Joshua Smith (born January 9, 1995), known professionally as Yoshi Flower, is an American singer, songwriter and record producer who is signed to

Interscope Records Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture with Atlantic Records of Warner Mus ...

Early life

Joshua Smith was born in

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

. His father gave him his first guitar, which he received in lieu of money from an artist when his son was 6. At age 12 his father began to let him play in local Detroit bars.

Career

2014-2019: Career beginnings Smith began releasing music and playing live shows in his hometown Detroit. He played in various bands, and released 2 EPs as part of the duo Gosh Pith to critical acclaim. In 2017, he wrote and recorded his first solo demos while living in

Topanga, California Topanga () (Tongva: ''Topaa'nga'') is a census-designated place (CDP) in western Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located in the Santa Monica Mountains, the community exists in Topanga Canyon and the surrounding hills. The narrow s ...

with electronic artist

Elohim ''Elohim'' (: ), the plural of (), is a Hebrew word meaning "gods". Although the word is plural, in the Hebrew Bible it usually takes a singular verb and refers to a single deity, particularly (but not always) the God of Israel. At other times ...

. The first of which, “Movies,” surfaced in March 2018 with

The Fader ''The Fader'' (stylized as ''FADER'') is a magazine based in New York City that was launched in 1999 by Rob Stone and Jon Cohen. The magazine covers music, style and culture. It was the first print publication to be released on iTunes. It is o ...

comparing his lyrics to

Lana Del Rey Elizabeth Woolridge Grant (born June 21, 1985), known professionally as Lana Del Rey, is an American singer-songwriter. Her music is noted for its cinematic quality and exploration of tragic romance, glamour, and melancholia, with frequent ...

. After releasing two more songs independently, “Woke” and “Just On Drugs” respectively, Flower signed a record deal with Interscope Records. Following his singing, he released the Brown Paper Bag (Maxi) single via GRDN/Interscope Records. The lead single of which was featured in the

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

show ‘

On My Block ''On My Block'' is an American teen comedy-drama streaming television series, created by Lauren Iungerich, Eddie Gonzalez, and Jeremy Haft. The first season, consisting of ten episodes, was released on Netflix on March 16, 2018. On April 13, 201 ...

.’ The project also included a remix from Take A Day Trip, and a reimagined version of the single featuring

Rico Nasty Maria-Cecilia Simone Kelly (born May 7, 1997), known professionally as Rico Nasty, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter from Maryland. She rose to prominence in 2018 with singles such as "Smack a Bitch" and "Poppin". While in high schoo ...

. On October 12, 2018, he released “American Raver,” the first of a series of 3 mixtapes.

I-D magazine ''i-D'' is a British bimonthly magazine published by Vice Media, dedicated to fashion, music, art and youth culture. ''i-D'' was founded by designer and former ''Vogue'' art director Terry Jones in 1980. The first issue was published in the for ...

labeled the project a “pledge of allegiance gone goth.” The project explores drugs, identity,

escapism Escapism is mental diversion from unpleasant or boring aspects of daily life, typically through activities involving imagination or entertainment. Escapism may be used to occupy one's self away from persistent feelings of depression or genera ...

, and

capitalism Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for Profit (economics), profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, pric ...

. In the summer of 2019 he followed up with a 2nd mixtape titled “Peer Pleasure.” Paper Magazine noted his ability to bend genres in his music. The third and final installment, “I Will Not Let My Love Go To Waste” came in December 2019. The project touches on heart-break, addiction, control and

near death experience A near-death experience (NDE) is a profound personal experience associated with death or impending death which researchers claim share similar characteristics. When positive, such experiences may encompass a variety of sensations including detac ...

. In 2020 he began working on his major-label debut album.

Discography

References

{{Reflist 1995 births Living people American male singer-songwriters Musicians from Detroit Interscope Records artists 21st-century American male musicians