Brooklyn’s Kota the Friend has been making the most of his prolific demeanor this year. A string of single releases and a mastered, collected project built from his YouTube series, Lyrics to Go, Vol. 1 have left their mark heavy even though it’s only February. The latest is California, and it’s yet another lyrically endowed, spoon-fed single named after a place he’s visited and written in in the American southwest. 

 

Unapologetically laid-back in delivery, intense and thoughtful in verse, and painfully relatable, Kota the Friend is one of the more unique, important wordsmiths of the current fold. And California is only the latest proof.