After smashing it out the park on the incredible ‘No Message’ with RAST and the P Brothers, I soon tired of Your Old Droog’s ill-advised singing and overly jazzy beats and stopped paying attention to his output for awhile. Can he lift his game and carve out a niche as someone capable of making a proper rap album in 2017, or will he join the ranks of Mickey Factz and Charles Hamilton as a played out Blog Rap sensation?
‘G.K.A.C’
Regailing the story of a cop killer over a subversive track, Packs begins strongly. The beat change reveals a strong MF Doom influence, a welcome theme which is repeated elsewhere on the LP. Edan’s involvement behind the boards is already paying off.
‘Jeselnik skit 1’
Tastefully brief skit. Well played.
‘I Only’
The Purist hands Droog an ideal tempo for ol’ mate to kick it to. This is the best song I’ve heard from him in a long while.
‘Bangladesh’ feat. Heems
I was beginning to tire of the loop way before Heems stumbled in and tried to play possum, killing the buzz immediately.
‘Grandma Hips’ feat. Danny Brown
DOOM reference number three. This is one of those ‘fun’ beats, like something Chubb Rock would have rocked over in 1992, while Mr. Brown is basically a modern-day Red Hot Lover Lover Tone.
‘Jeselnik Skit 2’
A haunting yet humourous voicemail from Sean P.
‘Just An Interlude’ feat. Chris Crack
Decent enough track but not particularly memorable either.
‘White Rappers (A Good Guest)’
Is this hook meant to be ironic? Regardless, Droog struggles to keep up with faster tempo and sings the hook, so this is a strong ‘no’ from me.
‘Help’ feat. Wiki and Edan
This beat is great, the hook even better. Wiki is basically a modern day Cage, and Edan still raps like it’s 1989, so the end result is pretty amazing. Bonus points for The Door’s ‘This Is The End’ inspired freak-out on the outro. More of this please.
‘Jeselnik Skit 3’
This one elicited a chuckle. Sidebar: I will forever dispise Gangstarr’s ‘At The Mall,’ for reasons which have never quite become clear to me.
‘You Can Do It! (Give Up)’
Another Edan team-up which results in a strong Master Ace ‘Take A Look Around’ vibe, which is a good thing. The echo is strong with this one. Droog gets his ‘cautionary tale’ on in an effective manner.
‘Rapman’
On paper, this should suck. But when Y.O.D. warns his competition off ‘doing weaker versions of what was already done before’ over a blistering 88-Keys track, I was sold.
‘My Girl Is A Boy’
You’ll either be relieved or let-down that this song doesn’t follow in the tradition of ‘A Thing Named Kim,’ but it’s an enjoyable tale either way.
‘Winston Red’
Saving the big guns until last, Alan The Chemist provides a sparse, prog-rock backdrop for Droog to vocabulary spill over. This is certified dope, complete with a fourth DOOM mention, and reminds me of a modern day ‘Jive Talk’ from G Rap’s second album.
The verdict: As is always the case with rap albums, the quality of the beats determines the strength of Droog’s performance. When he’s given the correct tempo and atmosphere to bring out the best of his talents, he really hits his stride and makes a strong case for himself as one of the more interesting New Yorkers making modern rap music. If he decideds to make an entire project with either Edan or Alchemist, there’s a good chance he could deliver some truly classic material, based on the glimpses of the chemistry he has with both of their production styles here. As it stands, Packs is an intriguing album which hints that the best is yet to come from Your Old Droog, who seems determined to leave those goofy Nas comparisons far behind him. Ironically, the only similarity between the two is their constant insistance on poorly sung hooks, but at least Mr. Jones managed to pull it off on ‘Gimme Yours’ and ‘Calm Down’…
Heems>>>>>Edan
when did biting, or at the very least sounding-alike, become acceptable to serious rap people? this guy, the ghost clone. co-signs and basic skills don’t help at all when the main course is a “weaker version” of a 90’s classic maker. this is shameful. how is one of the tenants of rap conservationism not “no sharks allowed?” straight corn.
@Drew “Huge”: ???? WTF ???
@opi beeing that there is actually some nicely done “Classic feel” boom bap beats on this one here dosen’t make this biting. It is, as Rob points out, w YOD all about the beat he is served, and here a bunch of em is served really well. If you wan’t new type hip hop I will suggest you go listen to some Future type BS. I for one like my “modern day” hip hop to be stuck in the late 80’s early 90´s. Call me an old asshole, thats quite alright w. me
it’s pretty tough to be original in hip hop these days if having a similar style to someone else is “biting” but you also have to stick to the same formula for the last 30 years. or people start losing their shit talkin bout “where are the drums!!!”
I don’t know i’ve tried but I’m not sold on this guy at all. He rap pretty well but his music is just missing that “something” that makes me want to hear more.
@opi: Action Bronson, Necro and Droog wear their influences on their sleeve but I don’t consider them biters. I’d be the first to complain if I did.
Stop lying. This album shits on your no drums raoper.
Dope album but the Kenison mixtape was when I was totally convinced.
This is Robbie’s no drums raoper’s favorite rapper’s raoper.
Dope review Robbie. I tend to agree with your assessment, except for your beef with the song The Mall. G-Dep’s verse is on the level of cappadonnas in winter warz.
You should do a tribute to “one verse wonders” aka cats who started off as classic guest appearances got progressively worse on every song they appeared on thereafter.
@Wait: Great idea.
Nas Karaokee is Wack!!!!!!
Am I the only white guy who finds these white rappers biting Black rappers Shameful??????
Elvis Bullshit right here and their white privilege fans who support them. White rappers stick together like White Rice.
@Drew Huge Heems over Edan? Okay, dude.
diamond dave knows what’s up.
i didn’t want to say all that, but it’s right & exact.
if your influences are all over your sleeve like that, you need to wear a new jacket over them and come correct…original. these guys are far from being simply inspired or influenced.
since people take issue with calling these guys biters, i’ll stick to soundalike…which can’t be denied. sounding so much like someone else is criminal in this. should be intolerable for fans of the originals and those who remember when soundalikes were quickly dismissed.
this is not ok.
elvis indeed.
Drew Huge is a homo.
And you’re a homophobic cunt
Yeah; not an Edan fan at all. Liked his early 12s but had the misfortune of meeting him a few times which put me right off him. Heems stuff is patchy but at least he’s funny
Edan > everything
People can call call him a biter all they want but nas can only wish he could make a record as good as this in 2017
Man get the fuk outta here
@Drew Huge, yeah, I used to know Edan and always found him to be a cool guy, a fun guy, and very humourous. When I linked up with Das Racist, Kool A.D. was the guy from the group, not Heems, but, he’s cool, too.
White Guy imitating Nas!!!!! White guys love Bullshit like this.