Chicago rapper Lil Eazzyy made an impressive entry to the rap game in 2020 with his debut EP Underrated and its lead single, “Onna Come Up.” The 18-year-old was still in grade school during the first wave of Chicago drill music, but it clearly had an effect on him and he’s got a knack for expressing the numbed sentiments that originators Chief Keef, G Herbo, Lil Durk, and King Louie brought to the nascent genre. Maybe that’s why he was able to secure one of those artists, G Herbo, to appear on the song’s remix, keeping pace with his elder the entire time.
In the intervening years since the genre’s initial explosion out of the Windy City’s youth movement in the early 2010s, many of its original purveyors have recently rejuvenated their careers and attained even greater heights, with Herbo chief among them. His pair of collaborations with Atlanta producer Southside — Swervo and Still Swervin — raised his profile considerably so that when he returned to solo work in 2020 with PTSD, the album debuted at No. 7 on the Billboard 200 and he appeared on Forbes‘ 30 Under 30 list.
Unfortunately, Herbo’s resurgence could be derailed by his recent arrest for identity fraud but giving his blessing to the next generation may be the best way to keep his name buzzing in the Chicago scene for another big comeback down the line.
Listen to the “Onna Come Up” remix above.
Lil Eazzyy is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.