Aloe Blacc is a rapper/singer and ½ of the group Emanon with producer Exile. His real name is Egbert Nathaniel Dawkins III. He signed to legendary hip-hop label Stone’s Throw in 2006 and released his debut Shine Through the same year. It featured mostly singing (a move away from the rapping Aloe had done in his Emanon days) and was entirely self-produced except one track which was produced by Madlib.

His second album, Good Things, propelled him to international success due to the single “I Need a Dollar” which reached #2 on the UK singles chart and was certified platinum there.

Blacc’s next success came in writing the massive Avicii hit “Wake Me Up” which went number one in most European countries as well as hitting #4 on the Billboard Hot 100. Aloe released an acoustic version of the track on his third studio album, Lift Your Spirit. This album contained the massively successful song “The Man” which peaked at #8 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was supposedly played 108 times during the 2014 NFL draft.