Your Old Droog – “YOD Serling” review

Ukrainian-American lyricist Your Old Droog’s dropping off his 11th EP albeit the 2nd & final one in 2025. Breaking out through his self-titled debut, many actually first thought he was an alter ego of Nas given that their voices are somewhat similar. He eventually became a legend in his own right off later projects such as Packs as well as It Wasn’t Even Close, TIME & the Nicholas Craven-produced YOD Wave. I didn’t think YOD Stewart, Yodney Dangerfield, The Yodfather & The Shining were as great in my opinion although they most certainly had their highlights & Movie the summer prior became a depiction of his life on wax. 4 whole weeks since anything‘s possible & YOD Serling has arrived only less than a week away from Christmas.

“Suspects” produced by Edan begins by chopping up a chipmunk soul sample so YOD can vividly tell the story of a robbery taking place & after “Pitstop” takes the boom bap route instrumentally talking about still enjoying the simpler things whenever he question why he came back in town, “Ghostwriter” goes drumless thanks to Edan once again recalling an artist who reached his apex & went on to use ghostwriters.

The song “Victims of the Streets” runs it back with Edan for the last time continuing to show off the latter’s ear for sampling & Droog remembers those who lost their lives in the hood because of poverty while “Freekazoid” sends off the EP going for a rugged boom bap vibe thanks to K-Nite 13 referencing the underrated mid-90s animated series Freakazoid! owned by Warner Bros. & Amblin Entertainment.

Originally announced in May of 2017, it could be considered a Christmas miracle by people like me who’ve been closely paying attention to Your Old Droog since my senior year of high school when his eponymous debut was made that YOD Serling has finally arrived & come to prefer it more than anything’s possible. 60% of the production preludes YOD’s next full-length set to be entirely produced by Edan & the lyricism focuses more around his abilities to tell stories.

Score: 4/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

Your Old Droog – “anything’s possible” review

48 hours following it’s announcement, Ukrainian-American lyricist Your Old Droog’s 10th EP is here. Breaking out through his self-titled debut, many actually first thought he was an alter ego of Nas given that their voices are somewhat similar. He eventually became a legend in his own right off later projects such as Packs as well as It Wasn’t Even Close, TIME & the Nicholas Craven-produced YOD Wave. The 4 last EPs he’s given us YOD Stewart, Yodney Dangerfield, The Yodfather & The Shining weren’t as great in my opinion yet most certainly had their highlights at the same time. Movie became a depiction of his life on wax & wants y’all to know anything‘s possible.

“Game 7” produced by Khrysis starts with a soul sample explaining that practice being the most important thing whereas “Confetti” featuring Count Bass D finds both of them talking about being willing & ready to feel the tiny pieces of streamers raining down. “No More” goes for a rap rock vibe admitting this shit doesn’t feel special anymore & after “Vanilla Fudge” flexes that not many can see him with the grammar, “Bronny” finishes by talking about having sons in the game already over a Kenny Segal instrumental.

Literally the only other time we’ve gotten to hear YOD in 2025 was his feature on “The Rose Bowl”off The High & Mighty’s reunion album Sound of Market, so it makes me happy he gave us a 12 minute extended play to hold fans off until Droogie Otis’ highly anticipated full-length debut. The production feels equally consistent as Movie’s was 17 months ago with the anything’s possible name playing a huge role conceptually.

Score: 4/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

Your Old Droog – “Movie” review

Ukrainian-American lyricist Your Old Droog returning after 2 years for his 9th full-length album. Breaking out through his self-titled debut, many actually first thought he was an alter ego of Nas given that their voices are somewhat similar. He eventually became a legend in his own right off later projects such as Packs as well as It Wasn’t Even Close, TIME & the Nicholas Craven-produced YOD Wave. The 4 EPs he’s given us since YOD Stewart, Yodney Dangerfield, The Yodfather & The Shining weren’t as great in my opinion yet most certainly had their highlights at the same time. So after taking 2023 off, Droog’s releasing a Movie to get summer rolling.

“Success & Power” produced by Just Blaze couldn’t have been a better choice of an opening track from the grand boom bap production to the lyricism about rappers being in comtpetition with each other & YOD being in competition with fish in comparison whereas “Crescent Moon” keeps the kicks & snares in tact going for a rawer approach asking these John Kerry rappers “why the long face?”. Harry Fraud gives “How Do You Do It?” a soulful trap vibe instrumentally admitting that he should’ve been the one asking questions when he was younger just before the drumless “I Think I Love Her” talks about the most important woman in his life other than his mother.

La Musica de Hairy Frog returns behind the boards for the luxurious “Mantra” preaching that no matter how difficult things may get, anything is better than that leading into the piano boom bap crossover “Grandmother’s Lessons” paying tribute to his own grandmother. “Mercury Thermometers” has to be one of my favorite singles building up to the LP since we have Droog dropping more jewels than a Harvard lecture over a Conductor Williams beat leading into “What Else?” aggressively telling artists to tell their listeners an alternative to the cap with Cartune Beatz.

“The Sandbox” keeps it boom bap thanks to K-Nite 13 profoundly looking back on his younger self having no idea that he was gonna be as big as he is in the underground today & after the “Interview” interlude, “3 Milli” thunderously expresses that he’s living so good now to the point that it all feels surreal to him while “Yodi Dodi” hooks up some woodwinds with kicks & snares talking about staying in his own bubble. After another “Interview” interlude, “A Damn Shame” maintains that same energy saying a man ain’t complete without a woman while “DBZ” by Droogie Otis featuring Denzel Curry & Method Man was in my opinion THE strongest single since Madlib’s unique ear for samples come to play sampling “Deep Shadow” by Little Ann for a generational barfest.

To begin the climax of the Movie, the song “Roll Out” radiates jazzy boom bap energy from Harry Fraud telling everybody that sometimes they need to know when to dip while the title track serves as the album’s official closer soulfully promising that he’s gonna stay true to himself until the casket falls. “Care Plan” by Droogie Otis featuring Yasiin Bey on the contrary is the perfect bonus track that YOD himself announced on Twitter a year & a half ago continuing to tease a full Droogie Otis project that in my opinion would feed generations.

YOD Wave is already my favorite EP Droog has ever done & although I still maintain the 4 he put out after weren’t as great as a whole even with their own individual highs, his first LP in over 3 years by far has to be the most I’ve enjoyed a project from him in over 2. It’s more well produced improving on the sounds of jazz rap, boom bap & drumless joined by only a few deserving high profile guest spots basically likening the life he’s lived up to this moment to a feature length film.

Score: 4/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

Your Old Droog – “The Shining” review

This is the 9th EP from Ukrainian-American emcee Your Old Droog. Catching my attention when he dropped his self-titled debut. many actually first thought he was an alter ego of Nas given that their voices are somewhat similar. He eventually became a legend in his own right off later projects such as Packs as well as It Wasn’t Even Close, TIME & the Nicholas Craven-produced YOD Wave. The 3 EPs he’s given us since YOD Stewart, Yodney Dangerfield & The Yodfather weren’t as great in my opinion yet most certainly had their highlights at the same time. So just when I assumed the predecessor was gonna be Droog’s last of 2022, dude’s making me eat my own words by dropping The Shining less than 2 weeks before Christmas.

“Fresh Direct” is an ominous boom bap opener with Droog acknowledging that there ain’t a rapper that he’s not sonnin’ whereas “Brinks Truck” takes a jazzier route to spit the illest shit that he can think of. “We on the Tarmac” has a more spacious vibe talking about not worrying about a thing & being where the stars at prior to TCF Music Group’s very own Che Noir tagging along for the sample based “Room 237” referencing the titular room in the fictional Overlook Hotel from the classic Stanley Kubrick film that the EP is named after. The song “Redrum” with Rock & Tha God Fahim finds the trio over some dusty production to get murderous while the penultimate track “Here’s Johnny” weaves a flute-tinged boom bap beat in talking about catching him where the dough at. “The Hedge Maze” however ends the EP with a ghostly Sadhugold instrumental & Droog looking back on all his fake friends as he freezes to death.

Before I wrap things up here, I just wanna sincerely apologize for jumping the gun & assuming that The Yodfather was gonna be the final offering from Droog before the year ends. Now that’s out of the way, The Shining is absolutely a cut above the last 3 EPs dude has put out. It’s more conceptual as one of the most prominent MCs in the underground today uniquely retells the titularly classic Stephen King tale & it’s cool to see Wino Willy get more shine by producing a bulk of it. Here’s to the impending masterpiece of a Droogie Otis full-length debut in 2023!

Score: 4/5

@legendswill_never_die on Instagram for the best music reviews weekly!

Your Old Droog – “The Yodfather” review

Your Old Droog is a Ukrainian-American underground MC who caught my attention when he dropped his self-titled debut. Many actually first thought he was an alter ego of Nas given that their voices are somewhat similar, but eventually became a legend in his own right off later projects such as Packs as well as It Wasn’t Even Close, TIME & more recently the Nicholas Craven-produced YOD Wave that dropped this past spring. YOD Stewart & Yodney Dangerfield both weren’t as great in my opinion, but certainly had it’s highlights at the same time & had interest in his 8th EP over here which I don’t mind in light of him going on Twitter saying he’ll drop a 6-track EP the next time someone complains to him about another 7-track EP.

The “WW3” freestyle kicks off things off with a drumless soul loop & Droog talking about wanting to get this money before the world ends whereas the Tony Touch freestyle works in a flute courtesy of Sadhugold calling himself the rap Leo DiCaprio. The David Bowie freestyle jumps on top of some impressive vocal chops throughout to talk about being on the road to victory just before “Francis Ford Coppola” comes through with a jazzy boom bap sound thanks to K-Nite 13 expressing his plan to achieve the impossible.

Droogie-La” by Droogie Otis is most definitely my favorite song on the EP from Madlib once again putting his unique ear for samples on display to Droog’s hardcore lyricism while “Zubin Mehta” starts off in drumless chipmunk soul territory talking about standing out in the pack like Lil B. The Munchos freestyle returns to a jazzier sound warning that your homie don’t want the fade kin to song endings with the 3rd & final installment of “90 from the Line” ending the EP in abstract boom bap fashion.

If this is the last EP we’re getting from him in 2022, then I’d say it’s a solid conclusion to the 4 that we got. The production’s just as decent as the last 2 were, but Droog most definitely has one of the best pen-games in the underground today & he definitely makes it a point to remind everyone that here. Whether it’s an EP or an album next year, I’’m always looking forward to hearing new music from him.

Score: 3.5/5

@legendswill_never_die on Instagram for the best music reviews weekly!

Your Old Droog – “Yodney Dangerfield” review

This is the 7th EP from Ukrainian-American emcee Your Old Droog. Catching my attention when he dropped his self-titled debut, many actually first thought he was an alter ego of Nas given that their voices are somewhat similar. He eventually became a legend in his own right off later projects such as Packs as well as It Wasn’t Even Close, TIME & the Nicholas Craven-produced YOD Wave. YOD Stewart came out this past spring & it was ok, but the singles Droog has dropped in the last month had me raised my anticipation for Yodney Dangerfield immensely.

“The Unknown Comic” opens up the EP with an abstract boom bap beat taking about sending his opposition to the G League whereas “The Hand of YOD” works in some pianos to confess that people are just mad at him because he outgrew his peers.“$50K of Brunch” takes a soulful route thanks to Nicholas Craven talking about choosing to flip that bread than have brunch with Hov, but then “The Man on the Moon” mixes a crooning loop & strings provided by Jonwayne to air out some hacks.

The song “The Simpsons” named after the longest running animated series on the Fox Corporation’s flagship property copyrighted by The Walt Disney Company shoots for a cloudier yet dustier aesthetic talking about being the only one at the top while the penultimate track “The Tonight Show” embraces the funk to remind everyone that hoes will treat you like an OutKast unless you got some Stankonia. The Sadhugold-produced “Triple Lindy” ends the album by grimly promising to get his competition in their roots like Black Thought.

Of all 3 of the EPs that Droog has dropped this year, Yodney Dangerfield has to be right behind YOD Wave for my favorite so far. The bars that he spits here are like earworms in a good way & the production compared to YOD Stewart is significantly better too. If “The Return of Sasquatch” is supposed to be on YODFATHER, then my anticipation is very high because it’s one of my favorite singles of the year.

Score: 3.5/5

@legendswill_never_die on Instagram for the best music reviews weekly!

Your Old Droog – “YOD Stewart” review

Your Old Droog is a Ukrainian lyricist by way of Brooklyn, New York who caught my attention when he dropped his self-titled debut & many first thought he was an alter ego of Nas given that their voices are somewhat similar. Nonetheless, he’s reached legend status at this point by proving that he was in his own lane off later projects such as Packs as well as It Wasn’t Even Close & TIME. He just his incredible 5th EP YOD Wave produced entirely by Nicholas Craven almost 3 months ago at this point & is following it up in the form of a 6th EP.

“Nightmares & Dreams” is a psychedelic opener produced by Conductor Williams talking about appreciating the simpler things in life whereas the drumless yet atmospheric “Mind Your Business” saying we’re better off if we don’t stick our noses where it don’t belong. “I Knew You Was a Bitch” works in some pianos to call out an ex of his leading into “Toxic Love” being a more abstract cut detailing how poisonous this woman was to him.

The song “Love & Basketball” mixes in a soul sample & a guitar to describe his new bitch while the penultimate track “Go to Sleep” has a jazzy boom bap flare to it thanks to Tha God Fahim talking about staying home some days to cash out. “The Ballad of Krutoy” ends the EP with some organ melodies admitting that he feels like crying sometimes even though the tears won’t just come out.

Although I find YOD Wave to be more superior, that’s not to say YOD Stewart isn’t worth checking out for those who fuck with Droog as much as I do. The production takes it back to the more abstract vibes of some of his more recent work & I admire how personal the lyrics tend to be during it’s short runtime.

Score: 3.5/5

Your Old Droog – “Space Bar” review

Your Old Droog is a 32 year old MC from Brooklyn, New York who caught my attention when he dropped his self-titled debut & many first thought he was an alter ego of Nas given that their voices are somewhat similar. Nonetheless, the cat has reached legend status at this point by proving that he was in his own lane off later projects such as Packs & It Wasn’t Even Close. He just dropped the incredibly personal TIME over the summer & with only 1 month left in the fall, Droog’s celebrating Cyber Monday by dropping his 8th full-length album.

The titular intro sets it all off with Droog on top of a drumless, atmospheric instrumental talking about living like a Saudi Prince whereas “Cosmonaut” follows it up by going into boom bap territory spitting them battle bars. “Yuri” incorporates a psychedelic rock sample with the help of Nicholas Craven speaking on making money like a Rothschild these days, but then “White Russian” has a bit of a quirky beat talking about how everyone loves him.

Meanwhile on “Bloody Mary”, we have Droog telling the story of a woman attracted to harm accompanied by a more calmer instrumental just before “Babushka IV (Zinfandel)” goes into a jazzier direction calling out anyone who think he’s mid for not understand the slang. “2001: A Space Yodyssey” has a more smokier sound to it basically saying that’s what he’d call his life & after the “Sector 7” interlude, billy woods & Lil Ugly Mane tag along for the Sadhugold-produced “Meteor Man” working in a train whistle loop keeping the battle raps going.

Nickelus F comes into the picture on the summery “Mojito” comparing their rhymes to the titular cocktail while the song “Blue Hawaiian” with Tha God Fahim weaves in a full-blown funk sample getting on their Sopranos shit. And prior to the titular outro, Fahim sticks around for the final song “Dom Perignon” making a toast sipping on the titular champagne over a classy instrumental.

TIME has quickly become my 2nd favorite Droog album behind self-titled, so my expectations were very high given that & the singles leading up to this one. That being said, I was not disappointed at all because the whole space/alcohol concept is well drawn out & it’s really great to see him continue to dive further into the abstract rabbit hole. At this rate, I feel like his next projects produced by Edan & Count Bass D are destined to be immaculate.

Score: 4/5

Your Old Droog – “TIME” review

This is the 7th full-length album from Ukrainian-American emcee/producer Your Old Droog. Emerging in the underground off his self-titled debut, many first thought he was an alter ego of Nas given that their voices are somewhat similar. Nonetheless, the cat has reached legend status at this point by proving that he was in his own lane off later projects such as Packs & It Wasn’t Even Close. But just a little over 4 months after letting his homie Tha God Fahim produce his 4th EP Tha Wolf on Wall St. from front to back, Droog is dropping TIME ahead of 2 singles in the last week

After the titular intro, the first song “The Magic Watch” speaks on finding a watch that will take you back to any moment in time over some strings & dusty drums whereas “Please Listen to My Jew Tape” is a mellowed out reflection of Droog’s career up to this point. The late MF DOOM comes along to advocate self-education on “Dropout Boogie” as Edan incorporates a pots & pans loop into boom bap production while “So High” is a summery weed smoking anthem.

Meanwhile on “Lost Time”, we have Droog hopping on a drumless instrumental explaining that he has the chips to prove that he’s a winner prior to flexing his lyrical prowess on the slyly-produced “You’re So Sick”. We go into a more guitar-driven direction for the depressive “Quiet Time” leading into Aesop Rock & eLZhi stopping through for the exuberant, pleasant “Field of Dreams”. Blu & Mick Jenkins later fill in on “One Move”, which is about the choices you make accompanied by a jazzy beat from Quelle Chris.

“The Other Way” is a dreary depiction of him avoiding negativity while “A Hip Hop Lullaby” is a smoky look back on riding the train with his mom. “Madson Ave” is a homage to the titular road in New York with slick guitar passages provided by 88-Keys & just before the “4:49” outro, the final song “No Time” taps in with Wiki for a meditative ballad about loving your family & friends when they’re still here.

Didn’t think Your Old Droog would drop another project on us this fast, but I’m glad he did because this has a very high chance of becoming the most celebrated album of his entire career. The production is a purist’s wet dream & lyrically, you get to hear YOD at his most personal conceptually stumbling upon a magic watch that allows him to go back in time & visit past versions of him.

Score: 4.5/5