Harto Falión – Im_my_best_friend Album Review

At the end of 2023, Harto Falión and producer evilgiane released their second collaborative album, a sequel to 2021’s Im_my_worst_enemy. Im_my_best_friend came at the end of a prolific year for both artists, it being Harto Falión’s third full-length project of the year and following countless production credits on the year for evilgiane including Baby Keem, Kendrick Lamar, and Earl Sweatshirt. The duo, both members of the New York rap collective Surf Gang, enjoyed a considerable surge in popularity in 2023 despite the turbulence that Surf Gang has endured over the past couple of years.

The album features evilgiane’s signature production: unique, simple, spacious melodies with deep 808s and minimalistic drum patterns. Evilgiane’s production embodies the Plugg subgenre perfectly, and despite being a genre a decade old (or older) at this point, Im_my_best_friend immediately claimed the #1 spot on the all-time Plugg charts on rateyourmusic.com. Complimented by Harto’s droning vocals and clever lyricism, the album is perfect for either chill background music or close listening. Every other listen I find myself piecing together some wordplay that flew over my head on the last play through.

As a long-time fan of both artists, I’ve had the album in my rotation for 2 months now and it still seems infinitely replayable. The album is a must-listen for fans of the Plugg subgenre, and for those who are not yet tapped into the Plugg scene there is no better place to start. Furthermore, new fans of Harto Falión and evilgiane will be happy to see the insane output that both artists have sustained over the last couple of years that only seems poised to continue with the release of #HEAVENSGATE VOL 1 on January 23rd, an album executively produced by evilgiane and featuring 4 new Harto Falión tracks. Keep an eye out for more from Surf Gang in 2024.

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FAVORITE TRACKS: I am a patient boy 2#, Diogenes, Clueless