It's a blisteringly hot day in April, but not inside the air-conditioned Bay 8 Studio in North Miami Beach where $not is rocking his signature hoodie paired with black pants — both of which appear iridescent thanks to the purple-neon hue emitting from the lights above. But instead of wearing the hood cinched tightly around his face the way he usually does, New Times caught the rapper in rare form, with his dreads and facial hair clearly visible. The New York-born Lake Worth resident usually doesn't mind a horde of people smoking weed and drinking around him while he's recording. Yet, during this late-afternoon session, $not is accompanied only by a sound engineer and one close friend.