ARTIST SPOTLIGHT: $NOT

With songs like “GOSHA” and “BERETTA” rife with nonchalantly-delivered and confident bars becoming the face of $NOT’s brand, $NOT’s appearance is a stark contrast to his music. With hoodie perpetually pulled tight around his face and face constantly only depicted in dark lighting or covered by hands, one would never guess that this quiet artist is the same one that has so far generated millions of music streams, been cosigned by names like Chief Keef and Billie Eilish, and been featured in shows like Euphoria.

$NOT made his first musical debut with his 2017 single, “By Myself”, a testament to his early career as the single and many other of his initial tracks sampled and tried a plethora of different themes and musical styles. However, as the years went by, $NOT’s individual style became more pronounced, showing itself particularly on his five-track EP, The Ti$$ue Files. But it wasn’t until $NOT released his breakout single, “GOSHA”, that $NOT began receiving the attention he deserved. From there, $NOT’s career has only gone up with releases like “BERETTA” and “Moon & Stars” gaining millions of views and viral status on apps like TikTok and Triller.

The Florida-based rapper first drew inspiration from Memphis rappers like Shawty Pimp and other artists before deciding to pursue music himself. And even then, $NOT is not like any other rapper from Florida who’s broken into the music industry. So different from the braggadocious and hard rappers like Kodak Black, XXXTentacion, and Ski Mask the Slump God who have been flooding the Florida music scene for the past few years, $NOT and his music is a breath of fresh air. With an ear for addictive production and mellow, steadily-delivered bars, $NOT contributes something to the music industry that has never quite been done before. $NOT is also noticeably unlike other artists in that he’s more interested in interacting with his own fans instead of other artists. Not one for collaborations or features, $NOT is dedicated to ensuring his music is consistently at its best, a decent justification for why he hasn’t collaborated with or been featured in other artists’ songs that frequently.

Most recently, $NOT held the stage at Rolling Loud Miami, quite an accomplishment for such a young artist whose breakthrough was so recent. But, behind the scenes, $NOT is still deciding to keep his career his own. Recently, in 2020, $NOT released his first long-length project titled - Tragedy +, a project that was largely a solo affair except for two features from Maggie Lindemann and Wifisfuneral respectively. Already, this album has made significant waves, and there’s only more to come for $NOT. Be sure to continue to watch $NOT’s rise to fame and continue to follow BeU for all your hip-hop headlines.