Sir Robert Bryson Hall II (born January 22, 1990), known professionally as Logic, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer from Gaithersburg, Maryland. He released his debut mixtape, Psychological: The Mixtape in December 2009 under the name Psychological, which he later shortened to Logic. He gained popularity following his Young Sinatra (2011) mixtape series; its third installment, Young Sinatra: Welcome to Forever (2013) received critical acclaim and led him to secure a recording contract with Def Jam Recordings. Logic's first two studio albums—Under Pressure (2014) and The Incredible True Story (2015)—both peaked within the top five of the U.S. Billboard 200 and received platinum certifications by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
Logic's next three albums — Everybody (2017), YSIV (2018) and Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2019) — each debuted atop the Billboard 200. The former was supported by the Billboard Hot 100 top-three single "1-800-273-8255" (featuring Alessia Cara and Khalid), while the latter spawned the top-five single "Homicide" (featuring Eminem). After his sixth album No Pressure (2020), Logic retired from music; however, his career would continue with the release of his seventh mixtape Bobby Tarantino III (2021). His seventh album, Vinyl Days (2022) was his final release with Def Jam. His eighth and ninth albums, College Park (2023) and Ultra 85 (2024), were both self-released.
Logic has received two Grammy Award nominations. As an author, he released the novel Supermarket (2019), which was accompanied with a namesake soundtrack album. The book became a New York Times Best Seller, although both works received generally unfavorable critical reception. He published his memoir, This Bright Future, in 2021. Logic is also a streamer and signed exclusively with Twitch in 2020, becoming the first musician to do so.
Early life and education Sir Robert Bryson Hall II was born on January 22, 1990, in Rockville, Maryland. He was born to Robert Bryson Hall, a black Maryland native, and a white mother. Between his father and mother, he has seven half-siblings. Logic spent much of his youth in the West Deer Park neighborhood in Gaithersburg, Maryland. His father suffered from a cocaine addiction and his mother from alcoholism. Despite his father initially being absent in his childhood, Logic was able to reconnect with Hall as his rap career developed. During his early adolescent years, Logic witnessed his brothers produce and distribute crack cocaine to "addicts all over the block", including to his father. Logic maintains that because of these experiences he knows how to accurately manufacture and produce crack cocaine .
Logic attended several high schools in Montgomery County, repeatedly moving after being expelled from multiple schools. In the tenth grade, he began missing classes and, after another expulsion, he stopped attending school altogether. Logic later said: "I started doing badly and failed every class but English, so they kicked me out of school, they gave up on me."
Career 2005–2012: Early career and various mixtapes At the age of 13, Logic met Solomon Taylor, who would soon after become his mentor. Logic became interested in rap and hip-hop after watching the movie Kill Bill: Volume 1, directed by Quentin Tarantino. The film's score was produced by RZA, a member of the hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan. Following this, Logic began listening to the group, and soon expressed a deep affection for hip-hop. Logic bought the Roots' album Do You Want More?!!!??! later that year, which prompted Taylor to bring Logic a large number of CDs containing instrumental beats, for him to write lyrics over. In 2009, Logic performed under the stage name "Psychological" with Logic describing the name as "one name that really stuck [with me]. I just loved this word because it was about the mind and I knew that's what I wanted my music to consist of; something that really challenges the mind". He released an unofficial mixtape entitled Psychological – Logic: The Mixtape under his original stage name. The mixtape’s success allowed Logic to serve as the opening act for artists like Pitbull, EPMD, Method Man, Redman, and Ludacris at shows all over Maryland. Soon after, he shortened the "Psychological" moniker to "Logic".
Following these initial experiences, Logic released his first official mixtape, Young, Broke & Infamous, on December 15, 2010. The mixtape was well-received by critics and was the vehicle by which his name grew among hip-hop fans. Chris Zarou, the president of Visionary Music Group, heard the mixtape and signed Logic to the independent label. Upon signing, Logic stated in an interview, "Visionary Music Group is like Roc-A-Fella. Damon Dash, that's like Chris Zarou of Visionary Music Group, I like to see myself as a Jay. In no way am I arrogant or cocky, I have to see it in order to do it. They did it independent and when they signed with a major, they did it the way that they wanted to do it". The mixtape had a confirmed download count of over 300,000 on online mixtape sharing platform DatPiff. Logic released his second mixtape, Young Sinatra, in 2011. It served as the first installment in the Young Sinatra chronology, and drew critical acclaim from a variety of publications, including XXL. The songs "All I Do" and "Mind of Logic" specifically touched on Logic's mindset. The former is about Logic's everyday workflow in his personal studio, while the latter serves as a lyrical tour of Logic's mind, discussing his desire to be the greatest. The music video for "All I Do", released on YouTube, gained over a million views in the week following its release.
After the success of these two projects, Logic released his third mixtape, Young Sinatra: Undeniable, on April 30, 2012. The mixtape was notable for Logic’s dealing with a number of personal issues, including his future, his father's drug use, his expulsion from school, and his mother getting stabbed. Speaking about the mixtape, Logic said, "Fans tend to think that if you fall in love with an artist because he makes this kind of sound [but if he gets] bigger and he grows and [his sound changes, people also think he changes]. But with me, I created all types of sounds from the get-go, so you can never say I'm changing." He commented on the musical aspects of the mixtape, stating, "There's stuff on there for the motherf***ers that don't pay attention to lyrics and just want to have fun, but every line is constructed with such depth that the real lyricists and nitpickers have something to listen to." After the release of Young Sinatra: Undeniable, Logic completed his first national headlining tour, the Visionary Music Group Tour.
2012–2013: Young Sinatra: Welcome to Forever and recording contract
In early 2013, Logic was featured in an edition of XXL, being included as a part of the publication's annual "Top 10 Freshmen List", alongside artists Travis Scott, Trinidad James, Dizzy Wright, Action Bronson, Joey Badass, Angel Haze, Ab-Soul, Chief Keef, Kirko Bangz and Schoolboy Q. Logic completed his first European tour in March 2013, and confirmed his fourth mixtape, Young Sinatra: Welcome to Forever, would be released on May 7. He announced his second headlining national tour, the two-month-long Welcome to Forever Tour, to promote the project. The mixtape was a critical success, with critics praising the project, calling it a "free album", as well as noting the rapper's rapid growth and adaptability. The mixtape has received over 900,000 downloads on DatPiff since its release.
On April 15, it was announced that Logic had signed with Def Jam Recordings, with Def Jam producer No I.D. serving as the executive producer of his debut album. Logic released a public statement about the signing, stating, "I'm excited to take this next step in my career. It's incredible for Def Jam [Records] and Visionary Music Group to work together, and the opportunity to collaborate [with No I.D.] is priceless. I'm very humbled to be a part of the most iconic hip hop label of all time." Logic toured with Kid Cudi, fellow Def Jam signee Big Sean, and Tyler, the Creator on "The Cud Life Tour 2013", throughout the fall of the year.
2013–2014: Under Pressure
On November 5, Logic revealed that No I.D., former GOOD Music producer Hit-Boy, RattPack member 6ix, and C-Sick would be providing production on his debut record, with No I.D. and 6ix as executive producers for the album. On January 27, 2014, Visionary Music Group released the song "24 Freestyle". The song was released in celebration of Logic's birthday and serves as the first noted collaboration between all VMG artists. On February 11, Logic announced that he would be touring alongside EDM band Krewella on the 2014 Verge Campus Spring Tour. On April 8, Logic released "Now", originally scheduled to be featured on his upcoming free EP titled While You Wait. Logic embarked on the month-long While You Wait Tour alongside fellow Visionary Music Group member Quest. On April 22, he released "Alright", the third song from the While You Wait project, and features Big Sean. Logic concluded the four-track project, releasing "Finding Forever" on May 7.
In summer 2014, Logic announced that no featured artists would appear on his debut album, making it "personal [to Logic] and focused on only me". On August 27, Logic released "Driving Ms. Daisy", featuring Childish Gambino. September brought the announcements of his album title and release date, October 21. The title track, serving as the album's primary single, was released on September 15. On October 14, Logic released the second single titled "Buried Alive", which was the final single to be released as promotion for the album. On October 21, Logic released Under Pressure, selling over 70,000 copies in its first week after debuting at number four on the US Billboard 200 chart.
On November 12, Logic made his network television debut on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon by performing "I'm Gone" alongside the Roots, 6ix, and DJ Rhetorik.
2015–2016: The Incredible True Story and Bobby Tarantino
On September 8, Logic released the trailer for his upcoming second studio album, announcing that the album will be released in the fall of 2015 and is considered a "motion picture sci-fi epic". The story, which takes places 100 years into the future, begins with Earth being uninhabitable due to severe human intervention. The primary characters begin traveling to a new planet called Paradise and as they travel, they play The Incredible True Story. It features Logic, Steven Blum (as Thomas), Kevin Randolph (as Kai), and Anna Elyse Palchikoff (as Thalia) as main characters, and the cast took part in a panel discussion to promote and talk about the album at New York Comic Con. Logic, Blum, Randolph, and 6ix returned to New York Comic Con in 2016 to discuss "life after The Incredible True Story.