Every Friday, we’re here to remind you of the Boston artists we love and think you oughta know.

Over the past few years, TheLastGekko has been relentlessly writing, recording, and releasing his music: since releasing his debut album PHLVLS in 2017, he’s added seven more mixtapes or EPs to his catalog. What’s more, if you listen to all these projects in sequence, it becomes clear how much he has improved his skills all across the board: as a songwriter, as a producer, as a singer. In the past, he’s sat down with Allston Pudding to talk about his goals, influences, and musical background. 

The music itself melodic hip-hop with traces of Caribbean roots, psychedelic textures, and samples from Japanese pop culture (careful listeners will notice Gekko’s use of samples from Final Fantasy X). When you listen to one of his projects, you’re taken on a textural journey through downtempo beats, lush synths, and emotive narratives that feel like diary entries laid down on late nights. Once you’ve familiarized yourself with some of these projects, you’re struck with how good an ear Gekko has for thematic structure; he seems to focus in on certain images or ideas and works to develop that throughout a project, which results in shorter, succinct EP length releases that make for perfectly digestible listens that also offer deep, meaningful songwriting. 

Since moving down to Atlanta back in October, Gekko has only been increasing his output, adding a new alias to his repertoire for his production work, Generick. This move will give him the opportunity to expand his audience and develop his rapping and production skills, while being able to connect and collaborate in a city with a vibrant, active hip-hop community. 

Despite the move south, TheLastGekko still has ties to the Boston scene, and will be back in the future, hopefully on the bill of some sick gigs. In the meantime, you can listen to his music on Spotify, Bandcamp, and Soundcloud. He sent us “Cycles,” a recent single. In addition, he’s excited for the release of the upcoming EP Wood as Generick. This EP will be a continuation in a series based on the elements.