Your Old Droog - Jewelry - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

New York rapper Your Old Droog's career got a jump-start with a case of mistaken identity. When Droog released a self-titled ten-song EP online in April of 2014, his raspy voice, effortless flow, and the throwback sound of his loop-heavy beats had some hip-hop fanatics convinced that InchYour Old DroogInch was simply an under-the-radar alias for rap superstar Nas. This speculation was aided by several nebulous references to Nas-related topics in the lyrics and production akin to DJ Premier's strongest work in the early '90s, all of which gave the scrappy but incredibly strong EP a decidedly swaggering East Coast feel that aspired to the lofty heights of Nas' 1994 breakthrough, Illmatic. These rumors were soon disproved as Your Old Droog made his presence known more publicly, gaining enough steam from his online tracks to eventually expand the EP into a self-titled debut full-length. Listening to the the jazzy piano loops of tracks like InchNutty BarsInch or the breezy, muted samples of InchU 47,Inch it's easy to see why fans were willfully hopeful that Droog was a Nas alter ego. While he has his own lyrical approach, the throwback style of the production harks back to the hungry early-'90s days of New York hip-hop, with tracks like InchYou Know What Time It IsInch riding truncated, spooky RZA-esque beats that would sound at home on any of the early releases by the family of Wu-Tang artists. InchGood TimesInch is an especially bright spot, Droog laying out a storytelling rhyme scheme over nostalgic samples of far-off trumpet and acoustic guitar noodling. Your Old Droog's portraits of New York street life may sound cribbed from a different time, and the comparisons to Nas' rough rhymes and blissfully jagged beats are understandable, but a solid listen to this debut reveals there's more going on than an emulation of times gone by. Droog's affinity for beats with a '90s f

Your Old Droog is back with the new album InchTIMEInch. The first 2021 solo from the acclaimed Brooklyn rapper, InchTIMEInch features appearances by MF DOOM, Aesop Rock, Mick Jenkins, Elzhi, Blu, and Wiki. As the title indicates, the project is the culmination of years of work. InchThis is basically my debut album,Inch Droog explains. InchSome 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.Inch Featuring production by Quelle Chris, 88 Keys, Edan, Mono en Stereo, and more, InchTIMEInch was a surprise on digital outlets, and is now available in physical form.

Jon Neufeld and Martha Scanlan's unique alchemy on stage began ten years ago when they first played Portland's Indie Roots festival Pickathon together. It was an immediate friendship and musical connection that has only deepened with time and years spent touring festivals and venues across the country, the sense of adventure and improvisation in the music becoming more fluid and expansive with each show, each passing mile. In January 2020, when so much began to shift and live shows ground to a halt, what began as a loose plan to work on a new record seemed to become a musical journey of it's own, a necessary sort of refuge. They began passing songs and ideas back and forth from their respective homes/studios; Martha in Western Montana and Jon in Portland Oregon, often in the early hours before the world was awake, often waiting to listen to the track until tape was rolling, almost as though the improvisational live interaction onstage was occurring over time and space, in slow motion. The result is a continuing collaborative project in motion, an unfolding story.