What rhymes with DRAM? The rapper’s new song “Wham!” does. A hypnotic banger produced by Spiff Sinatra, Hero, and Shelley/DRAM, he blends creative rhymes with a chill R&B chorus. “Wham!” was showcased during DRAM’s prior Instagram Live and teased via his social media channels in August. According to the song’s YouTube page, there will also be an acoustic video version.
Raised in Virginia, he was born Shelley Marshaun Massenberg-Smith, and has gone through a number of artistic name changes over the years. Stepping on the scene as D.R.A.M. with his debut EP #1Epic, the musician made impressive waves early on. His debut album Big Baby DRAM reached top 10 on the US rap charts in November 2016, and has since been certified Gold. Eventually, he changed his stage name in September 2020 to Shelley FKA DRAM, releasing a sophomore album in April 2021 with the same title. Now, as of a tweet he shared in July 2022, it appears he is back to just DRAM.
Over the past few years, DRAM has also attracted attention for a number of significant artist collaborations. His hit single “Broccoli” featuring rapper Lil Yachty made it to the top 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 and opened the door for DRAM’s work with other musicians. During the fall of 2016, he appeared alongside Chance The Rapper for a performance of “Blessings (Reprise)” on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. The following year, he teamed up with Gorillaz for the song “Andromeda” from the band’s 2017 album Humanz.
Now, DRAM’s “Wham!” is the first glimpse of a potential new project titled What Had Happened Was. On Twitter, he revealed that he will be including R&B songs cut from 2021’s Shelley FKA DRAM on his next release.
Listen to DRAM’s new song “Wham!” above.