Music has always been in WILCON’s life. By the age of two, he was banging on pots and pans in the kitchen and by elementary school, he had evolved into a “drum prodigy.” His sense of rhythm carried him towards the music industry, and it wasn’t until May of 2017 that he knew rap was the best creative outlet for him.
It was a book report — more of a spoken word summary with a rhyme scheme — on the novel Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. Upon mesmerizing his entire English class and his teacher (he received an A on the assignment) he embarked on a journey that he never knew he would be on more than half a decade later.
He sucked at first.
WILCON began rapping under the moniker 3 Bar the Rapper, and while he attracted much attention from his classmates, it was mostly remarks on how bad his early songs were. By the time he moved to Michigan, he changed his name to what it currently is: a portmanteau of his middle name “Will” and the beginning of his last name “CONybeare.”
WILCON’s first “project” came in April of 2020 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. 3 Song Night is a collection of tracks recorded during his freshman year at Iona College in New Rochelle, New York. The EP’s three tracks — “Float,” “No Stress,” and “Crossed the Line” are considered by some diehard WILCON fans to be some of his rawest, best works.
His next collection of songs, Low Quality Music 4 High Quality People, was entirely composed, recorded, mixed and mastered by WILCON himself during his second year of college and first year overall in Southern California. The intro track “Too Many Cooks in the Kitchen” is considered by a few to be a cult classic, and “Lord” showcased his early lyrical prowess. With a solid 6-song EP under his belt, it was time to move on to a debut album.
That debut album arrived on April 2, 2021. Free Carlos, a collaborative project with San Diego producer Max Crowe, includes ten tracks that capture the mind state of a 19-year-old WILCON. The album contains the fan-favorite song “COPPER!” as well as the innovative three-part track “300 YEARS, 48 MONTHS, 15 CENTURIES” and the first song he released a video for, “NO SHOTS.”
After a quiet year-and-a-half, WILCON announced he would be releasing his second full-length album, YOUTUBE JESUS, on Jan. 28, 2022. YOUTUBE JESUS is a concept album that saw a now 20-year-old WILCON creating songs on beats made in the style of other artists. Included on YTJ are the tracks “Scholarship” and “Natural” — both of which were accompanied by music videos (though the former has since been deleted) — as well as the bombastic “Actually Good” and the triumphant outro “Triple Check.”
WILCON’s musical career continued to develop in Oct. 2022 when he released the single and music video for “I Can Rap.”
After a year-long hiatus, WILCON returned with the release of “Listen (Earl Joint)” on Oct. 13, 2023.
He followed that single up in December with “Crazy” featuring Shno Xavier. A video accompanied the track.
To start 2024, WILCON dropped “Focus Up” off his upcoming album. A video also accompanied this track.
Towards the end of 2024, WILCON dropped a song and video for “Whole Wide World,” the second track off his third album.
That album, The Best You Never Heard, released on all streaming platforms on Feb. 21. It includes new tracks “Like I Said,” “Rat Pack” and “Toast,” among others.