Bas was born in Paris, France, in 1987, to Sudanese parents. At the age of 8, his family moved to New York City. He attended St. Francis Preparatory School in Queens, New York.
In 2011, Bas released his debut mixtape titled Quarter Water Raised Vol. 1. In 2013, his second mixtape was released entitled, Quarter Water Raised Vol. 2.
In 2013, Bas was featured on J. Cole's "New York Times" along with 50 Cent from Cole's album Born Sinner, and then on DJ Khaled's "Hells Kitchen" from Suffering from Success. He then appeared on the Dreamville compilation mixtape Revenge of the Dreamers. That mixtape was released in celebration of Dreamville's partnership with Interscope Records, resulting in Bas being signed to Interscope. Two weeks prior to the release of his debut album Last Winter, Bas released a free EP titled Two Weeks Notice.
Last Winter was released on April 29, 2014, by Dreamville Records/Interscope Records. The album was a conceptual project that touches on the cold days in New York City recording the album. The album was supported by the single "My Nigga Just Made Bail" produced by GP808 and featured guest appearances by J. Cole. Last Winter would debut at 103 on the Billboard 200 with 3,601 copies sold in its first week.
Following its release, Bas went on a 10-city nationwide tour titled after the album. Bas followed his own "Last Winter" tour by going on a 24-city nationwide and international tour with TDE rapper Ab-Soul. In 2015, Bas supported J. Cole on the '2014 Forest Hills Drive' Tour alongside Omen, Cozz, Jeremih, YG, and Big Sean.
Bas released his second album, Too High to Riot on March 4, 2016. The album also includes guest appearances from his labelmates J. Cole and Cozz, as well as the Hics. The album would debut at 49 on the Billboard 200 chart, selling 10,965 copies in its first week. He also later released a music video for each song on the album. Bas went on tour after the album in June 2016 with Cozz and EarthGang. It included 26 cities in North America and 10 cities in Europe. On January 29, 2017, the documentary highlighting the tour was released on Tidal.
On April 10, 2018, Bas released the one-off single "Pinball II", featuring Correy C. The first single for his third album "Boca Raton" was released on June 19, and featured ASAP Ferg. On August 22, he released the second single "Tribe" featuring J. Cole. Bas released his third album, Milky Way on August 24, 2018. The album debuted at number 35 on the Billboard 200, selling 13,150 album-equivalent units in the first week. Bas announced a 43-city tour to support the album, which began in November 2018 and concluded in February 2019. In late 2018, Bas announced he was working on an album with frequent collaborators, The Hics, the album is due out in late 2021 to early 2022.
Great Ones
Bas Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Let me tell you something right now
You're only allowed three great women in your lifetime
They come along like the great fighters, once every ten years
Rocky Marciano, Sugar Ray Robinson, Joe Louis
Sometimes you get 'em all at once
Me? I had my three when I was 16, that happens, what are you gonna do?
That's the way it goes, you know?
Maybe this girl, she put wind in your sails
Maybe she's your first great one
The lyrics to Bas's song "Great Ones" touch on the idea of "the one that got away." Bas's lyrics suggest that throughout a person's life, they will only have three great loves. These great loves are akin to seeing a legendary boxer like Rocky Marciano or Joe Louis, and they only come around once every ten years. However, sometimes a person might have all three of these great loves fall into their lap at once, and that's simply how life goes.
The lyrics introduce the idea that one of these great loves might be the person listening to the song, and that they might currently be experiencing their first great love. The lyrics suggest that this love gives a person momentum and direction, putting "wind" in their sails. By doing what their heart tells them to do and following this love, the person listening to the song might find true happiness.
Line by Line Meaning
You gotta do what your heart tells you to do
Follow your instincts and make decisions based on what you truly feel
Let me tell you something right now
Listen closely to what I'm about to say
You're only allowed three great women in your lifetime
You will encounter only three truly significant women in your life
They come along like the great fighters, once every ten years
These women will only appear infrequently like champion boxers, with a decade gap between each occurrence
Rocky Marciano, Sugar Ray Robinson, Joe Louis
All-time great boxers used as a comparison for great women
Sometimes you get 'em all at once
It's rare, but possible to come across all three significant women in your lifetime simultaneously
Me? I had my three when I was 16, that happens, what are you gonna do?
Some people may be lucky enough to meet their three great women during their teenage years, while others may not be as fortunate
That's the way it goes, you know?
This is just how life works
Tell you right now. See this girl?
I'm going to share some advice with you about a specific woman
Maybe this girl, she put wind in your sails
This girl may give you a boost in confidence and direction in life
Maybe she's your first great one
This girl may be the first of your three significant women
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Abbas Hamad, Chazz Palminteri, Robert De Niro
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind