Ren

Ren Eryn Gill (born 29 March 1990) is a Welsh singer-songwriter, rapper, producer, actor, and director. Ren has been a member of Trick the Fox and the Brighton-based band The Big Push, and has independently released the studio albums Freckled Angels (2016) and Sick Boi (2023).

Ren gained wide attention with the 2022 music video "Hi Ren", which addresses illness and mental health. The video was nominated in the Best Music Video category at Camerimage in 2023.

Sick Boi reached number one on the UK Albums Chart on 20 October 2023. In the United States, the album debuted at number 137 on the Billboard 200, and Ren reached number four on the Billboard Emerging Artists chart.

Early life and influences Ren was born on 29 March 1990 in Bangor, Gwynedd, Wales. At age four, his family moved to Anglesey, where he grew up in the village of Dwyran. In 2010, producer Eric Appapoulay heard Ren performing while busking and signed him to a development deal as a representative of Sony. The development deal required Ren to play a certain number of showcase performances for Sony in order for execs to monitor Ren's progress. During this time Appapoulay and Ren also starting writing and recording music together.

On 28 December 2010, Ren's childhood friend Joe Hughes died by suicide. Hughes's death influenced Ren's later songwriting about mental health and chronic illness. Ren later wrote "Freckled Angels" as a tribute to Hughes; the song became the title track of his debut album. The group received radio airplay on BBC Radio 1Xtra.

During the recording process, Ren became ill, experiencing dissociation, physical pain, and fatigue that affected his ability to perform. He returned to his mother's home in Wales to recuperate and was later bedridden for up to 23 hours a day. His health issues kept him homebound. When he had enough energy, In October 2015,

Ren finished his debut album, Freckled Angels, to try to raise money for treatment.

He released his first official single, "Jessica", on 15 February 2016. Not long after, he went to the United States to undergo an experimental treatment for Lyme disease that included stem cell transplantation.

2017–2022: Return to performing Ren was featured in the 2017 movie Unrest, and his song "Patience" was part of the soundtrack. He was a spokesperson for Lyme Disease UK at the time.

Ren's health improved after being treated with stem cells, brain damage, and PTSD. Despite this, he "started busking on the streets of Brighton," As his fan base grew, many of his videos were viewed over a million times. Jenny's tale, part of a trilogy of videos, had 3.3 million views by April 2020, a little over a year after its release. He also released several EPs and began working on his second album. The Big Push played their last gig and broke up in 2022 due in part to Ren's health issues.

"Hi Ren" On 15 December 2022, Ren self-released the music video "Hi Ren". This was a breakthrough moment for him. "Hi Ren" is an expression of Ren's journey with mental health, autoimmunity, illness, psychosis, and the medical system. It brings a message of hope and positivity, and has helped people open up and talk about their own struggles, promoting open public discussions about mental health. A clip of the video received over 12 million views on TikTok in January 2023. For many, this video was an introduction to Ren's unique writing style and his ability to combine multiple genres seamlessly in a song.

The video received an honourable mention in the Best European Music Video category at the Prague Music Video Awards in April 2023, and was nominated for the Camerimage 2023 Best Music Video award in October 2023. Ren was the director, and Samuel Perry-Falvey was the cinematographer.

2023–2025 In January 2023, Ren went to Canada to receive further treatment for Lyme disease. He had recorded multiple songs and several videos, including most of his upcoming album, before leaving.

In February 2023, Ren released a "retake" of the Verve song "Bitter Sweet Symphony". Verve bassist Simon Jones voiced his appreciation and presented Ren with a guitar as a gift.

On 1 November 2023, Rolling Stone UK announced that Ren was one of five acts that had made "their own formidable stamp on British music throughout the year", and were nominees for the Breakthrough Award at the Rolling Stone UK Awards 2023.

Ren was chosen to perform live at the 2024 Sky Arts Awards along with The Darkness, Slash and Brian Johnson, The Three Sopranos, The Kanneh-Masons and Aleighcia Scott.

Sick Boi

Over the year before the release of his second album, Sick Boi, many tracks were released as singles to major streaming services, with accompanying videos published on Ren's YouTube channel.

The album was released on 13 October 2023. The style has been described as kaleidoscopic hip-hop. It chronicles Ren's health journey over the past decade. The lyrics in several of the songs describe how he felt and what he went through as he battled chronic illness. His openness and honesty about his struggles with his mental and physical health is what has drawn people worldwide to his music.

Upon release, Sick Boi was in a "heated battle for UK's no 1 album," with fewer than 400 chart units separating it and Rick Astley's new release Are We There Yet?. Sick Boi went on to secure number one by almost 6,000 units, surpassing artists like Drake and Troye Sivan on his way to the top. "The book analyses the very best works by some of the most important artists to come out of Wales".

In the US, Ren debuted at No. 4 on the Emerging Artists chart and No. 54 on the Billboard 100 Artists chart. His album, Sick Boi, debuted "at No. 137 on the Billboard 200 with 9,000 equivalent album units earned in its opening week. It also starts at No. 2 on Heatseekers Albums, No. 11 on Top Current Album Sales, and No. 13 on Top Album Sales." and attributed the level of its success to his friends and his fan base's promotion of it. It also won Best Music Video, Best Director, and Best Concept, and was nominated for Best Cinematography and Best Narrative at the LMVAs 2024 competition. And, the album won Best Music Video, Best Director Music Video, and an Honourable Mention for Best Cinematography at the 2024 International Music Video Awards, and won Best Music Video in 2024 at the ÉCU The European Independent Film Festival. It was also chosen for the British Arrows Y24 Shortlist in the categories of Music Video Director and Music Video Producer. "Money Game Part 3" was written, composed, arranged, and performed by Ren, and the video, was produced by Connor Hunnisett, Samuel Perry-Falvey & Amy Ellery. at the 2024 Secret Garden Party with a two-part, two-hour show called "Asylum". Produced and created by Ren Gill & Secret Garden Party, his first solo show in five years included collaborations with Chinchilla, Eden Nash and Romain Axisa, theatrical performances, and live strings. Just like the Sick Boi album, it showcased the asylum Ren experienced as he looked for answers from the healthcare system as to why he was ill. Also showcased was the asylum (safe haven) that others have found because of Ren and his music.

During New York Fashion Week 2025, Ren, along with other celebrities, doctors, researchers, and Lyme disease advocates, walked the runway for Project Lab Coat, a production by Runway 7. The three largest US based Lyme organisations, Project Lyme, the Global Lyme Alliance, and the LymeLight Foundation, joined forces with Runway 7 for the event. Funds raised will go towards increasing awareness of Lyme disease, advocacy, research, and treatment.

Ren and the Skinner Brothers' song "So the Story Goes" was number 95 on the 23 October 2025 Official Singles Downloads Chart. Their EP Sick Sick Soul - Vol 1 reached number 5 on the 27 November 2025 Official Album Downloads Chart.

Personal life Ren studied music at Bath Spa University's Newton Park Campus and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts with Honours degree in Commercial Music. On 27 June 2023, Ren presented a £21,000 cheque to the RNLI team on Beaumaris.

His Lyme disease was misdiagnosed as bipolar disorder, because initially his symptoms would come and go. He was also misdiagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome He went to the US to receive an experimental treatment for Lyme disease using stem cells. The treatment helped him to regain some of his health, They had to try a variety of medications to be able to find which would work best for Ren.

Relapse After returning home, several stress inducing events caused him to relapse, and his symptoms returned. He said his health had rapidly declined over the past few weeks, and he would be returning to Canada for further treatment at the end of October.

Discography

Ren has collaborated with several artists, such as Sam Tompkins, Chinchilla, Prof, The Skinner Brothers, Chris Webby, Token, Viktus, and Knox Hill.

Studio albums +List of studio albums, with selected details and chart positions Title Album details Peak chart positions UK UKHH/R&B SCO Freckled Angels Released: 28 December 2015 Label: Self-released Formats: Digital download, CD — — — — —Sick Boi Released: 13 October 2023 Label: Self-released Formats: Digital download, CD, LP, cassette 1 1 28 1 137

Extended plays TitleEP detailsThe Tale of Jenny & Screech Released: 15 September 2019 Label: Self-released Formats: Digital download, CD, EPDemos (Do Not Share), Vol 1 Released: 29 April 2020 Label: Self-released Formats: Digital download, CD, EPDemos (Do Not Share), Vol 2 Released: 14 October 2020 Label: Self-released Formats: Digital download, CD, EPViolet's Tale Released: 29 July 2022 Label: Self-released Formats: Digital download, CD, EPSick Sick Soul, Vol. 1 (with The Skinner Brothers) Released: 2025 Label: Self-released Formats: Digital download, EP

Singles As main artist