Ian

Ian O'Neill Smith, known mononymously as ian, is a rapper and producer from St. Louis, Missouri, who is based in Dallas, Texas. He is also sometimes referred to as Ian Ferguson. His music is tagged with trap, rap, heavy metal and plugg, and he begins releasing music under the alias suburbancerberus in 2018.

Early releases and production work

Ian starts out on SoundCloud making mixes of songs by other well-known artists. From 2019 to 2022, he also produces for other artists, including Izaya Tiji and Lil Xelly. He moves from production into a solo career with his first single, “G63”, and follows it with his debut EP, Only For A While.

Breakthrough and label deal

In 2024, Ian releases “Figure It Out”, which gains significant attention through TikTok. He follows it with “Grand Slam” the next month, and the response to both songs leads to a record deal with Bu Vision, Bu Thiam’s label under Columbia Records. Around this period, he receives attention from Kai Cenat, Lil Yachty and the Concrete Boys, Metro Boomin and Drake, who follows him on Instagram.

Mixtape and album

Ian releases his debut mixtape, Valedictorian, in 2024 and issues a deluxe edition two weeks later. Later in 2024, he releases his debut studio album, Goodbye Horses, which receives largely negative reactions.

Other artist named Ian

Another artist tracked under the name Ian is Anghel Georgian Bogdan, a Romanian rapper from Bucharest. He has made music since he is 13, collaborates long-term with Azteca, and co-founds the label Ocult Records with him. His first album, Slayer, appears on Ocult Records in 2019, and he leaves the label in 2021 after disagreements before moving to the New World Order imprint of Global Records.