Nothing feels more like summer to me than sitting at Oakledge, a park on Lake Champlain in my hometown of Burlington, Vermont, hanging out with friends and listening to 99 Neighbors. Most people around Burlington know that 99 Neighbors is a hip-hop and rap group that formed right here in our town. I even attended high school with a few members and sang in chorus with Vocalist and Songwriter Aidan Otsby.
In many songs, they reference local spots, like Burlington coffee shop Muddy Waters in their song “Redrum.” Watching them grow and release successful music feels so personal for people here, especially for younger generations. It’s like they’re the essence of our home. With around 624,000 monthly listeners on Spotify and upcoming performances around the country, 99 Neighbors is gaining momentum and is bound to be performing at the next big concert you attend.
99 Neighbors started out with a couple of best friends with a passion for music. After graduating high school in 2015, members Sam Paulino and HANKNATIVE got an apartment in Burlington and began making music with buddies and local artists. Soon, they were recording and producing full-time as a group. Today, 99 Neighbors is comprised of seven members- Sam Paulino, Connor Swank, Aidan Otsby, HANKNATIVE, Juju, Somba, and Jared Fier. They’re one of the more diverse groups you’ll see in the music industry today, with Black, White, Asian, Latinx, and non-binary group members. Each brings a distinct style to the group.
Paulino slips brilliantly between rap and smooth R&B, anchoring most of 99 Neighbors’ songs. Swank and HANKNATIVE have killer rap verses and unmistakable voices that bring heat to their sound, while Aidan Ostby cools things with a beautiful voice and compelling lyrics. DJ Jared Fier and Instrumentalist Juju play with unique sounds that give the group’s music an upbeat and often unconventional feel, like their song “Bangarang,” which opens with a burp.
Equally compelling is 99 Neighbors’ willingness to open up about identity. The group gets vocal about personal struggles and experiences, both in their lyrics and in the media. Their ability to be real, along with their catchy music, is what launched their career. Following the 2019 release of their debut album Television, Pat Corcoran, former manager of Chance the Rapper, heard the opening track, “Champion,” and knew he’d stumbled upon something great.
Sam Paulino and HANKNATIVE rap about growing up broke and wearing Goodwill clothes, losing friends, almost dropping out of high school, and feeling immense pressure to amount to something. The chorus, pulsing and harmonious, is a celebration of overcoming these odds and becoming “champions” in their own streets. It’s an honest song that begs you to notice the humanity in their struggle to make it big, and the pride they feel in flourishing from humble beginnings. From there, 99 Neighbors was signed to Corcoran’s label, Warner Records. When I hear “Champion” now, it feels like an ode to Burlington and the heart of what 99 Neighbors represents.
Identity is a major component of their newest album, Wherever You’re Going, I Hope It’s Great, released on September 24. Their pre-release “Live a Little” quickly climbed the charts, now their third most streamed song on Spotify. It’s a bold introduction to the album. The music video features the group playing a lively game of poker, hanging at Oakledge (I watched them film it!), and having a fancy dinner. Each scene showcases a different member and their story.
Swank goes all-in in poker while rapping about leaving behind his darker days and unsupportive people to fully pursue his dreams. Dancing against the backdrop of Lake Champlain, Sam Paulino sings about Black excellence, sleeping on the floor, and always being prepared for the next hurdle standing in the way of his success. HANKNATIVE drinks champagne and toasts the camera with a piece of asparagus on his fork, rapping about taking in the blessings his career has afforded him and building up the legacy he’s created with his friends. “Live a Little” is as much a celebration of 99 Neighbors’ collective growth as it is about stepping into individual identity and fully embracing the next chapter of life.
There’s a lot of emotion tied to the album release. Over the past two years of recording, members have honed their skills, moved away from Vermont, and grown into themselves. Aidan Otsby, who can be heard in hits like “Coughing Up Smoke” and “Thunder,” came out as non-binary over Instagram in 2020, and has since grown their hair out, dyed it red, and sported new fashion styles. On September 20, they posted a teaser for the album to their Instagram story with the caption, “the past 2+ years of our lives. i don’t even recognize myself in pictures from the beginning of this process. this has been the journey of a lifetime. all ends of the emotional spectrum were visited in abundance. i’m so proud of our group.” For 99 Neighbors members and fans alike, Wherever You’re Going, I Hope It’s Great represents a deeply intimate and poignant period of change and the beauty of what’s emerging.
Ostby is the star of WYGIHIG pre-release “49er,” which sort of revolves around those same feelings. The music video features the group riding bikes along Vermont dirt roads, smoking in a field, hanging out at Oakledge’s beloved treehouse, and back in their childhood homes. It ends with Otsby under a streetlight, singing the haunting lyrics, “Don’t know I’ll be back again…I will love you like a dream I had last night.” It feels incredibly nostalgic and a bit like a goodbye. In an interview with Flaunt Magazine, 99 Neighbors said “49er” is a reckoning of their relationships to home and feelings of lost familiarity. Making the song was “a way to air out the emotions” that have come with the sacrifices they’ve made to be where they are.
There’s heartache, but a lot of love, too. Following their September 24 performance at The Governors Ball in New York City, they returned home to perform at Higher Ground in Burlington. The show sold out.