R&B/Hip-Hop

EST Gee knows all too well about turning tragedy into triumph, but that doesn’t mean it gets any easier each time out.
The Louisville slugger returned last week (Jan. 31) with his sophomore album I Ain’t Feeling You, which he followed up on Friday (Feb. 7) with a four-pack deluxe.

Geeski continues to elevate his gritty street tales out of the ‘Ville, but he says the imitators continue to surface. “People always take my style,” he contends to Billboard. “However I get to coming, it’s like a clone pops out of nowhere. But it’s cool though, I like it. It’s like a little army of Minions.”

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Inspired by Drake’s “Houstatlantavegas,” the EST boss recruited Lil Baby and Travis Scott, who he ran into during a night out at the strip club in Houston, to complete album standout “Houstatlantaville.”

“We was just at the strip club in Houston,” Gee explains. “I always bump into Travis. We came across each other a few times. It was a good night and he was asking what we was getting ready to do after we left the club. I’m like, ‘We bout to go to the studio. We gon’ go to the house and record like right now.’ He was like, ‘Yeah?’ I’m like, ‘Come on, we gonna go right now.’”

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Signed to his EST label in a joint venture with Alamo, EST Lu Mike was someone Gee looked at as the younger version of himself. Unfortunately, Lu Mike was killed last year following a self-inflicted gunshot wound, and Gee memorialized his mentee on “RIP Lu Mike.”

Geeski looked inward to finish the LP as he paid tribute to his late mother, who passed away from leukemia in 2020 before his rise to fame, with the poignant “Outro” seeking her direction. “I was gon’ go to my momma’s gravesite,” he recalls before recording the heartbreaking track. “I had planned on it because I’ve never been, but then something happened and I ended up not going. I was just thinking about her.”

Through it all, Gee is upbeat in conversation during his trip to NYC as we touch on his street style versus melodic rap in the music landscape, why he left that Bootleg Kev interview and a conversation with Jay-Z where the Brooklyn icon compared Drake and Future’s dynamic to Jay’s competitive nature with Nelly in the early 2000s.

I Ain’t Feeling You. Who aren’t you feeling?

Anybody that ain’t feeling me. 

What inspired the project? When did you record it and what did you hope to leave the people with?

I been had it for six months. I like to record in little pockets. Whatever comes out of the pocket, that’s the project. That was probably like a two-week thing. I probably went to the studio six or seven times. 

Talk about “The Streets” and how much you appreciate that “Duffle Bag Boy” sample.

Yeah, that was one of my joints growing up. I always used to wonder what happened to the other dude [Dolla Boy]. That was my way of sending the word out and a beacon for him. Where’s he at though? Turn him back up. That’s when I was playing the project for [Yo] Gotti. Most of it I had done. Dame was in there — he was like, “I got a beat for you I know you gon’ like.” I’m like, “Let me do this real quick.” 

How was linking up with Travis Scott and Lil Baby for “Houstatlantaville?” How’d you get in touch with Travis?

We was just at the strip club in Houston. I always bump into Travis. We came across each other a few times. It was a good night and he was asking what we was getting ready to do after we left the club. I’m like, “We bout to go to the studio. We gon’ go to the house and record like right now.” He was like, “Yeah?” I’m like, “Come on we gonna go right now.”

I was just pumping him up. He was like, “Come on let’s go!” When we be in Houston, it be like a vibe for artists and stuff down there… We gon’ have five half-a-million-dollar cars, smoking raise the window down, good strip club, they got good food. Then we can go pull up at the spot to record. It was me and Baby at first and I was playing [Travis] some songs. He was like, “I want to get on that one.” I’m like, “You sure?” He’s like, “Yeah. Let’s do it.” I think I [was thinking] the Drake “Houstatlantavegas.” Took the Vegas off and put the Ville.

“RIP Lu Mike,” what made you want to memorialize him in that way?

Lu Mike, that was my lil’ bro. He shot himself. Something was going on in front of himself and he ended up shooting himself and having a gun in his pants. The shot rang off and the crowd at the club scattered so nobody seen that he was shot and helped him.

Lu Mike was signed to Alamo, and I had a joint venture with [him]. He was the younger version of me. My boy. He was just like my lil’ son. It was deeper than music. I seen him make his first $100,000 and f–k it all up in two weeks. I just seen him go through his stages of becoming a man. He’d be frustrating, but you gotta love him. 

The outro is a tribute to your mom. What kinda space do you get into where you think, “I’m gonna end the album with that?”

It was just one of the days. I don’t know if you been through something like that, but sometimes you got days where you caught up thinking about ’em. It was just one of them days.

You know what clip I see go viral from yo? Your pick-six against SLU.

For real? Where do you be seeing it? I don’t get on Twitter. I had a whole lot of pick-sixes. I got a whole lot of highlights. My whole life been a highlight. That was light though. I ain’t celebrating with nobody. 

You gotta pop up in the Eagles locker room like Gillie if they win the Super Bowl.

He’s a super Eagles fan. I might do that. Gillie and Wallo, that’s my people. I might do that and go in the locker room with the big hat on with Gillie. You know who else Gillie and Wallo made me like? They really part of the reason I started watching sports again. I was not watching football or nothing for years. When Gillie and them was going to Colorado, and I was seeing that, I liked it so much. [Deion] coaching his sons and stuff. I thought it was the coldest. I was watching from home and betting. I probably won $70,000 betting. I think I bet on Colorado and two or three more games. 

One time Underdog wasn’t trying to pay me out. My first bet I was supposed to win like $100,000 and they said, “It’s a limit on your first bet so you can’t win over $50,000.” But they let me bet the $10,000. They was all lil’ spicy bets. Like Donovan Mitchell to get a block, Shedeur to not throw an interception. It was crazy on the first bet — and they were like, “Hell nah, we ain’t paying you all that money.” When I lost once or twice I was like, “They tryna come back and get that money from me. I’ma fall back off of them.”

[Gambling] brought it back for me. I was never really watching it since I was little playing, but since I started sports betting I’ve been watching it more. I ain’t miss a Colorado game all year.  

I feel like in hip-hop now the Playboi Carti-type of sound is at the forefront, but you’ve been able to break through on the mainstream. 

I don’t think that’s true. You said Playboi Carti type of music is at the forefront of music? Hell no. 

What do you think is the sound that dominates hip-hop then?

I think it’s just hip-hop is dominating the music industry. I don’t think it’s one sound in hip-hop that’s dominating hip-hop. Whatever you mean by that type of music, I don’t think that’s the sound that’s dominating music. Hip-hop is dominating the music industry and that’s cool to say. 

What do you think it’s about your music that’s been able to resonate in the mainstream?

It’s more people that are living day-to-day that have real stuff going on. I think when it be more gimmicky and fake stuff and 15-second attention-span stuff to make it look like it’s a thing, it’s a lot of fake s–t that goes along with it. People put the fake streams with it. It makes you feel like, “Damn, that many people are paying attention to that?” I just figured out when people do stadium shows, they’ll make the tickets a dollar. That’s crazy to me. When I had my show at the stadium in Louisville, them tickets wasn’t no dollar. It was $400, $550. I just figured out people do that. It’s a lot of tricking the eye in the music industry. I ain’t against it, though — it’s what it is. I’m just a player.

Do you care about chart success? Do the plaques matter?

I did a lot of that. I think I’m probably the biggest artist that’s came out since 2020 as far as a street artist. I probably got the most album and single success. I probably got the most tangible thing that you could see. I’m not depending on nobody else to do what I gotta do. I probably got the most money too. If you came out with me, I probably got the most of everything you can have. I’m talking about liquid cash too. They don’t gotta say it either. When we meet each other, you can just tell. I’m glad I could be a good example. 

A couple of years ago you told me “Future is our Jay-Z.” What do you think it’s about Future that he’s been able to maintain this longevity? He had an insane year.

It’s probably the third or fourth time he’s done it too. I think it’s more a testament to what I said a couple of years ago. Future is the guy. I said it to Jay-Z, and his homies didn’t really understand it. He understood and then he explained it to them. He put in perspective — like, in his time, Nelly was more like Drake. He’s selling a whole lot of records and doing movies. Nelly was the guy at the award shows. But for all the street stuff, and when it’s time to go to the BET Awards, everyone wanted to be with Jay-Z, because it was the streets. Year after year it never went away — and that’s kind of what Future is. I think his friend was saying Drake was the biggest of my generation, and this was a couple of years ago. When he broke it down to him and Nelly, I was like, “What?” He was like, “Nelly was going quadruple-platinum every time.” 

Did something else happen on the Bootleg Kev interview that we didn’t see when you dipped on him?

Just asking weird s–t, and I wasn’t feeling that. You know Red? I talk about Red a lot, and his older brother had died. If it wasn’t that day, it was the day before. He was asking me some weird a– s–t. He asked about the fake jewelry, but mentioned my jewelry — and I don’t be playing like that. I think he asked me about, did I know a porn star? I’m like, “Bro, what?” And it was over with. 

How was reuniting with 42 Dugg since he got out? You see his sports gambling tweets? That s–t is hilarious. 

My boy, he’s a funny dude. I didn’t know he was doing all that, bro. He’s going off on people?

Yeah, he’s like I’m gonna make a Jared Goff diss track because the Lions lost. He’ll find random college games and go off on No. 4 on North Carolina like, “What the f–k are you doing?” 

I ain’t gonna lie, I be feeling the same way when Colorado used to piss me off. My boy No. 7 on Colorado [Cam’Ron Silmon-Craig]. I used to think he was the worst DB. He’s alright, I hope he makes it to the league. But damn he used to be making me so mad last year. I didn’t know that Dugg was doing that. The world don’t know how funny he really is. If he just let somebody follow him around like a reality show. If he really let y’all into what he does every day. If I called him right now, he’s probably doing some funny a– s–t. Yesterday, when I called him during the interview he was riding around in all Black in that truck. Then you know he’s short. He’s driving the car by himself he can’t really see. He’s on some bulls–t. Like, “Yeah I’ma call you back.” Yeah, Dugg is funny. That’s my brother.

What else is coming up for 2025?

I’m gonna be back on the scene this year. Last year, I kinda took a break and was chilling and relaxing. This year, I’m back pressing the gas. It’s gonna be dat.