Kota the Friend Proves Growth Artistically and Personally is the Name of the Game

One of the most valuable things to an artist's career regarding impact, consistency, and longevity, is growth. An artist who can successfully evolve throughout their career has no real ceiling. Specifically in rap, growth, and evolution are the things that define great careers, and are often what holds talented artists back from having long careers and high-quality discographies. For independent Brooklyn rapper Kota the Friend, growth has been the name of the game, and with his latest offering “Everything,” Kota fans and Hip-Hop fans alike get a refreshing look at what growth sounds like. But not just artistic growth, personal growth as an individual. 

While some artists feel pressured to stay in their dark and toxic environments because they feel they have to make the music they got famous for, every so often artists come around that level up with each album. Artists like Kendrick Lamar, Tyler, the Creator, and Mac Miller, are a few names in the group of rare artists that can balance growth, popularity, and consistency. 

Kota’s rise as an independent has been somewhat swift, and the approach to his music has stayed in the wheelhouse that he talked about when he released his first album in 2018, “Anything.” Speaking specifically on the name with RespectMag.com, Kota explained his choice saying “One, I wanted it to have different sounds, styles, and vibes. I wanted to make a project that didn’t have any rules and every track to catch people off guard in a pleasant way. Second, I was just so frustrated with the music industry, in which; I just wanted to make something carefree... I didn’t want to spend forever trying to conjure up a title that the blogs would be into. I wanted it to be more about the sounds and the voices on the project.” This approach of focused freedom has been prevalent throughout Kota’s discography, showing itself through his laid back yet luscious beats, as well as many of his melodic cuts that are heavily featured on his astounding sophomore effort released in 2019 “Foto.” 

“Foto” is what changed my whole perspective on Kota the Friend as an artist. Kota has referred to the album as “pictures and pages of his life” and for an hour the Brooklyn artist lets us flip through the pages. Vulnerability in abundance, the then 25-year-old would show us his fears and his pain. Letting us be more than just a fly on the wall for his ups and downs, but actually taking us on a tour of his experiences, guiding us through his rainy days with jazzy lo-fi instrumentals and poetically vivid lyricism. Little did I know “Foto” would be a picture-perfect set up for his latest release, “Everything.”

“Everything” feels like a space of freedom and peace after years of battling the storm. Twelve songs over 38 minutes, completely self-produced, “Everything” is a perfect blend of chill vibrations, some tracks more energetic than others. The album also includes quite a few big-name features, including Joey Bada$$, Bas, Hello O’shay, Alex Banin, Kaiit, Tobi Lou, Kyle, Braxton Cook, and Kota’s son Lil Kota, as well as two interludes featuring Lupita Nyong'o and Lakeith Stanfield. Speaking on the “Everything” name of his newest project with RevoltTV, Kota said: “Everything is really, ‘Yo what means everything to you? What does having everything mean to you? What does it mean to have everything?’ So, right back to me just making a positive album, I wanted to make a project that was about manifestation and manifesting the things that you want as an individual and only speaking good things.” He couldn’t have executed this goal better. “Everything” is a collection of cohesive light-hearted songs, with bounce 808s that Kota simply glides over. The features he enlists feel purposeful and frugal. This album is for anyone who has had to recalibrate their life when it was going the wrong way and after turning it around, finally finding themselves in a position where they can appreciate it, even the most minuscule simplicities of life. 

This is one of the few albums where there isn’t much distinction in sound or even content, but instead a consistently chill groove that only fluctuates in BPM. Kota has always been known for his deeply emotional lyrics. It may seem like that lyrical prowess is lacking on “Everything” but that’s just it, the simplicity in Kota’s content attitude is just the canvas. If you look at the painting that is the album “Everything,” Kota is showing us that within those “everythings” he now feels peace of mind.

When I first listened to “Everything” I felt very underwhelmed. It felt arrogant, yet oddly reserved. I imagined this rapper chilling on a beach, unbothered by the world because who cares. But, I was so astoundingly underwhelmed I felt maybe I had missed something, and I had. I’m embarrassed to say that due to the chill beats I mistook the Brooklyn native for a Cali man. In my research, I found out he plays several instruments, produces his own stuff, and has been slowly blooming into one of the biggest indie stars for years under my nose. After listening to his previous projects “Anything” and “Foto,” his 2020 effort “Everything” started feeling like the final chapter to a trilogy. Wildly reminiscent to Chance the Rapper’s first three projects, young and ready for the world, in the beginning, a rocky and introspective middle, wrapped up with what feels like happily ever after. On “Everything” Kota’s past is as resolved as it needed to be to allow him to change his perspective while finding peace and balance, passing that mindset on to his child.