Rising New Orleans rapper Rob49 has unleashed an energetic new single, “Houston Girls,” out today via Rebel Music/Geffen Records.
The Macfly Beatz-produced song catches the MC at his freewheeling best, pairing his menacing voice with a relentless trunk-rattler of a track. “Houston Girls” is available now at all digital retailers.
Rob49’s songs are always high energy, but “Houston Girls” is one of his most propulsive to date. “I seen that look on n____s faces,” he raps at one point, before isolating exactly what he saw: “It was envy.” With its bone-rattling rhythm, no-holds-barred lyrics, and icy flow, “Houston Girls” sounds like the walls are closing in around us all and Rob49 is the only one keeping his cool.
Born in New Orleans in 1999, Rob49 grew up between projects in the city’s 4th and 9th Wards—hence the “4” and “9” in his rap name—and embodies its ferocious spirit, packing his songs with intensity and grit. He records and releases music at a similarly impressive pace, with April’s Welcome to Vulture Island becoming his fourth full-length project in under 24 months.
In 2020 alone, Rob49 put out three propulsive tapes: 4our the World, Vulture, and Krazy Man. Rob49 sounds almost possessed by every beat, breathlessly digging into stories about his hood and come-up.
Publications like XXL have praised Rob49 for shrewdly updating his hometown’s signature sound. In just a short time in the spotlight, he has forged relationships with some of hip-hop’s most respected figures. Welcome to Vulture Island includes collaborations with Detroit rappers Icewear Vezzo and Babyface Ray, and Atlantans Doe Boy, Landstrip Chip, and Lil Baby, to say nothing of the project being introduced by legendary Cash Money Records founder Birdman.
The 23-year-old also recently went on tour with the Jacksonville native Nardo Wick, and teamed up with Kevin Gates on “Hustler’s Anthem V2.” With “Houston Girls,” Rob49 cements his place at the very pinnacle of Louisiana rap.