G-Eazy

Early life

Gerald Earl Gillum was born on May 24, 1989, the eldest of two sons. His mother, Suzanne Olmsted, was a fine arts professor. He has a younger brother named James. Gillum has stated that his father is of partial Mexican descent.

2008–14: Career beginnings

Starting out as a record producer, G-Eazy began working on singles while he was still a student at the Loyola University at New Orleans with his producer Christoph Andersson who also was a student there. He gained some recognition for being a part of the new hip-hop scene back in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area, joining with such artists as Lil B, Crohn and The Cataracs. He became a member of a local hip-hop group called "The Bay Boyz", who had released several songs on their Myspace page.

Him & I

"Him & I" is a song recorded by American rapper G-Eazy and American singer Halsey. The song was released via RCA Records on November 30, 2017, as the second single from the former's third studio album The Beautiful & Damned.

It was written alongside Edgar Machuca, Jim Lavigne, Dakarai Gwitira, Madison Love, and production duo The Futuristics. The single reached the top 20 of the charts in the United States, Australia, Canada as well as multiple other countries.

Background and release

On August 30, 2017, G-Eazy debuted the song with a performance at Blue Nile in New Orleans for the final show of his Bud Light's Dive Bar Tour. Halsey joined him on stage as a surprise guest, and she kissed G-Eazy for several seconds at the end of the performance. G-Eazy told Fuse in an interview before the concert:"I've wanted to work with Halsey for a long time. I think she's an incredibly talented artist who has accomplished so much at such a young age. She's one of the biggest artists in the whole world. At 22 years old, that's pretty phenomenal. 'Him & I' is a Bonnie and Clyde song. It's a pretty intense, crazy in love song. She killed the record. She sounds phenomenal on it. I'm excited to share that experience onstage with her live...

Composition

According to the sheet music published on Musicnotes.com, "Him & I" is composed in the key of A minor and set in a 44 time signature at a steady tempo of 88 beats per minute.

Critical reception

Megan Armstrong of Billboard praised the song, writing that it "maintains each artist's individual identities while also fluidly melding them into one", as "Halsey's voice maintains the same eerie and powerful feel the world has come to associate with her, leading into G's rap verses". Rap-Up wrote: "The romantic anthem finds Halsey on the soaring chorus, with her sultry vocals over the pulsating beat."

Music video

The accompanying music video begins with the line, "They were stars on this stage. Each playing to an audience of two," a F. Scott Fitzgerald quote from The Beautiful and Damned, followed by shots of the Brooklyn Bridge. G-Eazy and Halsey can be seen wandering the streets of New York City, as well as hanging out in dive bars. G-Eazy noted in a tweet: "One of my favorite videos I've ever done, because it's the most real, no extra shit, just her and I over a couple days in the city."

Me, Myself & I

"Me, Myself & I" is a song by American rapper G-Eazy and American singer-songwriter Bebe Rexha. It was released on October 16, 2015, as the lead single for his second studio album When It's Dark Out.

The song was written by the two artists alongside Lauren Christy; originally produced by Rexha and TMS, it was re-produced by Michael Keenan with additional production by Christoph Andersson and G-Eazy. It was both artists' highest-peaking single, until Rexha's song "Meant to Be" peaked at number two on the US Billboard Hot 100, and G-Eazy's song "No Limit" peaked at number four.

Recording and production

The original version of "Me, Myself and I" was written by Bebe Rexha, Lauren Christy, and TMS in early 2015 with the title "I Don't Need Anything". The song was intended to be part of Rexha's debut album, but her label wasn't convinced it fit the style of her upcoming record. She asked a friend to put her in contact with rapper G-Eazy, because she wanted to do the song with him. Rexha and G-Eazy met three days later and she played the track on piano for him. He loved the track and asked for the song to be on his album. Rexha accepted and began immediately working on the track with Michael Keenan, G-Eazy's producer. Rexha and Keenan re-produced the beat and decided to keep the chorus, post-chorus, and bridge of the original song and put...

Composition

According to musicnotes.com, the song is written in the key of C minor, with a tempo of 112 beats per minute.

Music video

The song's music video premiered on October 29, 2015, on G-Eazy's Vevo account on YouTube. Since its release, the video has received over 615 million views. Directed by Taj Stan's Berry, the video surrounds the scene of G-Eazy's birthday, where he is forced to reconcile with his anxieties and the man in the mirror. Bebe Rexha is shown singing throughout the music video.

Cover versions

The song has been covered by American singer Britney Spears and remixed with her 2016 single "Make Me..." in a series of live performances with G-Eazy.