Released on November 7, 2025.
From Atlanta comes plugg. And at the origin of plugg is MexikoDro. At the heart of the past decade, together with his colleagues from Beat Plugz – the collective that gave the style its name – he defined this evolution of trap music. As always, however, it’s the rappers who reap the spotlight first. And it was through figures like Playboi Carti, for whom he was one of the earliest producers, that his innovations were most visible. And yet, MexikoDro raps too, in his own time, as recently demonstrated by the truly excellent Still Going The EP.
It is said that as you get older, you always return to your first loves. This EP – which isn’t really an EP, with its fourteen tracks – is proof of that. MexikoDro, who leaves the production to others (BapeBrazy foremost among them), almost returns to early-day trap music. On the much-noticed single “No Date,” and on the closing track as well, “Doin Right,” among others, you’re not far from hearing the proud, swaggering synths of the genre’s golden age.
Another sign of aging is the lyrics’ focus on the trivial and the mundane. The very first words of the opening track, “Hurt,” immediately set the tone.
Woke up took a shower, got dressed
Walk in in my closet, say a prayer ’cause I’m blessed
I ain’t perfect at all, I confess
Second goal in this life, progress
And later on, the charming, bouncy “Wish” does it again:
Walked in bathroom, had to take a piss
I’m finna get a salad and some shellfish
Here, clearly, we’re a long way from Young Jeezy. MexikoDro isn’t just glorifying the wonderful life of a hard-working outlaw. He takes us into an ordinary, everyday routine.
This thirty-something wears his age. What he brings us here are life lessons, delivered in a monotone voice. The last ten years may have been glorious for the music he helped create, but his own life – marked by his mother’s cancer and punctuated by stints in prison – has been miserable. MexikoDro talks about that rough start on “Stuck,” shaped by an absent father and bad influences. But now he’s walking the straight and narrow. Remaining true to himself, he holds his line, as the powerful track “Marta” shows.
Even when MexikoDro reconnects with the bravado inherent to trap music, his aspirations are very sensible. On “Den,” he’s looking for a woman, not a fling. On “Remy,” he says he’s giving up drugs. According to “Hire,” he claims to be watching his figure and to have become vegetarian. Going by “Height,” he gives up on being a star and on going out after ten p.m. “Twice” tells the story of his path toward sobriety. And with “Doin Right,” he wraps it all up by saying he’s doing things right.
Nevertheless, Still Going The EP is still dazzling trap music, the confident words of a man convinced he’s made something of his difficult life. This is still some motivational music. It’s just that the motivation itself has changed in nature.