In 2017, the duo now known as EST V was holed up in a living-room studio, recording on little sleep and pure ambition. Back then, under the name 90z Made, they laid down a batch of tracks they loved—only to shelve them as life moved on. Eight years later, those once-forgotten recordings have been reborn as the L.O.O.K. EP series: Last Of Our Kind and Leading Over Our Kingdom. What began as a youthful experiment has evolved into a sharp, two-part statement on growth, resilience, and the blurred lines between street hustle and self-reflection.
The revival isn’t just nostalgia—it’s reinvention. Kenneth English and PyroOnDaBeat shape the soundscape with a deft balance of grit and clarity, blending the pulse of late-2000s hip-hop with a cleaner, modern polish. Part 1 bursts with adrenaline—“Heat Check” and other melodic bangers radiate the kind of midnight drive energy that turns city streets into a blur of headlights. Part 2, by contrast, strips back the gloss, leaning into lo-fi textures that invite vulnerability and quiet reckoning.
What sets L.O.O.K. apart is its refusal to play into easy archetypes. These aren’t disposable party tracks, nor are they one-note tales of struggle. Instead, EST V crafts layered narratives—songs where moments of triumph sit right beside flashes of doubt, where the spoils of the grind don’t erase the questions that come at 3 a.m. It’s music that feels overheard rather than staged, like catching the rawest parts of a conversation between brothers who’ve been through the same wars.
That intimacy is no accident. The sessions for this revival took place at Louder Sounds Studios, with LetThatBoyCook engineering each cut for maximum honesty without losing punch. For EST V, finishing L.O.O.K. was more than crossing an item off the to-do list—it was about honoring the seeds they planted nearly a decade ago. “Those old files were part of us,” they’ve said in interviews. “We weren’t gonna let them die in a hard drive.”
Far from closing a chapter, the EP series sets up the next wave. With their S.U.M.M.E.R. project already in motion and their Urban Art Collective platform expanding, EST V is using the momentum to push beyond their own city limits. If L.O.O.K. is the reclamation, what’s coming next feels like an expansion of territory.
In an industry obsessed with the next big thing, EST V reminds us that some stories just need time to mature. L.O.O.K. isn’t a comeback—it’s proof that the long game still matters.
Stream L.O.O.K. now and follow @officialestv.
