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Austin Alan Rochez (born September 2, 1997), known professionally as 645AR, is an American rapper based in Atlanta, Georgia. Best known for his use of a high-pitched voice, a hallmark of the hip hop style dubbed "squeak rap", he has released singles with artists such as Danny Brown, Tyga, FKA Twigs, Tony Shhnow, BabyTron, Tommy Cash, Valee, and Dorian Electra. 645AR first gained recognition after his 2018 single "Crack" went viral, and he further solidified his success with the release of "4 da Trap" the following year. He subsequently signed with Columbia Records.

Life and career

Rochez was born in the South Bronx region of New York City on September 2, 1997. At age 11, he moved with his family to the Southern United States, living in Florida for about a year before settling in Smyrna, Georgia, a city just outside of Atlanta. While there, he made connections with local rappers such as Lil Yachty through his friendships with JWitDaBeam and Slimesito. He returned to New York in 2016 to attend Hostos Community College, playing basketball for the school's team, but his interest in music led him to return to Atlanta that same year where the hip hop scene had been heating up with the advent of trap's rise in popularity. The numbers in his name came from his building number in the Bronx, while the letters are his first and last initials.

After producing several songs, Rochez recognized the importance of distinguishing himself. He first employed his signature squeaky voice in the 2018 single "Crack". The song garnered attention when its video was reposted by fellow New Yorker Lil Tecca, including from the music industry. This led to the release of his self-titled debut album in 2019, and the single "4 da Trap" later in the year. "4 da Trap" spread rapidly across the internet, to the extent that Twitter suspended 645AR's account, mistaking it for spam. The momentum led the rapper to sign a record deal with Columbia Records.

Style and reception

645AR is best known for popularizing the hip hop subgenre known as "squeak rap". Building off of the experimental vocal styles of rappers such as Future, Playboi Carti, and Young Thug, (645AR himself has stated that he's heard comparisons of his work to Carti, Thug, and hyperpop duo 100 gecs.) squeaking revolves around high-pitched vocalizations delivered through an "otherworldly curvature of the voice". Said vocal distortions are said to replace lyrics in delivering the meaning of songs, with said lyrics becoming "virtually indecipherable". Other names for the style include "baby voice rap", "chipmunk rap", and "fetus vocal rap". 645AR has said he intends for his music to make listeners have out-of-body experiences, "like they're in another world." Though often suspected of being achieved artificially with tools such as pitch correction, 645AR has stated that his squeak is entirely natural and even demonstrated it live in a video for Genius. His natural voice is a baritone. Dr. Calbert Graham of the University of Cambridge Language Sciences Centre said 645AR's voice sounded like a human synthesizer, and that it sounded like he was tensing his thyrohyoid muscle to achieve his falsetto. Graham said he "wouldn't imagine a musician would say that's the proper way of producing a falsetto", calling it innovative and saying 645AR is "testing the boundaries of what constitutes rap".

Squeak rap is often described as a musical internet meme, something which 645AR is noted as embracing, up to and including a video the artist made in which he jokingly claims that his voice originated from having been possessed by Mickey Mouse. He is also frequently compared to fictional characters with high-pitched voices such as Mickey Mouse, Alvin and the Chipmunks, Elmo, Pikachu, and Isabelle from the video game series Animal Crossing, as well as animals such as mosquitos, mice, and bedbugs. Despite this, 645AR is also considered to be sincere about his work, saying he finds his lyrics to be important and that he takes more time writing them than other artists. He is said to speak "to the streets with harrowing tales".

645AR's style has been compared to hyperpop with the rapper even being outright called a hyperpop artist. He has made songs with hyperpop artists such as Dorian Electra, Isomonstrosity, and Umru. The latter song was featured on hyperpop pioneer record label PC Music's compilation album PC Music, Vol. 3.

Multiple artists have had their own use of falsetto compared to 645AR, such as Adam Levine, Baby Keem, FKA Twigs, and Fousheé.

Influences

While growing up in the Bronx, 645AR listened to New York rappers 50 Cent and Jay-Z. After moving south, he incorporated Southern rappers T-Pain and Lil Wayne into his listening.

Discography

Albums

• 645AR (2019, self-released)
• In Dat Mode (2024)

Mixtapes

• 96 Problemz (2017)
• Fix da Rap Game (2018)
• SOS 5 (2018)
• Sink or Swim (2022)

EPs

• Sink or Swim (2017)
• Stack or Starve (2018)
• S.O.S III (2018)
• S.O.S IV (2018)
• Get Rich or Die Drowning (2018, with 10kDunkin and JWitDaBeam)
• 2 Train 2 Foreigns (2018)
• Rags 2 Expensive Rags (2019)
• 2 Train 2 Foreigns 2 (2019)
• No Label (2020)
• Most Hated (2021)
• Unorthodox (2022, with SenseiATL)
• New Beginnings (2022, with Lil Crank)
• Unstoppable (2022)
• S.O.S Vol. 1 (2024)
• Space AR Star (2024)
• 645AR&B (2024)

Singles

References

1. ^ "About 645AR". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved January 5, 2023.
2. ^ Moon, Jacorey (August 4, 2020). "645AR: The Squeak Heard Around the World". Office. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
3. ^ Green, Dylan (January 21, 2020). "No, Squeaking Rapper 645AR Isn't Joking". Pigeons & Planes. Retrieved January 5, 2023.
4. ^ Seabrook, Robby III (April 1, 2020). "The Break Presents: 645AR". XXL. Retrieved January 5, 2023.
5. ^ Hightman, Hannah (February 20, 2020). "Gather 'round, children, for it's time to learn about "squeak rap"". AV Club. Retrieved January 5, 2023.
6. ^ Press-Reynolds, Kieran (May 26, 2021). "How Hyperspeed Squeals & Alien Whispers Became Rap's Final Frontier". Highsnobiety. Retrieved January 5, 2023.
7. 645AR "4 Da Trap" Official Lyrics & Meaning | Verified. YouTube: Genius. February 14, 2020. Archived from the original on February 22, 2020. Retrieved January 5, 2023.
8. ^ DeVille, Chris (May 4, 2020). "645AR's "Yoga" Video Is a Surreal Coronavirus-Themed NYC Alien Invasion Hallucination With Insane Music to Match". Stereogum. Retrieved January 5, 2023.
9. ^ Muggs, Joe (June 8, 2021). ""This sounds like a human synthesiser": the evolution of rap, one verse at a time". The Guardian. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
10. Pierre, Alphonse (August 4, 2020). "645AR: "Sum Bout U" [ft. FKA twigs] Track Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved January 5, 2023.
11. Press-Reynolds, Kieran (January 19, 2024). "The Musical Age of Shitpost Modernism". Pitchfork. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
12. Alter, Rebecca (October 12, 2020). "FKA Twigs "Just Decided One Day" to Make a Whole Album in Quarantine". Vulture. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
13. ^ Breihan, Tom (April 5, 2021). "Stream 645AR's New Avant-Garde Squeak-Rap EP Most Hated". Stereogum. Retrieved January 5, 2023.
14. Zhang, Cat (December 14, 2021). "The Year in Music on TikTok 2021". Pitchfork. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
15. Ackermann, Julie (December 9, 2020). "2020 a une musique à son image, l'hyperpop" [2020 has music in its image, hyperpop]. Slate (in French). Retrieved January 18, 2023.
16. "Plug, DMV, Hyperpop... Le rap de demain qui vient d'hier" [Plug, DMV, Hyperpop... The rap of tomorrow that comes from yesterday]. Booska-P (in French). March 28, 2022. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
17. ^ "Dorian Electra i 645AR nagrali cover "Happy" Pharrella Williamsa. Mocna wersja" [Dorian Electra and 645AR recorded a cover of Pharrell Williams "Happy". Strong version]. Poptown.eu (in Polish). July 24, 2021. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
18. Jocelyn, Hannah (November 29, 2022). "Isomonstrosity: Isomonstrosity Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
19. ^ Cruz, Reanna (October 8, 2021). "Umru (feat. Tommy Cash & 645AR), "Check1"". NPR Music. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
20. Joyce, Colin (May 17, 2022). "Various Artists: PC Music, Vol. 3 Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
21. Friedman, Jason (June 16, 2021). "Maroon 5's Jordi Is a Convincing Enough Case for Simulation Theory". Paste. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
22. Breihan, Tom (September 15, 2021). "Baby Keem Makes His Move". Stereogum. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
23. Zhang, Cat (January 17, 2022). "FKA Twigs: Caprisongs Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
24. Bennett, Parker (November 26, 2022). "Fousheé Redefines Herself with Softcore". WECB. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
25. Pierre, Alphonse (November 4, 2019). "The Ones: 645AR's "Like Mike" [ft. NGeeYL]". Pitchfork. Retrieved January 12, 2023.
26. Schatz, Lake (August 4, 2020). "FKA Twigs Links Up With Rapper 645AR for New Song "Sum Bout U"". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved January 5, 2023.
27. Hynes, Hayley (January 21, 2022). "645AR Nabs Tyga Feature on "God Chose Me"". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved January 5, 2023.
28. Helfand, Raphael (September 20, 2022). "Song You Need: A "pandemic symphony" pulls Danny Brown and 645AR out of their comfort zones". The Fader. Retrieved January 5, 2023.

• Living people
• 1997 births
• 21st-century American rappers
• American male rappers
• Rappers from the Bronx
• Rappers from Atlanta
• Columbia Records artists
• People from Smyrna, Georgia
• Hostos Community College alumni
• Hyperpop musicians