When Florida rapper $NOT burst onto the scene in 2020 with back-to-back albums in – TRAGEDY + and Beautiful Havoc, it was a telltale sign of what was to come.
After amassing over 10 million Spotify monthly listeners this week, the Brooklyn-born, West Palm Beach raised rapper has ascended to superstar acclaim in just two years. As a frequent Lyrical Lemonade guest and a Billboard-charting artist off the back of “Tell Em,” his ruthless, cutthroat presence on the mic is uniquely addicting — becoming one of hip-hop’s most popular newcomers because of it.
His sound feels authentically underground, yet his personality and originality are the star of the show — rapping, singing and ultimately shining brighter in the spotlight on his new album ETHEREAL.
On singles in “Go” and “DOJA” with A$AP Rocky, $NOT can be heard shouting, screaming and channeling a mix of both places he calls home. He also divulged the meaning behind the title of his new album in a corresponding press release: “It’s called Ethereal because each song seems to belong to another world.”
His ethereal escapade brings in Trippie Redd (“Alone”), Juicy J (“Halle Berry”), Kevin Abstract (“Eye Eye Eye”), Joey BADA$$ (“How U Feel”) and more, as his third studio album is a kaleidoscope of different sounds with $NOT pointing to every direction of his sound, allowing the listener to pick and choose.
“It was as soon as I started singing… That’s when I was like, ‘Yo, this shit’s fun.’ I’m just trying to have fun. When I think too much about it, it starts to just fuck up my shit. The songs that are effortless, they’re the ones that blow up. You see it on TikTok, kids are just finding one little part in a song, and that shit just blows up and goes platinum. I don’t really do it for that reason, though. I just be having fun. It’s always been like that.”
Via interview with Complex, 2020
With an ‘ETHEREAL’ mix of moods, $NOT’s latest full-length offering truly feels as otherworldly as he promised. At 14 tracks long, the follow-up to Beautiful Havoc is all parts more chaotic and poetic. On tracks like “BLUE MOON” and “My World,” $NOT slows things down with guitar-led ballads only to turn around in a rage on tracks like “BENZO” and “Alone” with Trippie Redd.
Proving himself to be a irreplaceable sonic chameleon, $NOT’s superstar appeal only grows by the day — well on his way to become a top-tier, forward-thinking creative for many years to come.
Listen to ‘ETHEREAL’ below!
$NOT turns up the energy on ‘DOJA’ with A$AP Rocky
We are now days away from $NOT‘s upcoming studio album Ethereal, and the Florida native has now put the finishing touches on its rollout with “Doja.”
$NOT’s latest effort is the second promotional single for the album, as the New York-born rapper draws back on his roots in NYC and is also the famed home of “Doja’s” marquee feature A$AP Rocky.
$NOT ushers in the pounding bass on the instrumental with menacing bars about how he operates, cladded in all-black and hopes to hook up with Doja Cat.
Why these n****s talkin’ fuckin’ shit?
I-I-I told ’em pipe down, I don’t need no little bitch (Huh?)
I’ll f**k that bitch named Doja Cat, pull up in a Scat Pack (Haha)
Windows tinted all black (Go, go), bulletproof and all that (Go)
“Doja” — $NOT, A$AP Rocky
Much like how they both carry dollar signs in their artist names, $NOT and Rocky’s chemistry is “money” on “Doja.” Similar to other recent tracks like last week’s “Arya” that we’ve seen as a part of A$AP Rocky’s revival, his supplemental verse here packs just as hard of a punch as $NOT’s performance. With stunning ambition, soon-to-be-father Pretty Flacko delivers amusing, trademark bars about his guns and style.
My pistol Rick and RAF-y and it’s matchin’ with my fashion
“Doja” — $NOT, A$AP Rocky
“Doja” sees $NOT pull off another eccentric collaboration with hip-hop’s finest in A$AP Rocky. His ability to match the charisma and quality of artists of this proportion is exciting to see, as Ethereal is chock full of more features like Trippie Redd, Joey Bada$$ and more.
Check out “Doja” by $NOT and A$AP Rocky below!
$NOT to drop ‘Doja’ with A$AP Rocky on Feb. 4, reveals ‘Ethereal’ release date
Back in October, $NOT had appeared to be gearing up for his upcoming studio album Ethereal by announcing its tracklist, including features from A$AP Rocky, Joey Bada$$, Trippie Redd and others.
We had not heard much from $NOT after he revealed this, as we held our breaths in anticipation for an eventual release date. Now three months later, $NOT divulged via social media Thursday (Jan. 20) that his third album Ethereal will release on Feb. 11.
To further prepare fans for Ethereal, $NOT will unveil his collaboration with A$AP Rocky in “Doja” on Feb. 4. This will be the project’s second promitional single after “Go!” from November.
The cover art for Ethereal features a trippy photo of $NOT donning a puffy blue jacket, similar to the one found in the YZY Gap line. He has not released an album since October 2020’s Beautiful Havoc, so it will be intriguing to see how his sound has evolved since then.
$NOT announces tracklist for upcoming album ‘Ethereal’
One week away from the one-year anniversary of $NOT‘s second studio album Beautiful Havoc, it seems as thought the rising star has begun the rollout for his next project.
On Saturday (Oct. 23), $NOT unveiled the tracklist for his new project Ethereal, which contains features from A$AP Rocky, BROCKHAMPTON frontman Kevin Abstract, Trippie Redd and others.
While $NOT still has not announced a release date or cover art for Ethereal, the album has been months in the making. In the process of creating it, he posted a handful of snippets for songs on the album, including the tracks with Joey Bada$$ and A$AP Rocky featured.
Up until now, $NOT has had a relatively quiet year, with only three official releases in 2021, most recently dropping “Red” in early July.
Two weeks after that release, he linked up with Kevin Abstract to feature on “SLUGGER,” a versatile single also including British rap phenom slowthai. As they’ve developed chemistry over the course of the year, it would be fair to expect a great track from Abstract and $NOT on Ethereal.
The light at the end of the year-long tunnel for $NOT fans is finally in sight, and a star-studded cast will assist the Florida rapper in his upcoming project.
Listen to $NOT’s ‘Beautiful Havoc’ below!
