Eric Bellinger is a contemporary R&B singer/songwriter whose subtle versatility is displayed across a vast solo catalog and writing credits for dozens of tracks by numerous high-profile artists across the fields of R&B, rap, and pop. From the tail-end of the 2000s into the mid-2010s, Bellinger established himself as a collaborator with the likes of Usher, Justin Bieber, and Chris Brown, most notably earning a Grammy nomination for co-writing Brown‘s multi-platinum Top 40 hit “New Flame.” As a headliner, the California native made his album debut with The Rebirth (2014), the first of many charting projects that included Cuffing Season (2015), Eazy Call (2018), and The Rebirth 2 (2019). The latter two of those albums crossed into the Billboard 200, and with New Light (2021), he reached another level of acclaim with a Grammy nomination for Best Progressive R&B Album. Bellinger’s many subsequent releases include the double-length The Rebirth 3: The Party & The Bedroom (2024), followed by It’ll All Make Sense Later (2024), It All Makes Sense (2025), and Eric Bellinger (2026), among other projects.
Born in Norwalk and raised in nearby Compton, Bellinger is the grandson of Bobby Day, a doo wop singer, songwriter, and producer known most for the 1958 hit “Rockin’ Robin.” Bellinger starred as a running back on his high school football team and earned a scholarship to play for and attend the University of Southern California, but he opted to pursue music when major-label Epic Records offered him a contract as a member of the group AKNU. The group proved to be short lived, but Bellinger eventually advanced as a songwriter. From 2009 through 2014, he co-wrote dozens of songs for his peers. These included Usher‘s number two R&B/hip-hop hit “Lemme See,” Brandy‘s “Without You,” Justin Bieber‘s “Right Here,” and Chris Brown‘s Billboard Top 40 pop hits “Fine China” and “New Flame.” The latter Brown single was nominated for a Grammy in the category of Best R&B Song.
Meanwhile, Bellinger continued to develop his solo career. He and longtime friend Nieman J — a manager and producer, as well as an artist himself — set up YFS, short for Your Favorite Song. In 2013, several previously download-only projects were given simultaneous commercial release on the label, and these included each volume of Bellinger’s Born II Sing series. The next year, Bellinger delivered The Rebirth, an album with contributions from the likes of Sage the Gemini, Kid Ink, and past collaborator Sevyn Streeter. Among its singles were the Kriss Kross/Ohio Players-sampling “I Don’t Want Her” (featuring Problem, aka JasonMartin) and “9 Lives” (featuring Too $hort and Ty Dolla $ign).
Although The Rebirth reached number 23 on the R&B/hip-hop chart, Bellinger didn’t rest after that success. In fact, by the end of 2015, he issued the prelude mixtape Choose Up Season, the albums Cuffing Season and Cuffing Season Part 2, and yet another tape. The Cuffing Season sequel featured “Valet,” a swaggering slow jam (with Fetty Wap and 2 Chainz) that quickly became one of Bellinger’s most popular tracks. During 2016 and 2017, Bellinger added to his list of charting releases with Eric B for President: Term 1 and Eric B for President: Term 2. Acoustic versions of both EPs were also issued during that period, as was another EP, Cannabliss. The following year saw the release of Bellinger’s fourth proper album, Eazy Call (the title of which was derived from his “It’s Eazy!” ad-libs), the singer’s first entry on the Billboard 200. The Meditation Music EP trailed it by only a month, and the same year brought Nine, Bellinger and rapper AD‘s duo project under the name Poncho Belly & Dizzle. Bellinger was especially prolific in 2019, starting with The Rebirth 2 — another Billboard 200 title, it was highlighted by “Type a Way,” featuring Chris Brown and OG Parker — and continuing with Saved by the Bellinger and Cuffing Season 3, the source of “Drive By,” another well-received single. All the while, Bellinger was still writing material for other artists. His efforts included a handful of songs co-written for Teyana Taylor, such as “How You Want It?,” a platinum single off The Album.
Bellinger didn’t let up in the 2020s. In 2020 alone, he was behind no fewer than seven projects, including Eric B for President: Term 3 and duo projects with Chase N. Cashe (Scenarios) and Nieman J (Optimal Music). He began 2021 with 1-800-HIT-EAZY, a collaboration with producer Hitmaka, and returned in September with the full-length New Light, which was nominated for a Grammy in the category of Best Progressive R&B Album. After a relatively quiet 2022, he and Hitmaka reconvened in 2023 for 1(800)HIT-EAZY: Line 2. Bellinger’s double-disc The Rebirth 3: The Party & The Bedroom, as well as another album, It’ll All Make Sense Later, were released in 2024. It’ll All Make Sense Later was soon joined by a 2025 sequel of its own, It All Makes Sense. Proving that it’s never too late to release a self-titled album, Bellinger then crafted Eric Bellinger, a 2026 LP previewed with singles such as “Cry in Front of You,” “Just Like You,” and “Fatherhood