Coming up as part of Bay Area four-piece Shoreline Mafia, rapper Rob Vicious made his name as part of the rap revivalism of the late 2010s, collaborating with artists from 03 Greedo to Drakeo the Ruler. After consolidating his laid-back swagger on his debut album Traplantic, the rapper looked to new directions for 2020 follow-up Breakthrough.

Born in Los Angeles, rapper Rob Vicious (born Robert Magee) got his start in music as a founding member of group Shoreline Mafia alongside Fenix Flexin, Master Kato, and Ohgeesy. After dropping the collaborative EP Trapped It Out with Fenix, the rapper worked as part of Shoreline to produce the group’s debut mixtape, ShorelineDoThatShit. Released in November 2017, the project fused homages to Bay Area rap legends with modern trap styles, coalescing into a blend of stuttering braggadocious rap. The following July saw the release of Magee's debut solo project, Traplantic. A consolidation of the rapper’s work with Shoreline, the 2018 tape provided a string of aggressive, bounce-driven anthems, delivered with Vicious’ uncompromising bravado. A Shoreline EP, Party Pack, arrived in August that year, before the group dropped second mixtape OTXmas in December. After working on a second volume of Party Pack throughout 2019, Magee began recording his second solo project, Breakthrough. Released in May of 2020, the rapper’s sophomore effort presented a more diverse set of offerings, retaining his Bay Area roots while branching into styles from singing rap to booming, Splurge-esque trap. ~ David Crone, Rovi