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett, from London. The band primarily consists of four fictional members: 2-D (vocals, keyboards), Murdoc Niccals (bass guitar), Noodle (guitar, ...

on their North American leg of

The Now Now Tour The Now Now Tour was a concert tour by the British alternative rock virtual band Gorillaz, in support of their sixth studio album ''The Now Now''.Sources for shows in North America: * US and Canada: * Mexico: Personnel *Damon Albarn – lead v ...

, which concluded with the Demon Dayz Festival. Their performance at the

Scotiabank Arena Scotiabank Arena ( French: ''Aréna Scotiabank)'', formerly known as Air Canada Centre (ACC), is a multi-purposed arena located on Bay Street in the South Core district of Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the home of the Toronto Rap ...

on October 8, 2018 was their first ever performance in a stadium venue.

Discography

Studio albums

EPs

Singles

Other appearances

Members

Contributions refer to members' live roles. On studio recordings, each member plays a variety of instruments. *

Sydney Bennett Sydney John Bennett (7 February 1905 – 15 August 1969) was an English cricketer. Bennett was a right-handed batsman who bowled right-arm slow. He was born at Hackleton, Northamptonshire. Bennett made three first-class appearances for No ...

– vocals * Steve Lacy – guitar, vocals * Matthew Martin – keyboards, vocals * Patrick Paige II – bass guitar * Christopher Smith – drums

Past members

– keyboards * Jameel Bruner – keyboards

Awards and nominations

Soul Train Awards The Soul Train Music Awards is an annual music awards show which previously aired in national broadcast syndication, and honors the best in African-American culture, music and entertainment. It is produced by the makers of ''Soul Train'', the pro ...

Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Internet Musical groups established in 2011 American musical duos Hip hop duos Hip hop groups from California American contemporary R&B musical groups American soul musical groups Trip hop groups Musical groups from Los Angeles African-American musical groups Feminist musicians Columbia Records artists 2011 establishments in California