"Jethro Tull meets Death Row:" Your Old Droog Unleashes Rock-Themed KINISON EP (Soundcloud Download)
"Last year, a mysterious rapper named Your Old Droog came out of nowhere with a self-titled mixtape. He sounded so much like Illmatic-era Nas that people thought it really was Nas, rapping under a Clockwork Orange-inspired pseudonym. Well, no, as it turns out, Your Old Droog is just some white guy from Coney Island," Stereogum "Hip-Hop Head In Chief" Tom Breihan wrote in a recently penned Your Old Droog-centric piece. Following a whirl-wind year, which showcased two 2014-issued releases, Your Old Droog [LP], critically-acclaimed Your Old Droog EP, and a handful of non-album singles, Your Old Droog unleashed an 11-track Rock-themed KINISON EP late Wednesday afternoon. It's littered with inventive Rock "N" Roll samples ranging from Johnny Cash to the Beastie Boys ("Pass The Mic") and at least 40+ cleverly inter-woven references including Sam Kinison, Pornos for Pyros, Rage Against The Machine, and Sonic Youth (track titles); in addition to lyrical allusions to Blind Mellon, Crash Test Dummies, Neil Young, Misfits, The Clash, "Jethro [Tull] meets Death Row," Faith No More, Lisa Loeb, and countless wide-ranging artists.
KINISON EP is really one of those borderline "Rap-Rock" projects that most rappers would likely make sound completely contrived and undeniably corny, but Your Old Droog is such a naturally talented green-horn emcee that he makes it seem so effortless and you can genuinely tell he's a fan of the artists he's rhyming about. It's like I was telling my wonderful girlfriend and resident proof-reader earlier tonight, Your Old Droog is quite easily the most talented rapper I've heard in about 10-12 years... well, aside from America's #1 Rap-Singer, Action Bronson. "It's not like something we planned. I was mentioning a lot of people from the Rock world in my rhymes. It was like, "Yo, I think I gotta tie this thing around, 'cause it's happening too much... Pornos for Pryos... it's like a dope way of saying your sh*t is fire." Your Old Droog recently lamented to Rolling Stone. "It's kind of like useless trivia, so I'm making use of it. I just [have] a memory for useless sh*t. I remember Meredith Brooks; I don't know why."