Mach-Hommy | Artist
Mach-Hommy is an American rapper and producer born 1982 in Vailsburg, Newark New Jersey. He is well-known for his reclusive nature, concealing his real name and face in all public appearances. He is known as one of hip-hop's most elusive artists. Hommy was raised predominantly in Newark but also spent much of his childhood in Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince. His father was a folk guitarist, and Mach credits his father's musical style as an influence on his own. Mach-Hommy first received widespread attention after the release of his 2016 album, H.B.O. (Haitian Body Odor), which he sold via Instagram. Mach pressed only 187 copies of the H.B.O. CD and sold them for $300 apiece, before eventually uploading the album to SoundCloud in 2017. He released more albums in the following years, many of which were sold at high prices through services like Bandcamp and never released on streaming services. In 2021, Mach-Hommy released his album Pray for Haiti on most streaming services, vowing to donate his share of profits from the album to the Pray for Haiti Trust Fund, a charity he established to fund educational services and institutions in Haiti. Pray for Haiti also brought Mach a greater level of attention from the music press, with Pitchfork honoring the album with a "Best New Music" award and Rolling Stone describing it as "a modern hip-hop classic". Mach-Hommy is a cult figure because of his tireless work ethic and the sheer quality of his work as well as his elusiveness. His dense, tightly wound lyrics, loaded with deadpan one-liners, are heavily related to the social and political history of his Haitian heritage. He often raps in Kreyol, and a Haitian flag folded into a bandana obscures his face nearly every time he is photographed. He is highly protective of his art, forbidding lyric sites to post transcriptions of the words to his songs. Nevertheless, he earned a dedicated following as his under-the-radar releases emerged as cult favorites, and collaborations with the likes of Earl Sweatshirt, DJ Muggs, and the Alchemist expanded his profile. Standout albums include H.B.O. (Haitian Body Odor) (2016), Dump Gawd: Hommy Edition (2017), Dumpmeister (2017), Luh Hertz (2017), The G.A.T. (2017), Pray for Haiti (2021), and his latest solo effort #RICHAXXHAITIAN (2024). Mach-Hommy is undoubtedly a hip-hop polymath. He claims to be able to speak every Romance language (Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian and Romanian), and cites a wide range of writers as influential upon his rich lyrical creations, including William Shakespeare, Chinua Achebe, George Orwell, Lorraine Hansberry, Fyodor Dostoevsky, and Dante. He is also an avid fisher and hunter in his spare time.
Artist Website: mach-hommy.com
Featured Albums: Mach-Hommy
Related Artists: DJ Muggs, The God Fahim
