By Rose Miami 
HangupsMusic.com – In the heart of a New York City recording studio, bathed in the dim, flickering glow of candelabras and draped in blackout curtains, Destroy Lonely, born Bobby Wardell Sandimanie III, is meticulously sculpting his next sonic masterpiece. The atmosphere, reminiscent of the gothic allure of Interview With the Vampire, perfectly encapsulates the dark, cinematic energy that defines his artistic vision. This is the sanctuary where the 24-year-old Atlanta rapper has been immersed for months, bringing his upcoming album, Drop Dead Gorgeous, to life. This endeavor represents the latest chapter in his evolution, pushing the boundaries of experimental trap and solidifying his status as a vanguard of contemporary hip-hop.
The aesthetic permeating this creative space is intrinsically linked to "Young Vamp Life," the ethos championed by Destroy Lonely and his Opium labelmates, spearheaded by Playboi Carti. Lonely himself embodies this, clad in a fashion-forward ensemble featuring a black leather jacket, matching pants, and a glistening YVL chain layered with other iced-out jewelry that complements his facial piercings. A black skullcap sits atop his dreadlocks, a vibrant tapestry of silver, blond, grey, purple, and black. His stated mission, "Just tryna make the evilest sht possible," while provocative, speaks to an artistic pursuit of the profoundly impactful, the compellingly dark, and the genre-defying. This isn’t about malice, but rather about crafting music that resonates on a visceral level, aiming to surpass the sonic and thematic heights of his 2024 release, Love Lasts Forever*.
The past year has been a period of intense growth and global engagement for Destroy Lonely. His 2023 was largely spent on the road, embarking on the European leg of his Forever Tour in the spring and joining Playboi Carti, Ken Carson, Homixide Gang, and Apollo Red for the Antagonist 2.0 Tour in the fall. Clocking in 45 days of touring across both runs, Lonely describes the Opium collective’s tour experience as a monumental celebration. "It’s just the first time that me and all my brothers really get to navigate this space," he reflects. "We’ve opened for Carti when he did this before a couple years ago, but now, like, us all being our own entities and having our own little worlds and getting to be able to present that together, it just feels fun. It’s like a festival. It’s like opening Six Flags or some sh*t. It’s cool.”
Beyond the tour, Lonely has consistently fed his fanbase new material. In September, he released the Broken Hearts 3 mixtape, adding to a discography that includes two albums—2023’s If Looks Could Kill and 2024’s Love Lasts Forever—and a substantial collection of 15 EPs and tapes, dating back to 2019’s Forever, ILY. The 19-track Broken Hearts 3 mixtape, which Lonely characterizes as a reflection of "a lot of change, progression and growth within my skill of making music," features contributions from established collaborators like Clayco and Cxdy, alongside new producers such as CADE and Icemn. The project is a testament to his signature sound: a fusion of genre-bending elements, a moody, futuristic take on experimental trap where vibe, cadence, and tone take precedence over traditional lyrical structures. Distorted, spacey production and melodic flows define tracks like "Bane," "No Stylist," and "If Looks Could Kill," showcasing his distinct artistic signature.
Integral to the refinement of Destroy Lonely’s sound is his engineer, Ellantre "Tré5" Williams. Their creative partnership, which began in 2020 at an Atlanta studio, has been instrumental since the inception of No Stylist. Williams, responsible for all aspects of audio engineering, including recording, mixing, mastering, and the technical execution of live performances, highlights Lonely’s unique contribution to the music landscape. "Everything always boils down to music for me," Tré5 states. "And as you can see, he has like influenced a lot of artists after him, but it’s just like he created his own sound, bro. Him and the producers, Clayco and Cxdy in them early stages, they just created their own sound. From the beats, his vocal cadences, his raps, his flows, but really just the whole sound entirely is just something new. And just took fans by storm. Plus, he just got like a cooler look. He’s just a cool dude. You never know what to expect from him. It’s a journey you take the fans on."
This journey is vividly illustrated on "Ain’t Hard," the intoxicating, guitar-laden opener of his latest mixtape. On this track, Lonely boldly proclaims, "I’m the god of flows, I’m the god of drip, I’m the god of swag." As a scion of hip-hop royalty—his father being I-20, known for his feature on Ludacris’s 2002 hit "Move Bitch"—and having been raised on the influential catalogs of artists like Tyler, The Creator, Earl Sweatshirt, and Playboi Carti, Lonely possesses a profound respect for the art of the flow, even when it deviates from conventional norms. "I feel like flow is to hip-hop that style is with fashion," the Top Floor Boss articulates. "If you don’t have your own distinct handbag of flows or your own way that you come on the track, then you don’t really have an identity. I don’t really think it simmers down to how your voice sounds or your inflection or anything. I think it’s just the way that you get up in there, and if you ain’t got that, you ain’t got nothing.”
The pervasive influence of his artistry is not lost on Lonely, extending beyond his immediate fanbase. He readily acknowledges hearing echoes of his distinctive flow in the work of other artists, though he remains reticent to name names. "I definitely hear my flow in a lot of other artists," he asserts. "I feel like what I brought to culture and hip-hop music, and my swag and my flow in the state of hip-hop right now, is for the kids that come after me.” He maintains a humble yet confident perspective on his legacy: "I can’t say that I’ve done too much right now. I know what I’ve done, and it’s very inspirational and influential, but I feel like we’ll see more of my stain on the world in the years to come. But with new artists that come out now, like a lot of the younger kids that I like and I listen to, I could literally see my influence painted all over them. That’s not bad. I love it.”
This commitment to growth also extends to his personal development. On "Show You How," a track from Broken Hearts 3, he raps, "Been working on my problems, I’m not tryna be too toxic.” He elaborates, "[2025] for me has just been really about, like, grounding myself and just making sure that I’m just treating people the way I wanna be treated. And just going through situations with a lighter heart or not being too hard on myself or being too hard on other people. It does take a lot of hard work.” The studio has become a vital space for this introspection and healing.
It is within this creative sanctuary that Destroy Lonely is crafting what he believes to be his most significant work to date. Drop Dead Gorgeous is envisioned as a collection of anthems designed for grand stages, characterized by pulsing rhythms, soaring melodies, and thunderous bass. During the initial conceptualization of the album, Lonely immersed himself in a diverse sonic landscape, dissecting Kanye West’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, exploring the artistry of Lauryn Hill, delving into 90s rap, revisiting DJ Screw tapes, and absorbing the electronic textures of the duo Snow Strippers. His eclectic taste is reflected in his extensive music library, boasting over 500 albums on his phone, allowing him to transition seamlessly from Lil Wayne and Marilyn Manson to Ken Carson, Lil Durk, and Black Sabbath. The upcoming LP will feature collaborations with Snow Strippers, while producers Cxdy and Clayco are set to helm the majority of the production. "We tryna build this new sonic, you see that sht is deep,” the trendsetting rapper remarks after previewing unreleased tracks. “That sht is heavy, too… That sh*t sound tough, though. It’s coming together pretty well.” Fueling these intensive studio sessions is a simple yet consistent craving: french fries, unadorned by ketchup or sauce, a testament to his "really bad addiction to french fries."
The album’s title, Drop Dead Gorgeous, originates from Destroy Lonely’s perception of the "ultimate compliment." His ambition is to construct an entirely new artistic universe, driven by innovation. He openly admits that Drop Dead Gorgeous is the most challenging music he has produced thus far, a difficulty he embraces as a catalyst for greater achievement. This drive for challenge mirrors his approach to video games, which he has played on "hard mode" since his childhood YouTube streaming days. The sense of accomplishment that washes over him upon completing a song is profound, a feeling he never anticipated when he first began creating music. "I feel like this will be the most Destroy Lonely album that I’ve made," he expresses. "It’s not gonna be like anything that I feel like anybody has ever heard from me before.” The construction of his music begins with the sonic textures he encounters, akin to a designer meticulously selecting fabrics for a runway collection.
"With Cxdy, I could just send him a reference, like some of the albums I’ve been listening to, the textures,” Lone explains. “It’s not really like pure influence. I’m not ripping sounds. How the audio sounds. I could send Cody like a rip of a Savage song or like a Ye song or something and be like, ‘Bro, you hear these parts of it?’ And he could come back with a whole new world for me based on our inspirations and references and sht.” He further elaborates on his creative process: "I gotta start from somewhere. I usually just sit and digest a lot of sht. I probably listen to all my albums 10 times and just go out and look for new sht. It’s like as if you making clothes or you tryna paint your house. You go pick all these fabrics and colors and everything, and then you make your own sht from it. I get all these blends and textures I wanna use and I throw it in a pot and make my own sh*t.”
Fashion remains a significant facet of Destroy Lonely’s artistic expression. His sartorial choices often lean towards dark, avant-garde aesthetics, meticulously tailored to his slender frame. Rick Owens stands out as a favored brand, deemed "essential" by the artist. During his No Stylist era, he collaborated with 1017 ALYX 9SM on a capsule collection featuring exclusive graphics. His presence in the fashion world has also extended to the runway, notably walking in the Vetements Paris Womenswear Spring-Summer 2025 show during Paris Fashion Week in 2024. He has consistently made a statement at Paris Fashion Week, often going viral for his daring designs alongside his girlfriend, Shannade Clermont of the Clermont Twins. This year, he attended the Rick Owens fashion show, making a striking appearance in an all-white ensemble, highlighted by a longline coat. “Fashion is really important to me because I’m just the person that’s really big on self-expression,” he shares. “I love expressing myself, and I have like this version of myself in my head that I think I look like, so whatever I can do to make me look like that, I would love to do that. And that’s why I love fashion. I feel like it allows people to be like a little elevated version of yourself. Fashion is ruleless. You could dress like this, you could dress like a clown and not, like, in a metaphorical sense, but literally, like a clown, like the Joker, or you could dress like a f**king ninja, or you could do whatever.”
This year, Lonely aims to translate his innovative vision into tangible projects across various creative domains. He is increasingly focusing on his business ventures, eager to showcase his multifaceted creative capabilities. Every element of his releases, from merchandise and music videos to album artwork and the accompanying world-building, is meticulously guided by his personal vision. "I just kinda wanna paint on a different canvas, just outside of music, do a little bit more stuff in fashion, a little bit more stuff in film,” Destroy Lonely conveys. “Not to say my focus isn’t music, but I just wanna expand more creatively.” His cinematic aspirations are inspired by West Coast rappers who have crafted iconic cultural touchstones. "I eventually want to write and create my own movies, kinda like in the sense of like a Ice Cube, but not in a comedy way. Just like how Ice Cube has great successful movies that he’s written, but he also acted. That’s literally what I wanna do.”
While a definitive release date for Drop Dead Gorgeous has yet to be announced, its arrival is anticipated within the current year. Following his album, fans eagerly await a highly anticipated joint project with longtime friend and collaborator Ken Carson. Lonely confirms that approximately 20 tracks are in contention for this release. The duo recently dropped "The Acronym" in December, a potential preview of their collaborative efforts. "We started our careers at the same time,” Lone reminisces. “Me and Ken kinda like both got signed at the same time, both got thrown into this sh*t. That’s my brother. We shared all these experiences together. So, we’ve had this idea of making this project forever, but I’m still me, he’s still him. We’re still growing separately as well, and with life, it kinda takes time away, but he’s always right next to me. Like, he’s in the other room, in the studio right now, so we’re always actively working on [the project]. And now it just feels like the time where we’ve done our own personal laps around enough that we could probably come together and make something amazing.”
The Opium connection transcends professional relationships; it is a brotherhood forged in the Atlanta rap scene, inspired by artists like Playboi Carti, and solidified by simultaneous signings to the label. Lonely, who joined Opium and Interscope Records in 2021, shares a deep and meaningful friendship with Carti. "Carti to me is a lot more than a label owner or a music partner or a peer,” Lone explains. “He’s genuinely my big brother, like, as if we shared the same blood. So, I could always call him and ask him about anything. More so I talk to him about life more than music. I don’t really call him for nothing but life advice. Like, to be honest, I definitely let him hear all my projects. I definitely like to see what he’s thinking. But honestly, I’m just a student, so I aspire to be where my big brother is at, if not, maybe even better than him one day. No offense. It’s just like, that’s how I should feel. So, I just always learn from him, I learn from Ken, I learn from everybody around me because I admire all of my friends, Homixide Gang, Apollo Red.”
In the intimate ambiance of the candlelit studio, with the nascent sounds of his new album echoing, Destroy Lonely stands at a pivotal juncture. Fresh off a year marked by relentless touring, viral fashion moments, and the expanding influence of Opium, he is channeling his growth, impact, and self-reflection into what he terms his most authentic Destroy Lonely project yet. Tré5, who describes Lonely as "dynamic," foresees him not only continuing his trajectory of growth but potentially becoming a dominant force in the rap landscape. Drop Dead Gorgeous represents an artist honing his craft, embracing experimentation, and meticulously designing a world that extends beyond music into the realms of fashion and film. His gaze is firmly fixed on the future, fueled by an optimism that has reached new heights. “I feel the best I ever felt, and that’s what’s keeping me motivated," he states. "There’s something deep in my spirit right now that’s giving me all these ideas, from my album to everything that I’m doing right now, and I’m just holding onto that because it’s something telling me, like, this is what I’m supposed to be doing right now.” A new level has been unlocked.