Hustle Till Success

The Debut EP of Gee Mak

*Hustle Till Success* is the debut EP of Gee Mak, scheduled for release on November 12th, 2021. It is set to include six songs, with three featuring 12Digits, and one including Norff and 69ERRAS. Gee Mak followed the project with his second EP, My Lane, in May 2022.

## Production

Gee Mak first began working on an EP in 2018 following the release of his then single Dreams.

In 2019, Gee Mak, along with Mcee Detox and Norff disbanded from Barking Vans following Mike Barkhoff's second hiatus due to personal issues. Due to this, Gee Mak's materialized EP became shelved. In 2020, however, they regained working together - Mak, however, wanted to pursue a new style of music, so decided to keep the intended EP shelved. This decision was highlighted by the followed release of Pica-Boo in 2021, with features from Norff and Kay-H.

The work for the new EP began shortly thereafter, resulting in Gee Mak releasing three singles in three days in August. One of these was a throwaway single and the other was the re-issuing of Dreams, while the third, Lock It, was the main leading single into the EP.

Originally, the EP was titled "Hustle", but the title branched out. Mak produced the EP entirely on his own, though Barkhoff helped arrange the Tracklist and made cover art, also handling distribution and promotion and scheduling of the singles.

Track 5, entitled Tendencies, was originally titled Suicide, and this reflects on the back cover. Barkhoff mistakenly had downloaded the Intro track twice, then proceeded with planning the release, unintentionally resulting in an EP with two tracks the same. Fearing the ISRC attached to Suicide would result in similar circumstances to Norff's Life Is Rough, where tracks Bad Bitch and Baby Please were swapped - an issue Barkhoff never managed to fix - Barkhoff pushed for a retitle, thus Tendencies was decided upon.

## Promotion

Lock It, released August 2021, was the sole single of the EP. Barkhoff decided to make usage of the color palette themed art used in singles Pica-Boo and Never Look Back to intentionally throw listeners off, knowing that the tracks would seem like they were singles due to the artwork, but wouldn't be used.

White Noise served as the second single off the EP, released November 5th, for the following release the next week.

Music videos, both constructed by Barkhoff, were handled for Lock It and Yeah Yeah Yeah. Lock It released within that songs' two week release frame, while Yeah Yeah Yeah released the same night as the EP.

Both songs are being submitted to the South American MTV video base in hopes they transmit throughout the content platform and gain traction in that region.

## Tracklist

1. Intro
2. Lock It
3. White Noise (ft. 12Digits, 69ERRAS, Norff)
4. Yeah Yeah Yeah (ft. 12Digits)
5. [Suicidal] Tendencies
6. Hustle (ft. 12Digits)

## Reception

The EP was met with critical acclaim. Clarke Accloades stating: "Hustle Till Success is a celebrative EP and nothing other than or shorter than. Gee Mak hit the nail on the head and tightened the coffin with this effort, showcasing his merciless blend of R&B efforts tight-woven through rap nuance in what sounds digestive enough to be a record, leaving listeners salivating for more, and leaving the longtime waiters finally left with a gift that is as replay-able as it is rewarding. Perhaps the best EP of 2021, perhaps the best in a few years. Can't wait to hear more. Congrats, Gee Mak." and ranking it a 10/10.