Your Old Droog "YOD Wave" (EP Stream)

YOD Wave is the latest EP released by Your Old Droog, entirely produced by Nicholas Craven. The 7-track EP features Mach-Hommy and Tha God Fahim. My opinion: the production is a touch lacking, BUT Droog still floats over the eerie sounds and loops, doing what he does best. I'd been on the fence about Droog since the Nas rumors, never having seen an interview that really drew me to him as an artist (specifically as the man behind the music), but he's consistently shown up on records, proving he's a really solid lyricist. I appreciate these collaborative MC/Producer projects for the new chambers they offer us - and I'm waiting on a Droog/Alchemist project which just makes sense to me. Shit... has that happened already? Now, dig into the Droog and Craven's YOD Wave EP below...

Your Old Droog "TIME" (Album Stream)

“This is basically my debut album,” Droog explains. “Some of this material was recorded back in 2017, but I suppose the universe felt it would make more sense if it was released at another point in the future. Hence the name, TIME.” At 15 tracks, the LP features MF DOOM, Aesop Rock, Elzhi, Blu, Mick Jenkins and Wiki, as well as production from Mono En Stereo, Awhlee, Argov, Edan, Budgie, Roper Williams, Quelle Chris and 88 Keys. I was on the fence in the early stages of his career and at times looked away, but he's consistently released quality music that keeps me coming back for more - especially lately. TIME adds another quality release to his ever-expanding catalog. Listen in...

Tha God Fahim x Your Old Droog "Tha Wolf On Wall St."

Fahim and Droog, who have collaborated a whole lot over the past few years, have just teamed up for the new album Tha Wolf On Wall St. There’s some beautiful kismet in the two of them releasing an album with that title today, after Wall Street fuckery has been all that anyone’s been talking about this week. But Tha Wolf On Wall St. isn’t a concept album about Robinhood. It’s just a relaxed, casual, extremely strong rap record. Fahim produced all of Tha Wolf On Wall St. himself, and his beats have a jazz-inflected boom-bap float. As rappers, Fahim and Droog both sound thoughtful and locked-in. The only guest is New Jersey’s Mach-Hommy, and he always sounds comfortable next to Droog and Fahim. - StereoGum. I wasn't really expecting to like this project, but I actually do... and I don't know enough about Tha God Fahim to say much, so I've deferred to those in the know. I credit Fat Beats distro for pushing me over the edge to give it some burn. I'll come back to it again later in the year, too, see how it hits me after another listen. This is my own bookmark, lol. Listen below...

Your Old Droog "Dump Yod: Krutchy Edition" (Album Stream)

Your Old Droog has released his latest offering, Dump YOD: Krutoy Edition. The project follows three LPs released in 2019, but this year, the artist - who Consequence of Sound calls “one of the most prolific, beloved, and reliably clever New York rappers” - has leaned into his Eastern European roots for a surprising new project (Droog even raps one song entirely in Russian) that is as dope as anything he's released in his impressive catalog. Dump YOD: Krutoy Edition was executive produced by Mach Hommy, and mixed by Tha God Fahim, who both feature on the project alongside other guest appearances from Billy Woods, Tvoy, Phonte, El-P, and Black Thought. Hear Droog's LP below...

Your Old Droog "Jewelry" (Album Stream)

Inimitable rap musician Your Old Droog is back. After recently releasing the acclaimed projects "It Wasn't Even Close" and "Transportation", the prolific artist is returning with the brand new album "Jewelry". The album is a celebration of Your Old Droog's Jewish heritage, which he is now officially revealing to the public for the first time. "Jewelry" features guest appearances from the likes of Matisyahu, MF DOOM, and Mach-Hommy (who also wears the hat of executive producer on the project), with beats by Quelle Chris, Tha God Fahim, Edan, Preservation, and more. "I'm a Jew in America", says Droog. "This is my story. Shalom." Listen to Your Old Droog's Jewelry album below... 

Your Old Droog "Transportation" (Album Stream)

Acclaimed Ukrainian-American rapper Your Old Droog recently made waves with the unexpected release of "It Wasn’t Even Close", a brand new album that drew widespread attention after dropping in April with no advance warning. Fresh off this success, your old pal is returning less than two months later with "Transportation." The album features 15 tracks, all of which loosely relate to a method of transportation. “Not everything is literal though,” says the artist, which comes as no surprise considering the man’s penchant for abstract metaphors. "Transportation" finds Your Old Droog returning to the unique remind-you-of-NYC-at-night soundscapes that served as the backdrop to his classic self-titled debut, which was named one of the top 10 albums of 2014 by The New York Times and one of the top 15 rap albums of 2014 by Rolling Stone. Similar to the first project, the bulk of the beats on "Transportation" are handled in-house by eclectic Inwood beat wizard Mono En Stereo. Droog sounds more than at home delivering the audio equivalent of comfort food, with interludes sprinkled around beats and rhymes. Listen to Transportation below...

Your Old Droog "It Wasn't Even Close" (Album Stream)

Without warning or regard, Your Old Droog has delivered his fourth studio album, It Wasn’t Even Close. Released out of the thin blue, the Coney Island rapper’s new project feature’s a who’s who of underground and terrestrial kings, including Wiki, Mach-Hommy, and the mighty DOOM. It Wasn’t Even Close follows Droog’s 2017 album, PACKS, which was released just a few years after rumors of Droog being a pitched-down Nas were debunked. Since then, he’s risen to local hero status as one of NYC’s most gifted and wickedly witty pens. Available digitally; on CD and vinyl. Listen below...

Your Old Droog "PACKS" (Album Stream)

After seemingly coming out of nowhere, Your Old Droog set the internet aflame in 2014 with his self-titled debut EP, catching the attention of bloggers all over the web from New York Magazine’s Vulture to NahRight. Before long, conspiracy theories started and people began to posit that Droog was another older, legendary New York rapper in disguise. Profiled in The New Yorker, Droog (meaning “friend” in Russian) set the record straight about who he was: a twenty-something Ukrainian immigrant who fell in love with hip-hop when he arrived in South Brooklyn as a small child. The timbre of his voice resembled that of a hip-hop legend but Droog’s content had more to it than street dreams or observations from a project window. His music reflected his own unique life experience as he referenced everything from sports, to crime, to Seinfeld and C-Span in his rhymes. He was an intelligent hoodlum with a stand-up comedian’s sense of humor—unafraid to be as self-deprecating as he was self-aggrandizing. On his critically-acclaimed debut, the Your Old Droog LP, he vowed to “bring back storytelling” and now on his sophomore album, PACKS, Droog delivers on that promise. PACKS is a project for fans of hip-hop’s fundamentals and those who are interested in the progress of the artform. Finally, an album from a new artist that rap fans can truly believe in.

Your Old Droog "The Nicest" (EP Stream)

Your Old Droog was Nas once upon a time. Last year, the Brooklyn MC set Rap Twitter ablaze when he dropped Your Old Droog EP out of nowhere. However, people weren't talking about the music per say. He sounds like Nas, or at least that's how everybody felt at first listen. Rumors started to spread that Droog was Nas' Internet alter-ego, a way to keep the chip-toothed Don as relevant as ever, a way for the veteran to stay sharp and creative. Droog is back a year later with The Nicest EP, a six-track onslaught of clever rhymes and smooth beats produced by DJ Skizz, El RTNC, and Marco Polo. Premiered by Complex, check out The Nicest below as well as their interview with YOD.

Your Old Droog "Kinison" (EP Stream)

It's not every mixtape that name-drops Robert Johnson and names tracks after Sonic Youth. Your Old Droog's new Kinison EP does both of those things, as well as making an anti-rap comedy routine by the late comedian Sam Kinison it's intro. Clearly inspired by rock music, the EP includes previously-released track "Porno For Pyros" (which is, not incidentally, the name of another rock group) and callbacks to rock legends like Neil Young and Shirley Manson on nearly every track. In other words, yeah, we definitely know this dude isn't Nas now. Production on the Kinison EP is handled by El RTNC, DJ Skizz and Marco Polo. Dig into Your Old Droog's latest EP offering, Kinison...

Your Old Droog "Your Old Droog" (EP Stream)

I tend to be far removed from social media and what's "buzzing," but even I caught wind of people chattering about this mysterious rapper by the name of Your Old Droog, who people speculated could actually be Nas, recording under a different name (for label reasons). Yet, no one aside from the homie DJ Skizz knew the artist the internet was talking about, lol. Now that the rumors have been debunked by all major news outlets and people with common sense, there's the question of what will Your Old Droog do with the rock now that he's go it? When it comes down to the music, any comparison to Nas means you've done a lot of things right, so no one can deny the talent here. It's a matter of next steps and how he carries the comparisons. I'm eager to see! In the meantime, you can stream the EP below and form your own opinion on the music. I dig the EP, check it out...