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Never mind that the dude didn't start writing songs until 2010, and says he didn't get comfortable as an artist until two years ago.
"Everything is still new," Droog says via phone from Toronto, where he's on his first-ever tour, supporting PRhyme, a new project featuring Detroit rapper Royce da 5'9" and legendary producer DJ Premier. "But I feel like I could get used to it."
Despite his classic sound, at age 25, the Ukrainian-born, Brooklyn-raised rapper, who refuses to disclose his given name, is a freshman in the rap game, with only nine active months of releasing music. When his debut mixtape hit the Web last June, it was, for some, literally unbelievable: His cadence and control on the microphone, coupled with his anonymity, had Twitter and rap message boards convinced he was Nas, releasing a new project under an alias.
After the Queens legend denied the rumors, Droog eventually, and somewhat reluctantly, popped his head out from behind the curtain, revealing his identity in an interview with The New Yorker last August.
"I just wanted people to listen to the music and judge it for what it was," he says. "It's not about the person who made it."
But while Droog has earned favorable comparisons to the icons of rap's old school, his sound is not meant to capitalize on hip-hop heads' bloated sense of nostalgia. In fact, when it comes to rugged independent rap, Droog draws inspiration from a much more recent time. "My era was early-2000s mixtape-type stuff," he says, an era defined by the likes of Aesop Rock, El-P and Deltron 3030. "Going back and learning about the killing they made independently, this is definitely the time to do some shit like that." Since pulled from his initial obscurity, Droog realizes that in order to build the following those artists have, he needs to be seen as much as he's heard. "Social media is important. So are videos," he says. "I'm adapting, but not to the point where I'm whoring myself out."
Even now, with a slot on a high-profile tour, a well-reviewed full-length and profiles in The New Yorker and The New York Times, Droog is still not one for the spotlight. He's soft-spoken, giving one- or two-word answers when sufficient enough to remain polite.
But that level of calm, both on wax and in conversation, belies the confidence he has in his music. He knows it speaks for itself. When he runs off opening lines like, "Back in the line of fire/ Sayin' my style's dated is like checkin' to see if wine expired," from "Porno for Pyros," off his recently released Kinison EP, it's easy to believe him. He's expanded his reach exponentially in the past nine months—"without a publicist," he adds with pride.
As mature as he come across on record, though, Droog acknowledges that, as an artist, he's still in development.
"I want to do something unexpected with everything," he says. "But, you know, how unexpected can you be in this era?" A hoary question, sure. Here again, though, he exudes a confidence well beyond his years: "I know what I want to do.â
SEE IT: Your Old Droog plays Hawthorne Theatre, 1507 SE Cesar E. Chavez Blvd., with PRhyme, Boldy James, Serge Severe and DJ Zimmie, on Sunday, March 8. 7 pm. $20 advance, $25 day of show. All ages.
WWeek 2015