Reviews

Your Old Droog – Kinison

I’ve been known to shower Your Old Droog with praise – in fact he was one of my top 5 of 2014; although, it’s hard to argue the opposite. It’s not often in today’s landscape that a white rapper isn’t even acknowledged by critics as a white rapper. Maybe that’s because he isn’t part of the problem in today’s hip-hop culture. If anything he’s a trailblazer who’s helping to steer our ship towards the promised land it was once on course for. Much like Action Bronson, his ora seems authentic, making his appeal less forced than some of his peers.

Back in the line of fire – saying my style is dated is like is checking to see if wine expires.

– Your Old Droog from the song Porno For Pyros

True to his out of nowhere approach, the once faceless (Nas-ish sounding) Droog dropped his latest EP yesterday called Kinison, much to my joy. While his first album was full of gritty jazz, soul and funk samples – tamed by DJ Skizz – this latest effort contains a cornucopia of rock nods; however, this album is (sonically) all hip-hop sans the 90’s rock references sprinkled throughout.

Droog expands his production team slightly as El RMTC and Marco Polo help Skizz with heavy lifting this time around. This album is full of bangers. Standouts for me were the Skizz produced Porno For Pyros, which I recognized from his Sway appearance, Gentrify My Hood, in which Droog discusses CI’s (apparent) lack of amenities and lastly the Marco Polo produced Sonic Youth. Understand me though, that’s subjective, because tracks like Blood and Homicide will have you breaking rewind buttons. There is literally no filler.

He’s more than a similar voice. Droog stays true to himself, and once again puts together a cohesive project that ignores conventions (set by radio and mass media). This album seems slightly more approachable for some reason – I’m struggling to fully put my finger on it – which may make him slightly easier for some to digest. With an upcoming tour with PRhyme 2015 is looking like a good year for CI’s finest.

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Riley About Author

Riley here — father, artist, videographer, professional writer and SERIOUS hip-hop head. I'm a member of the Universal Zulu Nation, and I think everything is better on vinyl. Add me on Twitter! @specialdesigns