The last time Hypebeast caught up with Niontay was over the summer. He had just dropped his studio debut, Fada<3of$, and found some time to slide through the studio to chat more about his creative evolution in the face of the modern underground hip-hop scene. Off the record at the time, Tay also shared he had rough plans to drop another project before 2025 closed out.Now, just six months later, the rapper is back in the cut, fresh off yet another striking studio LP. A testament to Tay’s unwavering commitment to his craft, Soulja Hate Repellant arrived in late December, marking his second long-form project in under six months; a feat many musicians would cut their teeth to emulate. But for the 26-year-old rapper, two formally packaged studio releases in half a year is no skin off his back, but rather, the natural creative byproduct of his come-up. Born in Milwaukee, raised in Central Florida, and now Brooklyn-based, the rapper – signed to MIKE’s 10k record label – wears his artistic and personal evolution on his sleeve, his music a mirror into his upbringing, adolescence, and the pride he has for the New York City underground.His Rémy Martin partnership lands at the perfect celebrative envisioning of his banner year, as well as a symbolic full-circle moment. “My grandpa would always drink Rémy Martin, and he actually passed away earlier this year,” he reflects, carrying on the familial tradition. “The best way to celebrate success is being around family and friends – and sipping cognac. It’s all about being with the people who have seen you grow, and have actually watched you get to this point.”Narrated by 454’s Gatorface alias, Soulja Hate Repellant is almost an entirely solo project, which, for Tay, is a leg up from Fada<3of$ and its preceding mixtapes and EPs. While Fada<3of$ featured the likes of MAVI, Sideshow, Jadasea, El Cousteau and Dav1d, Soulja Hate Repellant includes assists from Earl Sweatshirt, as well as fellow underground auteurs, Lerado Khalil and Sunny.However, it’s not the features, co-signs, or album streams that mark success to Tay. It’s a bit deeper than that, and it’s actually not rooted in the perceptions of anyone else except for himself. “Success is when I feel satisfied with what I’m doing,” he says.Albeit a primarily solo project, Soulja Hate Repellant, like everything to come from the MIKE-helmed label, is dripping in palpable 10k ethos. One particular aspect of the label the rapper emphasizes heavily is the community; shortly after Niontay started making solo music in 2015, he tapped in with MIKE, who quickly championed the budding talent in his tracks, and introduced him to the symbiotic artistic network that is 10k. Listen closely to the project and MIKE’s lyrical innuendos seep through Tay’s blurry bars; Tony Seltzer’s production patterns bleed into the synth-ridden melodies.After all, the rapper’s recording process is typically a family affair. Tucked away in the back of the 10k office in SoHo, is an intimate alcove that is Tay’s studio. The rest of the office resembles someone’s home, with framed 10k plaques and cover art hanging around the room, along with MIKE and Sage Elsesser (aka Navy Blue) and more members of the 10k unit.Sometimes, when Niontay records, he has his thoughts written down; others he spits stream-of-conscious style until something sticks. Sometimes the rest of the 10k gang is in the room, and others, like today, they’re just around the corner in the makeshift living room, posted up on the centered couch and playing Skate 4. The point is, they’re always just an arm’s reach away.After a full day locked in at the studio, Niontay takes a moment to revel in his accomplishments this year. He pours a glass of Rémy Martin, neat, just how his grandfather would have it, and raises it, surrounded by the very people who he says “put the battery in his back” to get him to where he is today.“Just like my grandpa, I celebrate all my successes with Rémy Martin,” he shares, toasting to a milestone year behind him, and an even grander one ahead.Read more at Hypebeast