Philadelphia rapper Lil Hawa was steadily grinding in 2025, releasing two great EPs and opening up for Skrilla on tour. She’s back with a woozy new single “Malfunction,” which is a little bit about blowing up and trying/failing to cope, but mostly about desperately wanting and needing someone who doesn’t quite feel the same way. Check out the lo-fi 1mirs-directed video above.
Lil Hawa first popped up on my radar back in 2024, when Lil Uzi Vert shouted her out on “Lyft Em Up” off Eternal Atake 2: “You would think Lil Hawa my lil cousin way I got all this Lululemon.” Last winter’s 1ST LADY TREY was mostly Philly drill in the vein of Skrilla and Hood Tali, but the fall’s For My 3’s added more melodic and playful sounds to her repertoire. Tracks like “HIGH” and Happy Dranker collab “YDKBTS” aren’t dramatic heel turns, but offered a sense of how Lil Hawa’s music might extend beyond the sound of her hometown.
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Hawa’s current, more ambient sound seemed to crystallise on the latter song, continuing with her Christmas single “WHO I AM.” Check out that video here.