I first noticed K$upreme three years ago when I heard “Stack It Up,” a collaboration with Lil Yachty. His woozy, casual flow grabbed my attention as I’d never heard someone with such a unique sound. His Instagram, full of photos of him wearing rare and expensive clothing and sneakers, has attracted a large following of fans. He has a remarkable collection of streetwear goods, some of which were released before his fans were even born. Combine this with his idiosyncratic rap style and you have a very intriguing figure.

A renowned flexer in the SoundCloud rap sphere, K$upreme has been on the scene for a while. First gaining notice as a member of Lil Yachty’s Sailing Team collective, it took him a lot of time and effort to surpass the limiting label of “Lil Yachty’s friend.”

As the collective began to disband, he started to receive major notice on his own with the release of his mixtapes “Flex Muzik” and “Flex Muzik 2,” which were both critically well-received.

Landing big-name features like Rich the Kid and Chief Keef brought K$upreme some notable success. However, his true breakout moment came with the release of his first mainstream hit, “GUCCI COLOGNE,” which dropped in 2018 and was shared on Instagram by the likes of Tyler, the Creator and Lil Pump. The music video for it has garnered more than 2.5 million views on YouTube.

His newest project, “Caught Fire,” released on Sept. 13, 2019 — Friday the 13th, mind you — has a slightly different feel than K$upreme’s past projects. A maker of self-described “flex music,” K$upreme’s past mixtapes almost felt like a conversation between friends as he described his exotic, flex-worthy lifestyle.

“Caught Fire” has a much more serious tone​ to it, and very much feels as though K$upreme is announcing that not only is he one of the top flexers in rap music, but also a star in his own right. With lyrics like “dropped Gucci Cologne, I caught fire” on the first track, logically named “CAUGHT FIRE,” it is clear that he is letting all of his listeners know that he is no longer a random SoundCloud rapper with ties to Lil Yachty.

K$upreme’s past projects have typically had several features, but not “Caught Fire.” In fact, “HOT HAM” is the only song with support. Lil Yachty features along with Chief Keef, someone he has cited many times as one of his biggest musical inspirations. It seems as though it was a calculated decision to go with fewer features on this project, and very much a statement by K$upreme that he is his own artist and more than capable of producing hits unassisted.

Compared to the first mixtape, which was recorded in his friend’s closet, K$upreme’s new production on “Caught Fire” has a much clearer sound.

The songs chosen for “Caught Fire” have all the staples of a K$upreme project: talking about fast cars, exotic marijuana, expensive jewelry and shopping at Saks. But what’s new is super-producer CHASETHEMONEY’s exclusively hard-hitting beats, which make “Caught Fire” my favorite K$upreme project by far.