Back in 2017, two different teenage Vallejo, California rap duos joined forces to form the group SOB x RBE, and they took off quickly with a hard, energetic style that felt like a fresh take on classic Bay Area sounds. By 2018, they were showing up on Kendrick Lamar's Black Panther soundtrack. But the group's run was chaotic, and they always seemed to be on the verge of breaking up before it really happened after the release of the 2019 album Strictly Only Brothers. That same year, former member Lul G was arrested for murder. In 2023, he was sentenced to 21 years in prison. Today, the remaining SOB x RBE members reunite for their first new single in seven years.
"Ten Summers," the new SOB x RBE song, celebrates a decade since the group first came together without really addressing the fact that they weren't active for most of those summers. The subject of Lul G doesn't really come up, unless I missed some subliminal parts. Instead, Yhung T.O., DaBoii, and Slimmy B are back to celebrate their accomplishments over a funky, propulsive Bay Area beat. They definitely sound older, but they also seem more focused than before, and there's a nicely triumphant energy and a chemistry that I haven't heard in while.
The Sebastian Santiago-directed "Ten Summers" video mostly takes place in a giant garage full of luxury cars. At the end, E-40 shows up to make a toast. Watch it below.
"Ten Summers" is out now on EMPIRE.
