Is the King of Toxic R&B Throwing in the Towel? What We Know About Brent Faiyaz's 'Retired' Status

Brent Faiyaz has made a name for himself as an independent artist and is looking to pave more ground for younger artists to succeed independently. Brent reached major success during the summer of 2017 after Goldlink’s “Crew” became a viral hit. The song now has a 7x Platinum RIAA Certification, and the Larger Than Life singer has racked up even more since.

The Maryland-born rapper recently shocked fans as he brought up retirement, but a new interview suggests otherwise. With a big move of independence, Brent seems to have more up his sleeve than he’s allowing fans to see.

In a recent Instagram post, Brent captioned a mirror selfie with the words, “Enjoying retirement.” The post sparked pleas from fans that he was joking, with others telling him to “stop playing and go on tour.”

His 2023 album Larger Than Life received critical acclaim despite having not earned any RIAA Certifications since its release. Pitchfork gave the LP a 7.0 rating, and it debuted at No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 200 after selling 42,000 units in its first week.

Larger Than Life is the first project from Brent Faiyaz to be released under his label ISO Supremacy and UnitedMasters. In an interview with Billboard, the artist talks about navigating the landscape of finding success as an independent artist and creating more opportunities for emerging artists.

The interview also gives insight into Brent’s newest business venture in ISO Supremacy following the massive success of his 2022 album "WASTELAND." Since the creation of ISO Supremacy, Brent has been able to sign “MILLION DOLLAR BABY” artist Tommy Richman to the label.

While the singer has yet to go on tour since the release of "Larger Than Life," he was on tour with Richman until February 2024. With the rise of the new label and demand for another tour from fans, this is unlikely the end of the King of Toxic R&B.

While "Larger Than Life" gained some great criticisms, it was only Brent's second-best album. His sophomore album under Lost Kids, "WASTELAND," brought the singer much more success.

After debuting at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 chart, the project earned eight RIAA Certifications with “ALL MINE,” “DEAD MAN WALKING,” “WASTING TIME,” “GRAVITY,” and the album itself all becoming certified Platinum (“ALL MINE” and “DEAD MAN WALKING” 2x Platinum). Tickets sold out only three days after sales opened for his “F*ck The World, It’s A Wasteland” world tour, where he grossed $5.8 million over 18 shows.

Before WASTELAND, the Columbia native grew his fanbase massively from his albums Sonder Son and F*ck The World. The former granted Brent his first solo RIAA Certifications with “Talk 2 U” earning a Gold certification and “Gang Over Luv” earning a Platinum certification. The second granted the artist five more Platinum RIAA Certifications, including the hit tracks “Been Away” and “Clouded.”

Although there’s no way to know his net worth definitively, CAKnowledge has estimated it to be around $3 million. The singer made it to Forbes’ 2021 “30 Under 30” list, sold over 50,000 concert tickets, and has achieved almost eight billion streams on Spotify.

With the success of his tour and newest business venture, we can expect to see Brent Faiyaz’s net worth increase in the next few years.