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When historians look back at 2024, they’ll remember only the most essential moments from one of culture’s most important and pivotal eras. Though only a month into the year, I’m confident that one of these moments will be the long-awaited release of 1999 Write The Future’s debut album, hella (˃╭̣ ╮˂̣)✧♡‧o· ̊.

First introduced to listeners in October 2023 with their debut single "WORLD STOP TURNING", 1999 Write The Future is a new musical collective from the creative geniuses at 88Rising. Synthesizing vintage 1990s energy with a distinctly futuristic style, 1999 Write The Future would spend the next few months slowly ushering listeners into their unique sonic landscape, decorated with artists from Offset and Westside Gunn to Eyedress and even legendary New York group The Budos Band.

One of the most interesting aspects about 1999 Write The Future is how its members appear to be any artist lucky enough to receive an invite to collaborate. Though its foundation clearly lies with 88Rising mainstays like Rich Brian and Warren Hue, acts like Amaarae, BadBadNotGood, and Smino are among the names carefully curated for the collective’s debut project. Whether technically guests or full-fledged members, the artists involved with hella (˃╭̣ ╮˂̣)✧♡‧o· ̊ are just as versatile as the tracks themselves.

“Long in the tOOth” is incredibly psychedelic and enchanting, laced with a soulful and vintage sound that sounds like it could have been a Gorillaz deep cut in another lifetime. Featuring Warren Hue and Pos from De La Soul, the two trade futuristic verses over an instrumental that sounds anything but. “silence STArEs me down” with Cuco and Rich Brian, however, is a dreamy and nostalgic cut that is instilled with electric and funky energy at every moment. The combination of these sounds— something so retro and nostalgic yet boundary-pushing and unique—is what lies at the center of 1999 Write The Future, boundless retrofuturistic creative talent that pushes culture forward while being reverent to those who came before.

hella (˃╭̣ ╮˂̣)✧♡‧o· ̊ is admittedly an album full of risk-taking and experimental stylistic decisions, but fans of 88Rising’s catalog will still find an impressive trove of tracks sure to win them over. Album singles “SLOPES” with Offset and Warren Hue and “LiGhT rAiLs” with Rich Brian and Rick Ross are perfect examples of this, with both delivering high-energy verses that you could only ever hear on a project as polished as this one. The latter, especially, melds old and new styles together to deliver a nostalgic sample-heavy hip-hop track littered with thundering, futuristic bass signals.

As historians will tell you one day, hella (˃╭̣ ╮˂̣)✧♡‧o· ̊ has far too many high points to summarize succinctly, but after just one listen the only thing that you’ll be craving is more music from 1999 Write The Future. With a year hopefully filled with music and visuals from the new music collective, now is the perfect time to becime a new fan.

Listen to hella (˃╭̣ ╮˂̣)✧♡‧o· ̊  below: