26AR is on a creative tear. Since leaving prison in late 2019 and dropping his first song, “Aaron Rodgers,” almost immediately, the 22-year-old Crown Heights, Brooklyn emcee and notorious hater of Ksubi jeans has been sending out singles at an impressive clip. Last month, he celebrated signing to Def Jam with the trunk-rattling drill anthem “Can’t Slip.” And today, he brings on New Orleans rapper Rob49 for an explosive new cut titled “Hottest In My City.”
AR may not be the king of New York just yet, but he’s rapping like he knows the crown is his. The track title is probably a more accurate descriptor of 49, who has less competition in a much smaller scene and already has a smash hit under his belt with “Vulture Island,” an infectious bop that came out this past December and was remade with a Lil Baby verse three months later.
On “Hottest In My City,” both up-and-comers are in full control, trading verses like seasoned vets over a breakneck beat devoid of bells and whistles.