Emerging from California's Bay Area, rapper and producer
Sage the Gemini (born Dominic Wynn Woods) has scored viral hits with several catchy, lighthearted party singles, but a deeper dive into his catalog reveals him to be a dexterous rapper with a hardened, determined flow. He broke through with the 2013 U.S. Top 40 hit "Gas Pedal," featuring fellow HBK Gang member
Iamsu!, and the track landed on his 2014 debut full-length,
Remember Me. 2016's candy-themed "Now and Later" became an even bigger international hit after it was featured in promotion as a Snapchat filter.
Sage furthered his pop appeal through collaborations with
Nick Jonas,
Flo Rida, and
Chris Brown (including 2021's "Baby").
The San Francisco native was born in 1992, and he began making rap songs as a teenager. He first received notice for "You Should Know," a track he uploaded to his MySpace page in 2008. He soon joined the HBK Gang along with his close friend
Iamsu!.
Sage's breakthrough came with "Gas Pedal," which combined
Sage's restrained delivery with an infectious
Ying Yang Twins hyphy-type hook. The audio was uploaded to video-sharing sites in 2012; even without the video, "Gas Pedal" ended the year with over three million views online, and an official video landed in 2013. Another Billboard-charting track, "Red Nose," appeared the same year, and both were included on the
Gas Pedal EP.
Sage's debut album,
Remember Me, followed in 2014 with guest shots from
Iamsu!,
Kool John, and others. He followed with a series of singles, including "Guantanamera" with
Trey Songz and "Good Thing" with
Nick Jonas. His 2016 hit single "Now and Later" reached the Top 20 in the U.K., went gold in the U.S., and was certified platinum in Canada and Australia. The single landed on his 2017 mixtape
Morse Code. In 2018,
Sage issued a string of singles including "Pull Over" with
Trina, "No Ex's" with
03 Greedo, and "Buss It" with
Chris Brown. He appeared on
Brown's 2019 album
Indigo, and was featured on
Flo Rida's single "Snack," along with Bay Area legend
E-40.
Sage collaborated with
Brown once again on 2021's "Baby," then offered up the solo track "Cereal Milk."
Sage's first song of 2022 was "Numero Uno." ~ David Jeffries & Paul Simpson