The song is dedicated to a late friend of the rapper
Louisville native EST Gee returns with “RIP Lu Mike” via CMG/Interscope Records. The track is an emotionally dark and painfully real track dedicated to a 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.
“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 Mad and his stylistically diverse victory lap El Toro 2 — but also featured heavily on CMG’s door-kicking Gangsta Art 2 compilation alongside labelmates/collaborators like Moneybagg Yo, 42 Dugg, GloRilla, and Mozzy, plus legendary Collective Music Group label boss Yo Gotti himself.
