Singer/songwriter/rapper and multi-instrumentalist Zacari has a wide-ranging sound that can move swiftly from aching R&B to laid-back electronics-fused hip-hop. A feature on Kendrick Lamar's DAMN. took Zacari from being a relatively lesser-known artist to being connected with a chart-topping masterpiece, and from there he signed on with Top Dawg Entertainment for the release of projects like 2019 EP Run Wild Run Free and 2021's SOL.
Zacari was born Zacari Pacaldo and raised in Bakersfield, California in a highly musical family. He was enrolled in a school for performing arts at age eight and began learning guitar, followed by drums, saxophone, and keyboards. After finishing high school, he worked seasonally for three years at an Alaska national park, earning money to enroll in music school in Los Angeles. During his time in L.A., Pacaldo posted his own songs online and quickly began collaborating with much larger names. Through various friend-of-a-friend connections, he went from offering saxophone session work to singing on tracks alongside artists like Ab-Soul, Larry June, Kembe X, and Isaish Rashad. His biggest breakthrough came when he pitched "Lovely," an original song of his own, to rap superpower Kendrick Lamar. Lamar reworked the song as "Love" on his massive 2017 album DAMN. Aside from Lamar himself, DAMN. had only three featured artists: Rihanna, U2, and Pacaldo. Following his appearance on DAMN., Pacaldo appeared on a few songs on the soundtrack to the 2018 feature film Black Panther, another connection to Lamar, who curated the soundtrack and album of music inspired by the film. In January of 2019 he signed on with Top Dawg Entertainment, who released his solo EP Run Wild Run Free a few months later. Zacari's output from there included collaborations with Skrillex, SiR, Isabella, Blxst, Denzel Curry, and more. He released the four-song EP SOL in December of 2021, and released standalone tracks like 2022's "Do Better" and "2023's "Motions," both joint singles with Ab-Soul.
