Louisville, Kentucky street rapper
EST Gee and Detroit's
42 Dugg were collaborating on tracks as early as the haunted "No Friends" and the anthemic summer jam "5500 Degrees" on
Gee's 2021 album
Bigger Than Life or Death. The rapper's styles were similarly ruthless, but delivered in drastically different voices, with
EST Gee sounding husky and menacing while
42 Dugg's brassy flows sounded high-pitched and squeaky by comparison. Collaborative mixtape
Last Ones Left emphasizes the duo's unlikely complementary chemistry, with
EST Gee's growl playing off of
Dugg's tinny, relentless flows.
Last Ones Left's highlights happen when the rappers hit a collective stride. "Thump Shit" is bouncing and hooky, with
42 Dugg running rampant over a bass-driven beat and
EST Gee showing up in the song's final third, sounding directly inspired by
Dugg's verses. The cold-blooded atmosphere of "Skcretch Sum" and the pressure-cooker tension of "Everybody Shooters Too" are similarly strong, with both rappers sounding engaged with each other and taking cues from one another to make the songs bigger and more imposing. The final five songs of the collection break away from collaboration to showcase individual tracks and even some solo material from other artists
EST Gee and
42 Dugg are affiliated with, feeling more like a compilation and taking away somewhat from the impact of the rest of the tape. In its strongest moments, however,
Last Ones Left captures the intensity and power that happen when these two creative forces reveal they're more similar than they might first appear. ~ TiVo Staff