Vancouver rapper bbno$ turned one viral single into a catalogue that now fills sold-out theatres, and his essential tracks explain how a former competitive swimmer from British Columbia became one of Canadian hip hop’s most durable independent stories. This is a revisit of the catalogue, not a new release, and five songs carry the whole arc.
Born Alexander Leon Gumuchian in Vancouver, bbno$ started making rap and beats with friends in GarageBand in 2014, after an injury ended his swimming path. The playful, melodic style he built in those sessions, closer to a punchline delivery than a traditional boom bap stance, became the sound that carried him worldwide.
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Lalala, the first TikTok hit
Lalala, made with producer Y2K and released in 2019 as a standalone single, is where everything starts. The song spread through social media before TikTok hits were a chart strategy, passed a billion streams, reached No. 10 on the Canadian Hot 100 and was certified triple platinum in the United States in March 2023. The JUNOS biography for bbno$ credits Lalala as the first ever TikTok hit, and Rolling Stone has called him a viral pioneer for it.
Hailed by Rolling Stone as a viral pioneer, bbno$ is no stranger to producing addictive hooks, having released the first ever TikTok hit, Lalala, with Y2K in 2019.
Edamame proves it was not a fluke
Edamame, featuring Rich Brian and released on July 23, 2021 as the second single from Eat Ya Veggies, is the essential second chapter. The JUNOS record lists the song at 6x Platinum in Canada, a Top 30 Canadian single that also travelled into film, landing in a trailer for The Garfield Movie. Where Lalala could have been a one moment story, Edamame showed the formula worked with a major collaborator, on a full project, two years later.
The Baby Gravy run and Bag or Die
The third essential stop is the partnership with Yung Gravy. Across the Baby Gravy albums, capped by Baby Gravy 3 in 2023, bbno$ built a touring act that sold out 3,000 to 5,000 capacity rooms across North America, Australia and New Zealand. The 2022 solo album Bag or Die, and its single Mathematics, kept the solo catalogue moving in the same stretch, proof that the collaborative run was an addition to his own catalogue, not a replacement for it.
It Boy and the self titled album
It Boy, released in 2024, is the modern era essential. The JUNOS tally for that single run counts nearly 350 million views across one million user generated videos and roughly 50 million streams, part of a year where his singles together generated 750 million views and 140 million streams. His self titled ninth album followed on October 17, 2025, debuting at No. 33 on Billboard Canadian Albums, his highest placement yet, and he won the Juno Fan Choice Award in 2025. From Lalala to It Boy, the through line is the same skill, short, catchy, self aware songs built to travel, now backed by a decade of catalogue that holds up well beyond the first viral moment.
