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December 13, 2024 – Louisville native EST Gee returns with “RIP Lu Mike,” an emotionally dark and painfully real track dedicated to late friend, artist, and collaborator who tragically died earlier this summer. Rich with razor-sharp street wisdom delivered in Gee’s signature growl, the new single makes for a powerful tribute. Stream “RIP Lu Mike” HERE via CMG / Interscope Records.
“RIP Lu Mike” opens on somber strings that soon evolve into an eerie violin figure and a propulsive beat. Starting out, EST Gee pays his respects to fellow rapper EST Lu Mike before revealing his mindset: “So f— keeping score, it’s just gonna be war till just us left / Learned as a lil boy applying force is what get you respect.” He illustrates the viscous cycle via hard bars and coarse melodies. Lu Mike was a part of EST Gee’s recent music venture, ‘Young Shiners’ a record label and rapper collective, where they collaborated on tracks together including the 2023 release “Beat The Street”.
EST Gee has awed fans and critics alike by authentically, unflinchingly documenting day-to-day life in his hometown with a rumbling, deadpan style that pairs perfectly with trap-infused Southern rap. His most recent, November singles are no exception: “Go,” a driving but grim broadcast from Louisville’s underbelly, and its sister track, “The Streets,” which conversely plays as a glitzy, upbeat celebration of survivorship.
All of this follows a busy 2023 in which EST Gee not only released two, charting mixtapes — the gritty, pain-powered MADand his stylistically diverse victory lap EL TORO 2 — but also featured heavily on CMG’s door-kicking Gangsta Art 2compilation alongside labelmates/collaborators like Moneybagg Yo, 42 Dugg, GloRilla, and Mozzy, plus legendary Collective Music Group (CMG) label boss Yo Gotti himself.
Initially developing his unique vision across several self-released mixtapes, EST Geebroke out with 2021’s Bigger Than Life or Death tape, which hit No. 7 on the Billboard 200, grabbed No. 1 on Apple Music’s All-Genre chart, and lifted his career to the next level. That year, he also collaborated with Lil Baby, Young Thug, Lil Durk, and many others; received cosigns from the likes of Jay-Z and Drake; played Jimmy Kimmel Live! with Louisville’s own Jack Harlow; and garnered praise from Complex (20 Best Rappers in Their 20s), The New York Times, who put Bigger on their year-end best albums list, and Rolling Stone, where EST Gee topped the Breakthrough 25 chart.
In 2022, EST Gee joined Yo Gotti’s CMGand released his debut studio album, I Never Felt Nun, a collection of tense street raps with occasional dips into melody provided by superstar guests including Future and Harlow. The set reached No. 8 on the Billboard 200 and was his third full-length to hit the Top 10 — including his beloved 2022 joint mixtape with 42 Dugg, Last Ones Left. Before the year was out, he’d made his nationally televised debut performing at the BET Hip-Hop Awards alongside Jeezy, plus return to the Billboard Hot 100 with fiery verses on Future’s “CHICKENS” and Lil Baby’s “Back and Forth.” All told, EST Gee has cemented himself as not only one of the most exciting rising stars in the game, but also your favorite rapper’s favorite rapper.
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