Quadeca

Quadeca is the stage name of Benjamin Fernando Barajas Lasky, an American singer, songwriter, rapper, record producer and YouTuber from Los Angeles. He is also known as QuadecaX8. Born in 2000, he begins his career online before moving into music more fully.

Career beginnings

Lasky starts on the internet by posting rap songs, music videos, comedy sketches and video game gameplay on YouTube. His music career begins in 2015 with the song “Fifa 14 Rap”. He then releases his first studio album, Work In Progress, in September 2015, followed by three more full-length projects: Nostalgia For The Now, Bad Internet Rapper and Out Of Order.

Breakthrough and early releases

By 2018, he draws wider attention through his “Styles of Rap” series and a diss track aimed at KSI. He then begins teasing Voice Memos, releasing the single “Unusual” featuring B. Lou, which marks a noticeable increase in the polish of his music. Another single, “War!” featuring Dax, follows and becomes the final pre-release track from the project. Voice Memos is released in 2019 and receives a mixed critical response.

From Me to You

In 2019, Quadeca releases “SCHOENBERG”, which samples Verklärte Nacht and includes a hint at a project initially referred to as FMTY, later confirmed as From Me To You. He follows this with the singles “I DON’T CARE”, “Fish Outta Bacardi” featuring EGOVERT, and “BEAMIN’”, the last of which becomes his most popular song with 31 million Spotify plays. In 2020 he releases “Where’d You Go?”, “Alone Together” and “LIVE LIKE THIS”. These singles are his first on AWAL Recordings America; his earlier music is released independently.

From Me To You is released in 2021. It includes features from PlayThatBoiZay, Guapdad4000 and IDK on “Work!”, “People Pleaser” and “Burnin Bridges / Long Day”. Quadeca handles production across the whole record, with most tracks produced by him alone and no co-producers. He is credited on the album as composer, arranger, mastering engineer, mixing engineer, executive producer and multi-instrumentalist, and he plays ukulele on “Sisyphus”.

I Didn’t Mean to Haunt You

Quadeca announces I Didn’t Mean to Haunt You in 2022. The album’s first single is “born yesterday”, followed by “tell me a joke”. The tracklist includes features from Danny Brown, the Sunday Service Choir and drummer Thor Harris. The album is released in 2022 and receives strong critical and public response.

SCRAPYARD and later work

The SCRAPYARD series begins in 2023 with SCRAPYARD I. It is planned as five packs of two songs each, but the fourth and fifth packs are later cancelled. The final release, SCRAPYARD, contains 15 tracks and features brakence and Kevin Abstract.

His fourth album, Vanisher, Horizon Scraper, is released in 2025. It is accompanied by a full-length film posted to YouTube, written and directed by Lasky himself, presenting the album in visual form.

Style and genres

Quadeca is associated with art pop, folktronica, emo rap, trap and pop rap, and is also described through genres including alternative R&B, ambient pop and experimental hip hop.