Your Old Droog Delivers Straight Rhymes, No Gimmicks At NYC Debut

Don’t get it twisted; Your Old Droog isn’t Nas. Three months ago the Internet was curious about Droog, who released his self-titled EP on SoundCloud with little to no impact. However, rap fans noticed that he had a similar pitch to a young Nas, and the conspiracy theories quickly took over the Internet. Nearly every listener who played the EP thought Nas was releasing new music under another moniker and were convinced Droog was the legendary rapper in disguise. They continued to argue that Droog and Nas’s references, rhyme patterns and pitch were all similar, furthering the theory that these weren’t two different people.

With the hype at an all-time high, hip-hop blogs like NahRight debunked the claim, saying that they’ve met the 25-year-old Coney Island native in the flesh. Obviously, he wasn’t Nas. But for other skeptics, they needed a live show to put an end to the controversy. Last night (Sept. 3), Your Old Droog performed his first headlining New York concert with Queens’ own Timeless Truth and buzzing Boston rapper Michael Christmas. If Troy Ave is championing restoring the feeling in the Big Apple, Your Old Droog is right there on his heels. Packed with rap fans ranging from backpackers to Paul Rosenberg and NBC News correspondent Tamron Hall (Droog made a song called “On The News” dedicated to her), Webster Hall was an underground show with the type of energy that couldn’t be replicated.

After Michael Christmas warmed up the crowd, Timeless Truth brought their raw lyricism, bringing out Sean Price for “Shut The Fuck Up.” They ended their set by leading one of many “Your Old Droog” chants throughout the night. The excitement of seeing him live was building in the crowd. Within an hour, the lights dimmed dark and Droog started to rap from backstage. Interestingly enough, he didn’t go on right away. He kept his identity concealed a bit longer and played along with the idea of Droog is Nas theory. Finally, the tall and stocky MC emerged to a bunch of cheers, firing his razor sharp rhymes from “Bad To The Bone.” "I'm like the new hologram!" he joked. Rocking a baby blue Philadelphia Phillies jersey, baggy jeans and some dirty Timbalands, Your Old Droog comes out with an air of humility. Instead, he’s focused on delivering one thing that got him looks in the first place—dope music.

“We put the project out, we had no images and shit. It was just the music,” he explained during “Free Turkey.” “That’s all we put out! The music. And motherfuckers got on their fucking conspiracy shit. Yo! Good looking though. Y’all are my street team. Shout out to y’all!”

Droog continued to hold down the boom bap joints on songs like “Nutty Bars” and “Loosey In The Store With Pennies.” In between his songs, DJ Skizz supplied the breaks of classic Nas tracks and other throwbacks like Next’s “Real Close” in order for him to speak his peace on his growing reputation so far. To really show that Droog was about real rap and no gimmicks, he held a game of dice on stage with Timeless Truth and Sean P. The neighborhood live and direct.

At about 10 p.m., Droog wrapped up his concert with the fan favorite “You Know What Time It Is.” What seemed like an exhausting effort for him was pretty refreshing for the audience, as they gave him a loud round of applause after it was over. In this climate of different sub-genres mixing into the core of hip-hop, Droog acts like an ambassador for the old guard, paying homage to the greats before him. Even if he isn’t really Nas, Droog can rap. And that’s all that matters.—Eric Diep

Previously: Your Old Droog Featuring Rast RFC “No Message”
Your Old Droog Featuring Prodigy “Hoodie Weather”
Your Old Droog “Sleepers” (Prod. By Larry Fisherman)