The magic of Queens artist Flee has always been his ability to consistently churn out earworm songs. They’re sing-songy, bolted around charmed melodies, smirking one-liners, and lush production, and they often blur the line between reality and aspiration: a perfect formula for easy listening, and the type of music that always leaves Flee primed for a moment. In 2017, he made his debut with the melodic Flee Going Stoopid project and over the next two years, would release a consistent supply of tapes, EPs, and singles alongside trend-setting names like Pierre Bourne as well as frequent collaborators Cash Cobain and Stoopid Xool whom he still works with today. It was during this run, upon the release of 2019’s Xool Summer tape in collaboration with Stoopid Xool, that Flee’s charmed style caught hold and the song “Swish/Use 2” featuring Brent Faiyaz began to take off. The song’s laid-back, sunkissed sound and standout feature from an R&B star catapulted it into a hit moment, which sustained for months and was eventually followed with a King Combs-featured single called “The Moment” in 2020. In 2021, Flee returned with the RatedStar tape, which was critically and culturally-praised, described by Pitchfork as “the type of music that’ll make you wonder if you’re not living life the way you should be.” Flee followed RatedStar up with another tape entitled Happy Birthday FL33, and over the past year and change has been on a run of loose releases.