SosMula (New Date)

As one half of New York duo City Morgue, rapper SosMula ("Sleezy") helped to pioneer the trap-metal subgenre, providing a grittier, slicker counterpart to the raw energy of collaborator Zillakami. After finding global success in the late 2010s with albums like Vol. 1: Hell or High Water and Vol. 2: As Good As Dead, he ventured into solo work, issuing 13 Songs 2 Die 2 in 2021 and 2 High 2 Die in 2022.

Taking his stage name from his birth name, Vinicius Sosa, rapper SosMula grew up in São Paulo, Brazil, before moving to the U.S. at the age of eight. Having met fellow vocalist Zillakami through a tattoo parlor, SosMula began rapping alongside his collaborator as City Morgue. Pioneers of the trap metal subgenre, the duo worked heavily with producer Thraxx to build heavy guitar lines and thundering drums into a trap-based sound. Under this umbrella, SosMula issued successful albums including Vol. 1: Hell or High Water (2018), Vol. 2: As Good As Dead (2019), and Toxic Boogaloo (2020), with his faster-paced, more nasal vocals proving a deft counterpart to Zillakami's thrashing voice. While the pair retained their abrasive, fusion-based sound throughout these releases, they expanded the repertoire into more introspective, melodic material, too, issuing moody tracks like "Screaming at the Rain" and "Peeling Scabs."

SosMula issued his first full-length solo release, 13 Songs 2 Die 2, in 2021. Hosted by mixtape mainstays Trap-A-Holics, the tape pushed further into Sleezy's acidic, uncompromising vision for the trap genre. A third volume of City Morgue, Vol. 3: Bottom of the Barrel (2021), soon followed. In 2022, SosMula issued his sophomore set, 2 High 2 Die; the rapper's second mixtape leant heavily into rage beats, scoring his outlandish verses with more electronically led production. ~ David Crone, Rovi