After months of delays and setbacks, Polo G was at last able to release his fourth studio album, HOOD POET. An acronym for “He Overcame Obstacles During Pain or Emotional Trauma,” the title turned out to be prophetic, as Polo had to deal with multiple arrests and a raid on his Los Angeles home while trying to promote the album. Still, he persevered, and the album is out now via Columbia Records.
Its release is accompanied by the video for “Darkside,” a standout, confessional inclusion, in which Polo vents about some of the aforementioned traumas and tribulations of his life. “I might never cough again from all that mud that I was sippin’,” he recalls. “Missin’ school every day, but on that block, perfect attendance / Bein’ broke the root of evil, it’ll turn you to a menace / It’s so hard to beat the odds when we was taught to be statistics / In this life, you only see the graveyard or go to prison.” The video sees him performing in a desert wasteland, flanked by a pair of armed guards. He’s been lifting too.
The Chicago rapper released four singles prior to the album: “Barely Holdin’ On,” “Sorrys & Ferraris,” “Angels In The Sky,” and “We Uh Shoot” with Lil Durk.
You can watch the video for “Darkside” above.
HOOD POET is out now via Columbia. You can find more info here.