CMG rappers 42 Dugg and EST Gee have demonstrated natural, fan-pleasing chemistry numerous times over the last couple of years, so why not a full album? After sharing the tracks “Rose Gold,” “Cold Gangsta,” and “5500 Degrees” in the past few months, the two Midwesterners announced their joint project, Last Ones Left, at a CMG press conference last month. While they overshot their initial projected release date, they offered a promising sign of the album’s impending release today with the high-flying video for “Free The Shiners.”
The first inkling of the duo’s scintillating chemistry came on EST Gee’s I Still Don’t Feel Nun single “Members Only,” on which 42 Dugg contributed a verse to the Louisvillian’s breakout 2020 mixtape. That was also the tape that attracted the attention of CMG founder Yo Gotti, who scooped both rappers for his label. Gee then returned the favor on the Detroiter’s Free Dem Boyz mixtape in May of 2021. The duo went on to share the mic another two times, which helped spark the idea of putting both together as their waves crested at the same time, a la Lil Baby and Gunna in 2018. It sounds like a solid strategy, too; if it works out as well as it did for the two aforementioned Atlantans, EST Gee and 42 Dugg could end up being the next big names in rap.
Watch the “Free The Shiners” video above.