Sheff G and his right-hand man, Sleepy Hallow, didn’t initially get off on the right foot. Raised in the same Brooklyn neighbourhood, Sheff G (born Michael Williams in 1998) was the schoolyard rival of Hallow (Tegan Chambers), and the two frequently came to blows. But once Williams saw that Chambers wasn’t willing to back down, he knew he had a lifelong friend. “I’ve known Sleepy since I was 12. I used to go up to his school to fight. Our names started ringing bells and eventually we had to throw down,” Sheff G explained to Apple Music. “He was with it, though! This kid’s different. We were cool after that.” Despite getting to know each other as backyard brawlers, Sheff and Sleepy have become the chief architects of Brooklyn’s post-drill landscape. Their bars are melodic and flow like a cascading waterfall, and the beats are laced with acoustic guitars and echoing, booming drums. Though Sheff and Sleepy do a number of songs together, the former has proven himself an impressive solo artist. On “No Suburban, Pt. 2” off 2020’s One and Only, G’s infectious hook carries the tune, begging to be blared from cars cruising Brooklyn streets. Sheff G is at his best when he taps into his emotions, and a song like “Weight On Me” from the same album proves that his most personal bars are often his best. The song, which features Sleepy Hallow, is an ode to G’s mother. “A lot of people don’t get to the point where they can make amends for reckless behaviour,” Sheff G told Apple Music. “I’m telling my mom I can carry her now.”