In a genre constantly on the hunt for the next hot prospect, it's easy for hip-hop artists to get lost in the shuffle. Buddy faced this reality after getting the cosign of a lifetime, only to find himself back at square one. However, having thrived in the face of uncertainty, the West Coast talent is back for the first time with his Harlan & Alondra album, a project that fulfills the promise shown at the outset of his career.

A Compton native, Buddy's first big break came in 2009, when Pharrell Williams discovered his music and was so enthralled that he flew the then-teenager to Miami and inked him to a deal with his i am OTHER record label. Gaining traction with the buzz single "Awesome, Awesome" and scoring a Kendrick Lamar guest spot on his song "Staircases," Buddy dropped his debut mixtape Idle Time in 2014 with minimal fanfare. He then decided to change course and take control of his own career.

Releasing a pair of EPs (Ocean & Montana and Magnolia) and building his fan base one song and show at a time, Buddy has spent the past few years reminding rap fans of why Pharrell sought out his services in the first place. His versatility and heady lyricism have made him a hot commodity and an artist to watch.

Buddy's debut album Harlan & Alondra is the culmination of his nearly decade-long journey. It's a product of the encounters and experiences that have made him the man he is today, a heartfelt ode to his humble beginnings.

XXL sifts through Harlan & Alondra to pick out 20 of the best lyrics from Buddy's latest offering.

  • "Real Life Shit"

    Buddy

    "Play another gig, droppin' new shit/Yeah, buncha bullshit, problems still exist/Damn, tryna figure out how to live without/Yeah, gotta shake it off, gotta get it out/Yeah, when I get it I'll give it all away/Ha, when they not involved, niggas gon' hate/Ha, I don't fuck wit' y'all niggas anyway/Nah, I just pray that I'll make it home safe" —Buddy

  • "Real Life Shit"

    Buddy

    "I spend my last on some drugs/I'm hittin' up all my plugs/I'm goin' out to the clubs/My rent is due on the first, I keep on breakin' my phone/Tickets on my car window, I can't take this shit no mo'/I ain't thinkin' about you, way too focused on my dreams/I need less of what I want, I want more of what I need" —Buddy

  • "Shameless"

    Buddy Featuring Guapdad 4000

    "Countin' my money in hundreds/Trackin' my money to double/Poppin' all around the bubble/I'm 'bout to fly out to London/I'm wylin' all out in public/I need my pay in advance, Amsterdam with me and my friends/Then I might head out to France/I got a bitch in Berlin" —Buddy

  • "Black"

    Buddy Featuring A$AP Ferg

    "Spillin' some Hennessy Black on the curb/This for the memory of the deceased/When I black out, I awaken the beast/What it's gon' be? What it's gon' be?/You don't wanna fuck with a nigga like me" —Buddy

  • "Black"

    Buddy Featuring A$AP Ferg

    "All the police ain't about the black/He still a pig even though he black/Willie got a lynch, head in that/If you black you dead in that/Strange fruit hang from a tree, on the leaves is red and that/Do it right like a Garveyite, Africa, I'm heading back" —A$AP Ferg

  • "Black"

    Buddy Featuring A$AP Ferg

    "I feel like Trayvon with this black hoodie on/Huey P. Newton, Black revolution/I'm with a Nubian Queen and some illegal aliens/I got a Black fist balled up and it ain't just me, it's all us/400 years of oppression/I'm about to get me that black Tesla/Black Skid marks on the pavement/Cops wanna see me in a black cage" —Buddy

  • "Hey Up There"

    Buddy Featuring Ty Dolla $ign

    "Pull out the window, foot on the gas/Mixin' that Raf with the Kenzo sell 'em out fast/Slushy, my diamond they wet/Slushy, my diamond they wet/Always been one step ahead, I keep my foot on their neck, yeah/Aye, with the gang gang, bitch I'm with the gang gang/And when I'm in my Rolls Royce I take up two lanes" —Ty Dolla $ign

  • "Hey Up There"

    Buddy Featuring Ty Dolla $ign

    "Pay up, pay up/Tryna get rich don't wanna be famous/With my day ones/75 cents to catch that bus/Came up, came up got my check and then I finesse/Say I got next, got right now so I guess I'll just, keep my feet up/Smokin' all this weed, I need a re-up/Give it all to me, more money, money/Can't tell me nothing/We out here struggling/This why we hustling" —Buddy

  • "Trouble On Central"

    Buddy

    "Just so good at being in trouble/Spending my days out in the ghetto/Mama say that I need to be careful/Going downtown on the blue line metro/Car overheated and I can't afford a rental/Broke down Chevrolet, sitting on Central/Turning on my headphones looking out the window/Lauryn Hill playing, it could be so simple" —Buddy

  • "The Blue"

    Buddy Featuring Snoop Dogg

    "Hey, ooh baby you caught me off guard/I never had a love quite like yours/And it's hittin' me down in my core/First I had doubts, now I'm sure/Yeah, and I never thought that it'd be like this before/You're the one I adore/Let me love you some more" —Buddy

  • "The Blue"

    Buddy Featuring Snoop Dogg

    "The sky is blue and I am too/I'm eyein' you, I wanna be inside of you/The way ya dance, take a chance and let me talk and let me get ya higher, boo/My buddy, way too cool lil' cutty/Get a shot of Moscato and lil' mama get slutty/On the real though/Let me tell ya how I feel though/She ain't fuckin' wit' no weirdo" —Snoop Dogg

  • "Speechless"

    Buddy

    "Ayy, okay it's hard to talk withcha pussy in my mouth/I be eatin' you out/Right here on the couch/At ya mama house/Everybody sleep, we should quiet it down, we a lil' bit loud/I'm in and out, in and out, strokin' you up and down/All around/Pushin' your hair to the south side til' ya knees hit the ground and ya face down" —Buddy

  • "Young"

    Buddy

    "Mama say I'm oblivious/Daddy think I'm oblivious/Driftin' into oblivion/Buddy back on his bullshit again/Oh how I wish I was a kid again/Got a hard time with listenin'/Same problem with discipline/Still gotta get my dividends/It's so much adrenaline/Head is spinnin'/I know I'ma sin again" —Buddy

  • "Young"

    Buddy

    "Yeah, it's a fine line between love and hate, ya see/Came way too late, and baby I'm on it/Can't worry 'bout what another nigga think/Now that's liberation, and baby I want it/Baby I want it" —Buddy

  • "Trippin'"

    Buddy Featuring Khalid

    "Oh, you wanna roll with the big dawgs?/Smoke a little dro with the big dawgs?/Pass that, Hen dog/Take one shot then I evolve/Put the tab on your tongue let it dissolve/And you got something to share you can get involved/Listen to Grateful Dead and I'm tripping balls/Hop in that UFO and I lift off" —Buddy

  • "Trippin'"

    Buddy Featuring Khalid

    "Fuck your plug/Fuck your drugs/I got my own nigga/Took a steam in the cap to the dome nigga/I ain't been this high since Coachella/New level, I can feel it/Psychedelic, please do not fuck with my energy/Is you my friend or my enemy?/I could do this til' infinity" —Buddy

  • "Trippin'"

    Buddy Featuring Khalid

    "I'm back at it again/I'm coming down Melrose/Running a checkup for cardio/Smoking Luigi eating that Mario's/Ok then, let's see how far we go/Off the shits when I'm in the studio/Tripping on acid with Rufio/Minds turn into kaleidoscopes/I think I'm going delusional" —Buddy

  • "Trippin'"

    Buddy Featuring Khalid

    "Brain dead, mind gone, warp speed/Flying through time zones/Roll a blunt about a mile long/Can a young nigga get his shine on/Pour the liquor on my tombstone/When I die bet I get my halo/Cause I aim high, never aim low/'Bout to take off like Quavo" —Buddy

  • "Find Me 2"

    Buddy

    "If it wasn't for my reflection, I would be forever guessin'/Swear I got a billion questions/The essence of adolescence is purity/The homie told me 'Sacrifices come wit' maturity'/And it's clear to me now/Rest in peace to those not here wit' me now/If my granny saw this day, would shed a tear for me now/If my uncle saw this day, would come and give me a pound/Like 'Damn nephew, you really did that shit, wow'" —Buddy

  • "Find Me 2"

    Buddy

    "Changin' reality for my family/They proud of me/Could've, never imagined or fathomed things that had happened/The good, the bad and the tragic/The happy moments, the sad ones, the classics/My first time in Miami/Pharrell had me out on Collins Ave., the studio rappin'/The last nigga signed to Star Trak, might get that shit tatted" —Buddy

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