Summer Walker

Walker was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia. From 2016 to 2018, she operated a small cleaning business while developing her music career.

She taught herself to play guitar by watching YouTube tutorials, then performed covers and posted videos on YouTube and Vine. Her social-media videos led to her discovery by the studio manager of Love Renaissance, an Atlanta-based record label whose manager happened to share her name.

Walker signed with Love Renaissance and Interscope Records in 2017. She introduced her music commercially with the self-produced acoustic song "Session 32," followed by songs including "CPR," "Deep," and "Girls Need Love."

Her debut commercial mixtape, Last Day of Summer, was released on October 19, 2018. The project explored love, doubt, and womanhood, and its lead single, "Girls Need Love," gained wider attention through a remix featuring Drake, which became Walker's first Billboard Hot 100 entry. She later released the four-track acoustic EP Clear and toured with 6lack on the From East Atlanta With Love Tour.

Walker's debut studio album, Over It, arrived in 2019 and debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 with 134,000 units in its first week. It set a record at the time for the largest on-demand streaming week for an R&B album by a female artist and spent 14 nonconsecutive weeks atop the R&B Albums chart.

The album produced the singles "Playing Games," "Stretch You Out," and "Come Thru." "Playing Games," produced by London on da Track and built around an interpolation of Destiny's Child's "Say My Name," became a top 40 hit. Over It later received triple-platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America, and Walker won the 2020 Billboard Music Award for Top R&B Female Artist.

Walker supported the album with The First and Last Tour, but canceled 20 of its 29 dates, citing social anxiety. In 2020, she released the Life on Earth EP, which debuted at number one on the Top R&B Albums chart and at number eight on the Billboard 200. Her performance of "Session 32" and "Come Thru" with Usher appeared at the 2020 BET Awards.

Walker released her second studio album, Still Over It, on November 5, 2021. It debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and surpassed 166,000 units in its first week, becoming the biggest R&B debut on the U.S. albums chart since Beyoncé's Lemonade.

The album's single "Ex for a Reason" featured JT of City Girls, while the extended remix of "No Love" featured Cardi B. The original song also featured SZA. Still Over It broke Apple's record for the most streams in a single day by a female artist and helped Walker match Taylor Swift's record for 18 songs from one album entering the Billboard Hot 100 concurrently.

Walker was featured on Kendrick Lamar's "Purple Hearts" from Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers, earning her first Grammy Award nomination. She released the Clear 2: Soft Life EP in 2023 and appeared on songs including Usher's "Good Good" with 21 Savage and Ciara's "Better Thangs." Her third album, Finally Over It, was released in 2025, completing the trilogy suggested by its title.

Walker welcomed her first child, a daughter, with producer London on da Track in March 2021. Their relationship ended later that year. In 2022, she announced that she was expecting another child with rapper Larry, also known as Lvrd Pharaoh, and gave birth to twin boys on December 29, 2022.

Erykah Badu served as Walker's doula during the birth of her twins. Walker was romantically linked to actor and rapper Demetrius Flenory Jr. in 2023. She began dating Chicago rapper Rico Recklezz in December 2024 and confirmed that they had broken up in May 2025.

Walker's music is characterized by self-recorded ballads, slow jams, and detailed lyrics centered on emotional vulnerability, relationships, and womanhood. Her releases have combined contemporary R&B with acoustic and neo-soul elements.

She has identified Amy Winehouse, Jimi Hendrix, Donell Jones, and Erykah Badu as influences. She has also cited Mary J. Blige and Faith Evans for their vulnerability and authenticity, along with Lauryn Hill and D'Angelo for encouraging her experimentation with R&B and neo-soul.