Brent Faiyaz relaunches his ICON era with his new single “have to.,” out via his label ISO Supremacy. He worked on the track with longtime collaborators Jonah Roy, Dpat, Tommy Richman and Andrew Kim.
“have to.” captures Faiyaz on a mission of maneuvering his demanding career with his longing to be in the presence of his love interest. “Dreaming about touching down / I can’t sleep ’til you touch me, baby,” he sings. As hectic as his professional life is, especially when it keeps him away, Faiyaz looks at it as a worthwhile sacrifice to be a provider for his lover: “If you don’t have to, I’ll do what I have to / So you won’t have to.”
“have to.” is the new lead single for his highly anticipated album ICON. The project was originally set to arrive Sept. 19, but Faiyaz canceled the release at the last minute. The beginning of the “have to.” video adds further context with a message from his team.
“Brent Faiyaz had ICON recorded and scheduled to release on September 19, 2025. The night before, Brent sent us a group text pulling the plug on the album,” the message read. “He also had another lead single and music video. He scrapped those too, then sent us this,” it concluded, with ‘this’ being “have to.”
The official video for “have to.,” which can be watched below, shows sped-up footage of Faiyaz aboard a private jet from New York to Milan. During the 8.5-hour flight, he’s seen recording music, texting his boo, lounging, and texting his boo some more. It depicts the grind of being away while desiring some sort of closeness.
“This next chapter is about elevation – sonically, visually, and personally,” says Faiyaz. “Everything I’ve learned until this point led me here. With ‘have to.,’ I wanted to strip things down and get honest, to create a space where vulnerability meets confidence. It’s about embracing who I am now, without compromise, and sharing that journey with people who’ve been riding with me since day one.”
“have to.” is the follow-up to “full moon. (fall in tokyo),” which dropped directly on YouTube on Aug. 8. Before that, Faiyaz released “peter pan.” and “tony soprano.” on July 4.
At this time, a new release date for ICON has not been revealed. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Faiyaz noted, “Everything I’m creating right now is about showing [a] range of concepts, principles, emotions, and experiences. Innocence versus Indecency. Vulnerability versus guardedness. These tracks capture the core of that.”
Faiyaz’s upcoming third album will follow 2022’s WASTELAND, which debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, selling 88,000 equivalent units.
Stream Brent Faiyaz’s new song “have to.” and watch the video below.