Listening to Fada<3of$ while it was hot outside felt like playing GTA V for the first time. The million-dollar heist of “Mr. Havemyway” felt like the joyride of a lifetime. The facetious “Mumbleman” was one of my favorite moments on the album, with Niontay’s signature delivery sliding on a grimey, 16-bit-core beat produced by Nephew Hesh and Garcon Dior.

“I’m takin’ the bag, they taken aback, Like nigga had gave me an option/ Nigga stay in the house, ‘Cause this shit is not for the kids, we hoop with the Monstars/I ain’t even mad at that shit, whole time I’d be cap if I said it ain’t hurt/ Tryna dirty the gang but fuck it we move out of love, that’s why it ain’t work/ Outside niggas ain’t even battin’ an eye yo’ way, the fuck is you nervous?/ I know niggas in real life, I turned that shit off as soon as I heard it”

I’ll never forget what it felt like to listen to the first songs on this album at the 10k Holiday party in December 2024 at Public Records. There were 200 bodies piled into the restaurant listening to Niontay performing the latest mixes of what was later named Fada<3of$ . I remember recording a voice memo that included “Top da top”, “Triggaman”, “X-Factor”, “mumbleman”, and “stuntin’ like my baba” almost half-a-year before the project would drop in full. But, I was so addicted to what I heard that I kept relistening to my phone recordings, and religiously rewatching the videos from that night. By the time the full album was released in April, I already knew it was a classic.

Niontay has since followed-up this impeccable summer with a December mixtape for dessert, Soulja Hate Repellant , that showcases a strong experimental instinct worth checking out.