Phora
American rapper and singer (born 1994)
Marco Anthony Archer (born October 11, 1994), better known by his stage name Phora, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and former tattoo artist from Anaheim, California. In 2011, he founded his own record label, Yours Truly. His debut studio album, Yours Truly Forever (2017), peaked at number 44 on the Billboard 200 chart.
01Early life
Marco Archer was born in Anaheim, California. Before his career in music, he worked as a tattoo artist which proved to be relatively lucrative and aided in the funding of his rap career. In 2011, Marco was nearly stabbed to death in Anaheim, CA just outside of Trident Learning Center, now known as Gilbert High.
He has survived a stabbing at 15 and two shootings.
On August 25, 2015, while he was driving on the 210 freeway in Pasadena around 2 a.m., a gray Infiniti sedan pulled up alongside Archer, who was driving home with his then girlfriend, Destiny. Three bullets from a .45 caliber pistol were fired into his back and neck, narrowly missing his vertebra. The crime remains unsolved.
02Career
In February 2017, Phora announced signed a major label deal with Warner Bros. Records. So far, Phora has written and released eleven albums, majority of which relates to his past struggles with depression. These include Therapy, Still a Kid, One Life to Live, Sincerely Yours, Nights Like These, Angels with Broken Wings, With Love, With Love 2, Heartbreak Hotel, The Butterfly Effect, and his debut studio album Yours Truly Forever which peak at 44 on the Billboard 200.
In 2018, he released a follow-up to his debut album, titled Love Is Hell which peaked at 87 and had features such as Trippie Redd, G-Eazy, Tory Lanez, 6lack and more. In July 2019, Phora left his record deal with Warner Bros. Records and subsequently released his new album with Emmanuel Mendoza Herrero entitled Bury Me with Dead Roses. In 2020, he released his fourth studio album, With Love 2 which peaked at 160 and featured Danileigh, Toosii, Ty Dollar $ign, Jhené Aiko, Kehlani, and Tyla Yaweh. In February 2021, he broke his 10 year streak of an album every year with his EP Heartbreak Hotel. In December 2022 he released his fifth studio album The Butterfly Effect. On September 14, 2023, he released his sixth studio album and first R&B album, Lucky Me.
In August 2025, Phora's company, Phora LLC, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection to restructure debt that it owes to Warner Records, amongst several other creditors.
03Musical style
Growing up, Archer was strongly influenced by graffiti to make music and influenced by his father to pursue music.
In his song "The World" from his album Angels with Broken Wings (2015), he calls J. Cole, Hopsin, and Logic the only rappers he likes.
His musical style can also be defined by his producer Anthro Beats.
04Discography
Studio albums
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US |
US R&B/HH |
US Rap | |||
| Yours Truly Forever |
|
44 | 29 | 25 | |
| Love Is Hell |
|
87 | 44 | , | |
| Bury Me with Dead Roses |
|
, | , | , | |
| With Love 2 |
|
160 | , | , | |
| Heartbreak Hotel |
|
, | , | , | |
| The Butterfly Effect |
|
, | , | , | |
| Lucky Me |
|
, | , | , | |
| Heartbreak Hotel 2 |
|
, | , | , | |
Mixtapes
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| US Rap | ||
| Reflections of the Truth |
|
, |
| Reflections of the Truth Vol 2 |
|
, |
| Reflections of the Truth Vol 3 |
|
, |
| Yours Truly |
|
, |
| Therapy |
|
, |
| Proverbs 18:21 |
|
, |
| Still a Kid |
|
, |
| One Life to Live |
|
, |
| Sincerely Yours |
|
, |
| Angels with Broken Wings |
|
14 |
| With Love |
|
5 |
| 777 Mixtape |
|
_ |
EPs
| Title | EP details |
|---|---|
| Nights Like These |
|
| For Those Who Feel Nothing |
|
| Growing Pains |
|
Singles
| Title | Year | Certifications | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Open Letter" | 2016 | Non-album single | |
| "To the Moon" | 2017 | * RIAA: Gold | Yours Truly Forever |
| "Stars in the Sky" (featuring Jhene Aiko) |
2020 | With Love 2 | |
| "Cupids Curse" (featuring Kehlani) |
|||
| "Traumatized" (featuring Toosii) |
|||
| "Loaded Gun" | 2021 | Heartbreak Hotel |
Guest appearances
| Title | Year | Other artist(s) | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| "If Tomorrow Never Comes" | 2014 | Anthro Beats, Eskupe | If Tomorrow Never Comes |
| "They Don't Understand" | 2015 | Cristiles | , N/a |
| "Guardian Angel" | 2016 | Anthro Beats | |
| "Interlude" | 2018 | Mozzy, Terrace Martin | Spiritual Conversations |
| "Outta Time" | 2019 | Kruk One | , N/a |
05Filmography
Music videos
| Title | Year | Director(s) |
|---|---|---|
| "Sick With It" (featuring P1CASO) |
2011 | , N/a |
| "Taggerstyle Pt. 2" (featuring Maiselph) |
Street-Smart.net | |
| "Inner City Kids" | Presh | |
| "Payback" (featuring Hands) |
, N/a | |
| "Past Is Forever" | 2012 | Street-Smart.net |
| "Think Again" (featuring Good Grades) |
Vintage FAP | |
| "Lately" | Street-Smart.net | |
| "The Experience" | , N/a | |
| "Nothing but Love" | Torey Ryba | |
| "Real?" | 2013 | Solidvisions |
| "Despair" | Nelson Moran | |
| "As the Wind Blows" | Phora & Destiny Blakely | |
| "90's Baby" (featuring InDJnous) | ||
| "Hope" | Phora | |
| "Pain" | ||
| "Lost Souls" | ||
| "The Old Days" | ||
| "What It's Like" | ||
| "No Other Way" | ||
| "Donuts" | , N/a | |
| "As Time Goes By" | Phora | |
| "My Story" | Reuben Colazo | |
| "Catharsis" | 2014 | , N/a |
| "Tell Me" | Phora & Nelson Moran | |
| "The Root of All Evil" | Phora | |
| "Reflections" | George Orozco | |
| "Girl" | Phora | |
| "Night Owls" | ||
| "Stay True" | George Orozco | |
| "Roll Witchu" (featuring Dizzy Wright) | ||
| "Before Its Over Pt. 2" | 2015 | Phora |
| "Deeper Than Blood" | George Orozco | |
| "What If" | ||
| "Gods Plan" | ||
| "The Beauty Inside" | ||
| "The One for You" | ||
| "Open Letter" | 2016 | |
| "I Think I Love You" | ||
| "Sinner" | ||
| "Like Me" | ||
| "Weaknesses" | ||
| "Palm Trees" | ||
| "2Faces" | ||
| "Move Too Fast" | ||
| "Fake Smiles" | ||
| "The Cold" | ||
| "Slow Down" | 2017 | |
| "Run To" | ||
| "Faithful" | ||
| "Sinner Pt. 2" | ||
| "Rider" | ||
| "To the Moon" | ||
| "Numb" | ||
| "Snakes" | ||
| "Loyalty" | ||
| "God" | ||
| "Boss Up" | 2018 | George Orozco & 6th Element |
| "Holding On" | ||
| "Come Thru" | ||
| "Stuck in My Ways" | ||
| "Feel" | ||
| "I Still Love You" | 2019 | Brian Robles (6th Element) |
| "Don't Change" | ||
| "Find a way" |
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Phora”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- Phora 2019.jpg by POPDUST, CC BY 3.0
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