It was late 2017. G-Eazy and Halsey were the "it" couple of the moment, a collision of slick Bay Area rap and moody alt-pop that felt almost too curated for the tabloids. Then came the song. Him & I music wasn't just another radio play; it was a high-stakes, Bonnie and Clyde-inspired anthem that captured a very specific, volatile kind of chemistry. You couldn't escape it. Whether you were in a grocery store or scrolling through Instagram, that haunting chorus was everywhere.
Honestly, it’s rare for a celebrity collaboration to age well. Most of them feel like business transactions—two labels shaking hands to maximize streaming numbers. But there was something raw about this one. It felt dangerous. It felt like they actually believed the "ride or die" lyrics they were spitting, even if the real-life ending was a lot messier than the music video suggested.
The Story Behind the Collaboration
People often forget that at the time, G-Eazy was riding the massive success of The Beautiful & Damned. He needed a centerpiece for the album, something that bridged the gap between his hip-hop roots and the pop-leaning crossover success he was chasing. Halsey was the perfect foil. She wasn't just a featured artist; she was a creative force who brought a sense of desperate loyalty to the track.
The recording process wasn't some sterile studio session. They were deep in their relationship, which gave the vocal takes an authentic weight. When Halsey sings about being "crazy" and "out of her mind," it didn't sound like a script. It sounded like a confession. The song peaked at number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100, but its impact on digital culture was way bigger than its chart position. It became the soundtrack for a million "couple goals" edits, ironically becoming the anthem for relationships that probably should have ended much sooner.
Why the Him & I Music Video Felt So Real
Usually, music videos are overproduced. You have a hundred crew members, craft services, and a director screaming through a megaphone. For "Him & I," they took a different route. They went to New York City with a small crew and basically just... hung out.
They walked across the Brooklyn Bridge. They ate pizza. They rode the subway.
It looked like high-quality home movies. Because of that DIY aesthetic, the audience felt like they were voyeurs watching a real private moment. That’s the secret sauce of him & i music. It stripped away the "rapper" and "pop star" personas and replaced them with two people who looked genuinely obsessed with each other. It’s hard to fake that kind of body language.
A Technical Look at the Production
If you strip back the celebrity drama, the track is actually a masterclass in mid-2010s production.
- The Tempo: It sits at a comfortable 144 BPM, giving it that driving, double-time feel that works in clubs and cars.
- The Key: Written in B Minor, which naturally evokes a sense of tension and melancholy.
- The Contrast: G-Eazy’s verses are rhythmic and grounded, while Halsey’s vocals stay airy and ethereal in the higher register.
The beat, produced by Edgar Machuca and Dakari, uses a pulsing synth line that almost mimics a heartbeat. It’s subtle. It keeps you on edge. That’s why it doesn't feel dated in 2026. While other songs from 2017 sound like relics of a specific "trap-pop" era, this one feels more like a timeless dark-pop ballad.
The Toxic Romance Narrative
Let's be real. The song glorifies a "us against the world" mentality that is, in hindsight, pretty unhealthy. Lyrics like "cross my heart, hope to die" and "if I go down, I'm taking you with me" are peak melodrama. But that’s exactly why people love it.
Music is an escape. We don't always want healthy, communicative, well-adjusted songs. Sometimes we want the high-intensity, "cross-the-line" kind of love. The song tapped into the same cultural vein as Natural Born Killers or Suicide Squad. It gave listeners a way to romanticize their own chaotic lives.
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When the couple eventually split—and the subsequent "Without Me" era from Halsey began—the song took on a new, darker meaning. It became a time capsule. It’s the sound of a relationship at its absolute peak right before the inevitable crash. You can hear the cracks if you listen closely enough now.
Comparing It to Other Rap-Pop Duets
To understand why this specific track stayed relevant, you have to look at its peers. You had "Love the Way You Lie" by Eminem and Rihanna, which was far more aggressive and literal about domestic struggle. You had "My Favorite Part" by Mac Miller and Ariana Grande, which was soulful and sweet.
Him & I music sits right in the middle. It’s not as violent as Eminem’s work, but it’s definitely not as innocent as Mac’s. It’s "lifestyle" music. It’s the sound of leather jackets, cigarettes at 2 AM, and expensive hotel rooms. It’s aspirational in a gritty, messy way.
Most collaborations today feel forced. You see a TikTok artist paired with a legacy rapper just to game the algorithm. This felt like a moment in time that couldn't be recreated, mostly because the personal stakes were so high for both artists.
Impact on G-Eazy and Halsey’s Careers
For G-Eazy, this was a career-defining hit. It proved he could handle a massive pop hook without losing his cool factor. For Halsey, it solidified her status as the queen of features who could outshine the main artist on their own track.
- It dominated the Mainstream Top 40 charts for weeks.
- It racked up over a billion streams across platforms.
- It changed how labels marketed "couple" collaborations for the next five years.
Even though they've both moved on—Halsey into motherhood and more experimental rock-adjacent sounds, and G-Eazy through various stylistic evolutions—they are still asked about this song in almost every retrospective interview. It’s the shadow they can’t quite shake.
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How to Capture That Sound Today
If you're a creator or a musician trying to capture the vibe of him & i music, it’s not just about the gear. Sure, you could use a Juno-style synth and a crisp 808, but the "vibe" is in the storytelling.
- Focus on the "Us" vs. "Them": The lyrics should create a wall between the protagonists and the rest of society.
- Use Visual Storytelling: Notice how the lyrics mention specific places like "downtown" or "the 405." Specificity breeds authenticity.
- Don't Over-Polish the Vocals: Leave in the breath sounds. Keep the slightly imperfect takes. That’s what makes it feel human.
The reality is that we might not see another "Him & I" moment for a while. The music industry is too fragmented now. We have "micro-hits" on TikTok that last for two weeks and then vanish. This was one of the last "monoculture" hits where everyone was looking at the same two people at the same time.
Moving Forward With Your Playlist
If you’re revisiting this era of music, don't just stop at the radio edits. Look for the live performances, specifically the one on Saturday Night Live. You can see the tension. You can see the way they look at each other. It adds an entirely different layer to the audio.
Music isn't just about the notes on a page or the files on a hard drive. It's about the context. Him & i music is a masterclass in context. It’s a tragedy wrapped in a pop song, and that’s why we’re still talking about it nearly a decade later.
To get the most out of this track in 2026, try listening to it alongside Halsey’s "Without Me" and G-Eazy’s "Had Enough." It creates a three-act play of a relationship’s rise, peak, and eventual destruction. It’s a fascinating, if somewhat heartbreaking, listening experience that shows just how much life can change between the first take and the final mix.
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Check your favorite streaming platform for the remastered versions or the "The Beautiful & Damned" anniversary editions to hear the production nuances that were compressed in the original radio versions. Seeing the evolution of these artists since this release provides a perspective you just couldn't have had back in 2017.