After finding increasing commercial success with projects like his 2021 mixtape
Bigger Than Life or Death, Pt. 2 and the next year's
42 Dugg collaboration
Last Ones Left, Louisville rapper
EST Gee brings his imposing presence, trauma-fixated lyricism, and deft ability to navigate a hard beat to his debut studio album,
I Never Felt Nun. The record's title references a series of earlier mixtape releases (
Ion Feel Nun and
I Still Don't Feel Nun, both released in 2020), and true to the title,
EST Gee spends much of the album relaying stories of pain, murder, betrayal, and deception in the streets, and how these experiences can numb emotions.
I Never Felt Nun rarely leaves the mode of full-force trap intensity, and only dips into relative levity or sidebars into melody when guest rappers step into the booth. This includes strong showings from fellow Louisville rapper
Jack Harlow on "Backstage Passes" and
Jeezy on closing track "The Realest," while the plastic pop flow of
Machine Gun Kelly's verse doesn't add much to the otherwise tough "Death Around the Corner." ~ TiVo Staff