Latest Release
- 27 NOV 2024
- 1 Song
- Strictly For My Fans 2.0 · 2024
- No More Heroes - Single · 2024
- Stuck In This Mood - Single · 2024
- S.I.P - Single · 2024
- Thank God · 2024
- #TurntUpNotBurntUp · 2024
- Dead N****s - Single · 2024
- How I Grew Up (feat. Polo G) - Single · 2024
- HOOD POET · 2024
- HOOD POET · 2024
Essential Albums
- In the official album trailer for Polo G’s Hall of Fame 2.0, where the Michael Jackson-sampling “Bad Man (Smooth Criminal)” plays in the background, Polo explains that the first Hall of Fame “was me beating my chest, really coming into my own as an artist and showing I’m here to stay”. He goes on to contextualise 2.0 as the closing of this same chapter while encouraging fans to “turn up this one more time”. It goes without saying that at this point in his young career, the self-proclaimed GOAT truly does have a catalogue worth celebrating, but in the case of Hall of Fame 2.0, turning up is hardly the full story. Across 2.0, Polo G is as lucid, thoughtful and reflective as he’s ever been. This version of Polo is particularly concentrated within the project’s 14 new selections. He’s made time to have fun—as have guests Lil Baby, Moneybagg Yo and Lil Tjay—but the meat of the new additions lies in Polo’s worldview, the rapper facing down survivor’s remorse (“Decisions”), unhealthy relationships (“Partin Ways”), prioritising his mental health (“With You”, “Alright”), and the impossibility of the Black American experience (“Black Man in America”). Hall of Fame 2.0 may have initially been billed as a deluxe version of its predecessor (it also features the 20 tracks of the original), but as a stand-alone collection of music, it makes yet another case for Polo’s jersey to one day hang from the rafters.
- When Polo G released his sophomore project THE GOAT, MCs declaring themselves the "greatest of all time” was as ubiquitous in hip-hop as claiming to be desirable to the opposite sex. But within the project, the still-ascending Chicago MC presents a version of himself matured enough beyond 2019’s Die a Legend that he’s entitled to a little confidence. THE GOAT features sombre piano lines throughout (“Don’t Believe the Hype”, “33”, “No Matter What”, “Be Something”), but Polo is considerably bigger here than the “pain music” descriptor his work often gets lumped in with. He is reflective storyteller on “Heartless”, smitten lover on “Martin & Gina” and equal parts technical rap show-off and riot-starter on “Go Stupid” (which also features Stunna 4 Vegas and NLE Choppa). The album contains additional appearances from Mustard, Lil Baby and BJ the Chicago Kid, but it’s “Flex”, a collaboration with fallen comrade Juice WRLD, that delivers some of the best rapping of Polo’s young career.
Albums
- 2019
- 2024
- 2023
- 2023
Artist Playlists
- The Chicago MC redefined the city’s drill sound for a new era.
- Experience Polo G’s THE HOOD POET TOUR.
More To Hear
- The Chicago drill rapper breaks down his project THE GOAT.
More To See
About Polo G
Even in the crowded field of mournful singer-rappers, Polo G stands out. It’s not the depth of his trauma—poverty, hunger, gang violence, drug addiction and prison, all before his 20th birthday—or even his willingness to share it. It’s his focus. Listen to a Polo record—“Heartless”, “Pop Out”, “Through da Storm”, “Go Stupid”—and you can hear an artist obsessed by craft. The flow is dense but melodic, the lyrics plain-spoken but crammed with imagery and detail, more in tune with classic rap virtuosity than the loose impressionism that ruled most of the 2010s. And in a culture of rappers making records back-to-back-to-back to capitalise on interest, Polo has been borderline stingy: no mixtapes, no bloated deluxe editions three months after the initial drop, albums running closer to 40 minutes than 80. He’s said in the past that he doesn’t freestyle, he writes. And when he’s done writing—that’s when he goes to record. And if he doesn’t love what comes out at the session? Like, love-it love? He keeps it to himself. Born Taurus Bartlett in 1999, Polo was raised in Chicago public housing, coming up through the rough, quick-delivery style of local hip-hop known as drill. Like local heroes G Herbo, Lil Durk, and, to a lesser extent, Chief Keef, Polo’s primary subject was pain: personal, racial, generational. But as compelling and tightly wound as his debut was (2019’s Die a Legend), he knew you could only get so much mileage out of the same story, and took his follow-up—2020’s THE GOAT—as a chance to evolve, exploring more pop- and club-oriented sounds while retaining the intensity that makes his performances shine.
- HOMETOWN
- Chicago, IL, United States
- BORN
- 6 January 1999
- GENRE
- Hip-Hop/Rap