“Not Sober” by The Kid LAROI (ft. Stunna Gambino & Polo G)
As fate would have it The Kid Laroi, a teenager from Australia, is currently the king of emo hip-hop after the passing of his mentor, Juice WRLD, about a year and-a-half ago. And in traditional emo fashion, from the onset he presents himself as an artist who is coming “from the heart”, as well as having formed a dependency on intoxicants, i.e. “not [being] sober”, in the name of staving off depression.
And in that regard, as put forth in the chorus, he prefers smoking something which we would presume is weed. Moreover, he states an affinity for ‘Hennessy mixed with cola’.
His affection for that particular mixture is reiterated at the beginning of the first verse. And as far as his anxiety goes, it would appear to be sourced in the bothersome activities of haters.
And of course, a true emo-ing requires Laroi to acknowledge some unidentified ex as having broken his heart. On top of that, he alludes to his upbringing having been a difficult one, fashioning him into the raw artist we know today. These experiences include having been stabbed in the back by some of his besties.
Additionally, the vocalist gives a shoutout to a belated brother he “never got to say bye-bye” to, which may be a reference to the aforementioned Juice WRLD. So the above hardships are apparently meant to illustrate why The Kid is so stressed out. But at the same time, he’s not the type to let such an emotional “hell” defeat him.
Polo G
Meanwhile Polo G takes a completely-different approach. His verse is braggadocios in nature. Furthermore, he also uses it to present the idea of him and his crew being these types of gun-toting vengeance seekers.
He also alludes to his come-up a couple of times therein, which happens to be the primary topic of Gambino’s verse, i.e. his own respective ascension. So for instance Stunna also namedrops Hennessy. However, unlike Laroi, he is using it as a symbol of the celebrations he and his people enjoy after having economically ascended from poverty to riches. So the inferred reason why he wouldn’t be sober is actually because he’s chillin’.
All in all
So as you can see, this is a multi-subjected song. The Kid Laroi, as is his standard, steers it in an emo direction. But the two featured artists rather use their appearances to detail on becoming big-time rappers.
Release of “Not Sober”
This song is featured on a project, a mixtape actually, entitled “F–k Love 3: Over You”. The first “F–k Love: came out in 2020. Then the sequel, “F–k Love (Savage)”, was released later that year. And “F–k Love 3”, including this song, was made public by Columbia Records on 23 July 2021.
The Kid Laroi
The Kid Laroi is a true Australian, belonging to a tribe of indigenes known as the Kamilaroi, which as you can see is also from which his stage name was derived. And his big, international break came in 2020, i.e. in the aftermath of having formed a notable working relationship with Chi-town legend Juice WRLD (1998-2019), who passed away late in December of the previous year.
Polo G
Polo G is also from Chicago. He became associated with The Kid Laroi via Juice WRLD, i.e. the first time they collaborated having been on Juice’s posthumous release (alongside Marshmello), “Hate the Other Side” (2020).
Afterwards, Polo G enlisted Laroi on his own 2021 track, “No Return”. And that song is actually featured on the deluxe edition of Polo G’s album “Hall of Fame”, which topped the Billboard 200.
Stunna Gambino
Meanwhile Stunna Gambino hails from Manhattan’s Washington Heights neighborhood. And even though he looks pretty young, currently being 19 he’s actually two years older than The Kid Laroi. But Polo G’s age trumps them all, concurrently being 22 years old.
