In Hip Hop, garnering attention through secrecy has recently become a peculiar form of irony. Only so many artists have achieved it, yet it is a tactic that has long been employed. In the realms of Rap and R&B, artists like Jay Electronica and The Weeknd both released music using the web in order to mask their identities. U.K.-based Graffiti artist and painter, Bansky has a large following despite his audience not knowing who he really is. The latest name to be added to this list is Your Old Droog. Once believed to be Nas in disguise, Droog’s music has captivated the imagination of many hoping for another reinvention of “God’s Son.” On his self-titled EP however, Droog establishes many distinguishing factors between himself and Nas, while providing a fundamental similarity that his “debut is sick like Illmatic.”
“Gunsmoke Cologne”—perhaps the song that most efficiently validated Nas comparisons—is merely a window into the incredibly agile lyricism of Droog. Produced by DJ Skizz, it treads the boundaries between on-the-corner attitude and black tie affairs. As Droog states, he is a “band leader with his hand on the heater.” At a running speed, he slips in moments of insight, rapping, “Made it through hell and kept the essence of what I do intact / So the lies I do tell be truer than your facts,” while also dishing out punch lines.
As the rest of the EP proves, Droog is well rounded in his use of punch lines, commentary, bravado, the usage of themes and most especially, wordplay. There are countless lines to cite as examples of his manipulation of words. “Nutty Bars,” serves a testament to his skill.
“Internet thugs ain’t doing a thing / Got caught with the Google Chrome and now they up in the Bing,” he raps, clearly focusing his punch line in on a specific target. He also says “‘What’s cracking?’ to a Blood,” calling it a “Freudian Crip,” on the song “U47” and gets fellatio in his car on “Droog’s Anthem,” calling it “V-Neck.”
As far as song structure goes, Droog balances out his long-winded verses with gems like the humorous and self-deprecating, “Good Times…” However, it may be safe to say that his best display of songwriting is “Droog’s Anthem.” Coated with an easygoing, feel-good sound and hook, the song is actually a complex analysis of Droog as he finds identity through his anonymity.
“I try to put it aside but Droogs we need to provide / Plus it won’t leave me alone,” he croons, presumably in regards to the Rap game. He then comes to the conclusion that, “If I’m going to do this, I need to be the biggest star that I can be.”
In Anthony Burgess’ A Clockwork Orange, Droog was a slang term used to connote “friend.” The emcee has now used the name as a sort of extension of his subterfuge. As the EP proves, along with songs like “Droog’s Anthem,” there is a powerful familiarity found in an artist who chooses to mask his or herself amongst the general population. What Droog and his audience want is essentially the same thing, and it’s not another Nas imitator. It is an artist who is original, and brave enough to distinguish himself from the “Internet thugs,” or whoever compromises in hopes to attain fame and attention.
ill track
The future of rap music, period. 5 stars.
5 stars.
Lil Wayne > this
Lil Wayne
Man I can’t stop going back to this, it is fucking incredible. Fuck the Nas comparisons, this dude is the truth Some of the punchlines on here made me rewind 10 times, Nutty Bars and Loosie are untouchable
Where can I get this?
On Your Old Droog’s Soundcloud.
Sick EP been bumping it in the ride for almost the past month now at first I was almost convinced this was some avant-garde Nas project. Still I can’t believe how little has actually come out about this kid, no interviews, no freestyles, no amateur battles or even a social media trail save for one alleged dark blurry photo. But I have heard DJ Eclipse has met him.
Crazy dope! Some of the best flows I’ve heard in years
This is what Hip Hop is about. Well produced beats, well-thought verses and catchy hooks. There’s no bad tracks – just sit down, shut up and listen to the music. I seriously hope he drops an album as soon as possible. Couldn’t believe how good this guy could be… Never ever heard of him, but suddenly he drops probably this year’s best songs. More YOD, please!
if this isnt nas its foul its pure clone nostalgia the kid can rap but anyone on this post could do the same if you stole nas patters vocal tones retro beats even .. even the way he uses the retro queens phrases can show you its not original i hope this is not the future of hiphop copying artist from the 90’s golden era .. and look nas borrowed from rakim and kool-g rap and so did pun god rest his soul but they made it into there own!! all art is based of of some type of creative originality this isnt!! this is dope for a nas parody but not to be taken serious..
Game does copy a lot of 90’s rappers but no one says soemthing about it?????
Lmao if it isn’t Nas it’s probably Game.
Nas has never used this good beats.
I thought so too. respect.
anonymous #3 never heard Illmatic i guess. youngster.
DUDE give it up. In hiphop you need to be Original! YOU JUST SOUND LIKE NAS
It’s Nas suckers.
You clowns are on crack. Nas if from New York, This man is also from New York. So YES, they may sound similar in terms of accent and dialect but this man’s flow and voice are distinctly far from Nas. Nas is more high pitched, even today he still sounds high pitched whereas Your Old Droog had a deeper much lower pitch.
You niggas are so stupid, seriously. Automatically you will assume that because he’s on Nas’ label, he’s Nas. You clowns are forgetting about Scarlett from Street’s Disciple, the one alter ego his fans know about on Live Now.
Dude made a classic ep. The thing that’s so amazing about him is that he actually crafts lyrics that I feel nas woulda thought up. Gun smoke cologne sounds like it came out the Gods book of rhymes. Droog is more than a clone.. He’s a talented mc that showed us that there are still new cats that are capable of getting sick with the pen and creating a classic outta nowhere. Props to dj skizz.
Imo it’s nas. He even mentions his pbs special he did not long ago? Great project either way though
Nice try buts its really not nas, but thanks for playing
How can you be so sure?
killin’ it
got my attention can you buy this ep?
have any of you heard “Who Killed It?” from Hip Hop Is Dead? Nas can play a different voice. This entire style is NAS, this is Nas.
this is nas and doom. i’ve been listening to nas my whole life. if you think this is not nas you have not listened to the ep. there are so many clues throughout.
MINI ME’S U CAN HOLD UP, BEFORE YOU END UP WET UP FROM MY SOLDIERS DON SHIT!!!!! -NaS ..this mofo is not nas, he spent his whole life copying his mannerisms….lyrically its obvious…Stop this BS!!!!!! f outta here f boys!!!!!!
it’s Nas you fucking morons.
He dropped a new Droog track today called Free Turkey. He says “with the re-issue for the collector’s” talking about the illmatic 20th anniversary reissue.
So fucking obvious.
Pretty damn sure this is Nas with all the little clues dropped throughout. If it IS Nas this shit is dope. If it ISN’T Nas this dude is a wack biting piece of garbage. The internet telling me it isn’t Nas ain’t enough either. When I see the supposed white Russian dude rapping these lyrics, the shit will get deleted from my hard drive.
so you like it but you’ll delete it if the rapper ends up being russian. racist much?
yeah that’s right you fucking clown I’d delete it because he’s white and Russian. no fool because dude would just be biting the fuck out of Nas style, patterns, and even mimicking his voice. i would stop liking it if it wasn’t Nas. that shit wouldn’t be creative, just a carbon copy of somebody who made their own name for themselves. i am super fucking racist tho, against whatever the fuck you are.
That’s pretty sad. I feel sorry for you.
weak rebuttal bruh. did you even read the comment? don’t feel sorry for me buddy, sure my life is better than yours
What clues nigga? This is a Russian kid from Bushwick. Clean your ears out.
That’s pretty stupid. If it’s the white russian kid doesn’t that make him an excellent impersonator?…like it’s not like he’s cashing in millions for you to hate him for being a carbon copy. All the other carbon copies are raping the music to make a buck. It’s like you dissing everyone who learnt how to dance like michael jackson (thats alot of people brah). Anyways clean yours ears out motherfuckaz it’s Nas. “PBS throwing my special on” and it was put out my Mass Appeal…Nas’s mag…like seriously. He’s trolling you. How the fuck can you listen to that voice and think it’s a white russian dude lmao.
Nas all day! Best ever done it
I can’t believe people think this matters whether this is Nas or not. Even if this is fake, it’s an amazingly talented MC and his punchlines are hilariously well crafted. I haven’t enjoyed a hip hop EP this much on the first listen in a long time. That being said, this should have deserved 4.5 stars.
@therealdroog check it out
Its me shhhhh.
Whoever he is, he is dope. I personally don’t think that it is Nas but I am not saying that it couldn’t be. Shock G rapped as Humpty, Madlib as Quasimoto and Stephen King even wrote books as Richard Bachman so artists have succeeded in an alter ego. One way or the other this album is dope.
so dope
This is ine of the best makes this thus far. And i sure bet Droog b Nas
Brilliant, and provided it is Nas, will prove to be timeless. If it’s not Nas, it’s a damn shame such a talented rapper couldn’t find his own way to express himself without biting so hard.
great ep 5/5..and its definitely nas
its not Nas,no ones stupid for thinking so,because it sounds like him for sho,but its not.
Nice
DX you are joke. You give this album a 4???? The same rating you give Kelis, Trey Songz, and Ab-Soul. Unreal. God’s son murdering every track dropping more bars in 1 EP than most emcees release in four albums. This Nas EP will stand the test of time. Easily the best album of the last ten years. Easily.
it is not Nas, it’s a white Russian kid from BK, i’ve been in the studio with him, he actually gets mad that people think he sounds like Nas, anyone wanna bet on this? I got $1,000.00 cash that says it is a white russian kid, because I’ve met him and worked with him, dude is mad corny. Don’t believe me, it was at the Engine Room in NYC 3 weeks ago, right before his dumbass went and did a song with Mac Miller. Facts. Put your money up you think otherwise.
I don’t give a fuck who he is…he’s dope.
Disloyal? You’re a fool. Or this a weak attempt at trying to perpetuate the obvious falsehood that is a white kid — that raps about Ego Trip magazine, Sacha Jenkins, refers to Irv Gotti by his first name, speaks of the “reissue for the collectors” — meaning the illmatic reissue that just dropped, etc. etc. etc.
Sacha Jenkins, the creative director or whatever he does at Mass Appeal, came up with this project for Nas to rhyme under this new pen name. It was his article that first introduced the world to Droog with the write up for Nutty Bars months ago. The bio was obviously made up.
This Nas EP will go down as the best album of 2014 by far.
http://www.soundcloud.com/151becardi
“Overseen by Tim Dog” HA! This project is brilliant from every angle…
Guys, I’m pretty sure that this guy is Russian or he knows something about Russian language, because Droog==Friend(as a translation), so Russians have a popular phrase “My old friend” and it seems like similar to it, think about it
C’mon Sunn, this IS Nas %100. Good try, respekt to ya OGs. 5
everybody talking about your old droog being nas, well a video just came out of droog rapping and guess what? he ain’t nas