Every era in hip hop has its own “mystery rapper,” who emerges from out of nowhere with a distinctive and engaging style but no video or public appearances to support him. Back in the late 90’s, early 2000’s, we had The Madd Rapper(later revealed to be Bad Boy Entertainment’s, D-Dot Angelettie) and today we have Your Old Droog. Many speculated that the mc was actually Nas(his tone, delivery, references and metaphors are nearly identical- pitch correct the vocals & you can remove the “nearly” part), but those “in the know” claim he is actually a Russian kid from Brooklyn.
The few images on the ‘net highlighting the rapper “seem” convincing, although the person showcased could easily be a figurehead “in on the joke” assigned to further mask Nas’ true identity. It would make sense for an artist of Nas’ stature to pull a stunt like this. It allows him full creative freedom without industry interference. It seems that the public at large won’t know the truth for a long time…Hmm, maybe not THAT long with today’s spoiler driven society. Either way, Droog’s self titled EP is raw hip hop at it’s best. Mac Miller claims to have recently cut a track with the elusive emcee, so there will definitely be new music on the way. And who really cares if it is or isn’t Nas? Action Bronson sounds a lot like Ghostface and we respect and love ’em both! Much success to Your Old Droog and the winking “Clockwork Orange” reference(“Droog” means friend) in his name.
Below is the EP. Sample it for yourself. We followed it up with, “Rhyme Strange,” a murky track from when the lyricist called himself, Imaginary Droog(The key word here is: imaginary)and sounded more like The Game.
