Felly: From Dorm Room Beats To Global Streams – The Rise Of A Genre-Bending Star
Discover how Felly went from recording music in his college dorm to building a billion-stream career. Learn about his unique sound, major tours, and standout collaborations that made him a rising force in today’s music scene.
Jul 22, 202518.9K Shares379.4K Views
When you first hear Felly’s music, it feels like a beach breeze meets real talk. Born Christian Robert Felner in Connecticut, he began making beats in high school and built a strong following on YouTube. After moving to Los Angeles to study music at USC, he formed a creative group called 2273 Records with friends. From early mixtapes like Waking Up to Sirensto albums like Wild Strawberries, he blends chill rap, reggae, indie, and soulful sounds into a unique style. With over a billion streams and tours under his belt, Felly is steadily carving his own lane in music.
Early Life
Christian Robert Felner, known as Felly, was born on September 2, 1995, in Trumbull, Connecticut. He was the youngest of three children. When he was seven years old, his father passed away from brain cancer, and soon after, his mother remarried a man who had also lost his partner to cancer.
Felly grew up in a blended family with many step-siblings. His grandmother, an artist from Fairfield, inspired his love for creativity, and he even has her portrait tattooed on his arm. The seasons and nature of Connecticut left a strong mark on him—he later said the dramatic weather shaped his musical tone.
In middle school, Felly started making music using a beat machine called an MPC500. He sold beats on YouTube and built a local fan base in high school. After graduating from Fairfield Prep School in 2013, he moved to Los Angeles to study music at USC, where he co-founded the independent label 2273 Records with fellow students.
Career
Felly started making waves while still a student at USC. His early projects like the mixtapes Waking Up to Sirens(2014) with featured track "Fabrics" led to stages opening for acts such as Madlib, followed by Milk & Sugarlater that year and This Shit Comes in Wavesin 2015 featuring the single "7th King" which inspired his 2016 “7th King Tour” across the U.S.
In 2016, he released an EP called Young Fel, including "Desert Eagle" with Gyyps, then toured the U.S. on both the “Young Fel” and “Mermaid Gang” tours with Gyyps and Trip Carter. He also ran a summer song series titled New Flavors, releasing a new song each Wednesday.
His first studio album Wild Strawberriesarrived in August 2017 under Cinematic Music Group. It featured tracks like "Baby Boy", "Bag Season" and "Wide Angle" with Konshens. Afterwards, he opened for T-Pain and went on his own “Strawberry Season Tour” covering over 20 U.S. cities.
By September 2018 he signed with Same Plate Entertainment / Sony Music and released the Surf TrapEP, which included singles like “Pretty Girl” and “Miami”. He continued releasing music in 2019 like "At Fault" with Medasin, "Cheap Cheap" with Jack Harlow, the song "Acid Dreams" with MAX, and "Heartstrings" featuring Carlos Santana.
Felly has become known for blending hip-hop with indie, reggae, and pop sounds. Throughout his career, he has toured frequently, released multiple projects, and gained praise from outlets like Billboard, XXL, and GRAMMY.com. He has amassed over a billion streams and built a strong fan base around his honest, expressive music.
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