Your Old Droog
Movie
Self-released
Listen Below
It’s pretty amazing what Dmitry “Your Old Droog” Kutsenko has accomplished in the past decade. Starting off as a faceless voice, the Ukrainian-born, Brooklyn-raised emcee has put together an amazing discography over the last ten years, releasing over 20 projects. And yet it feels like it all has been building toward Movie, his newest release. It’s one of his best albums.
Your Old Droog’s career has gone through multiple incarnations. He first really got noticed after dropping his self-titled EP through Soundcloud in 2014. He had hoped to put out music in relative anonymity, but that soon fell by the wayside. He relaunched his career after dropping PACKS (2017), his second full-length. It was his first attempt at a well-rounded album, and a pretty dope one too. I probably didn’t give it enough credit when I reviewed it for this site (it deserved better than 3.5 stars). It showed his skills as an emcee and his ability to work with multiple producers and still put together a cohesive project.
Droog’s most important relaunch came with the release of It Wasn’t Even Close (2019). It was with this project that he fully embraced being an independent artist, making music on his own terms. The album also functioned as his first partnership with Mach-Hommy, who executive produced the project. YOD has continued to work frequently with the elusive Haitian emcee, along with his Atlanta-born cohort Tha God Fahim.
YOD has released a lot of material since It Wasn’t Even Close. Many of these projects have been “concept”-based. He’s explored his Jewish heritage, his Ukrainian background, and his upbringing in New York. He’s delved into NYC’s public transportation system and expressed his long abiding love for basketball. He’s recorded projects built around space themes and revered stand-up comics. His output in 2019, 2021, and 2022 represent some of the best years by an individual emcee of all time.
Droog took most of 2023 off, solely releasing about a half-dozen loosey tracks. He spent that year suggesting that big things were on the way, and he delivers with Movie. It’s one of his most complete projects and a great “jumping on point” for new fans. Of his previous releases, it’s closest thematically to Packs, in that his versatility takes center stage. Movie allows YOD to convey the full breadth of his talents. He delivers songs that are, well, cinematic, creating brilliantly constructed narratives based on his true-life experiences, as well as some vivid works of fiction. Though he echoes themes that he touched on with previous releases, he doesn’t repeat himself. He again works with a wide range of producers to shape what will likely be one of the best albums of 2024.
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Movie begins fittingly with “Success & Power.” Just Blaze’s production gives the track the grandeur of an epic Jay-Z or Freeway track, as Droog imagines himself as a 1970s-era NYC singer/superstar, entertaining a sold-out crowd at Madison Square Garden. He reflects on his journey, rapping, “Had to share a dressing room when I was touring / Knew that they would never let me through, I kicked the door in,” and declaring that “no other artist lives his dreams like this.”
A decade’s worth of work his continued to sharpen YOD’s skills as a lyricist, and he shines kicking battle-oriented raps on tracks like “Crescent Moon” and “3 Milli.” The Conductor Williams produced “Mercury Thermometers,” which hits with the force of a sledgehammer, with Droog delivering battering rhymes over skull-crushing drums and a rugged guitar sample. “This is Bob Dylan without the harmonica,” he raps. “Just some iconic bars and a hard moniker.”
On the Cartune Beatz laced “What Else?”, he blasts all-flash, no-substance rappers who nearly monopolize the attention of the mainstream music press. I do have to say that it’s something that a rapper who once prized his anonymity can now, 10 years later, without irony, legitimately excoriate others for, not revealing enough about themselves on their record.
Droog goes the extra mile and makes himself vulnerable on Movie. He delves into his experiences as a Russian immigrant on songs like “How Do You Do It?” and “Mantra,” attempting to navigate precarious social situations in high school and throughout his Brooklyn neighborhoods. He doesn’t shy away from the trauma he experienced. “I don’t rhyme, I mainline pain into the instrumental,” he asserts on “Mantra.”
Movie gets downright touching at times. “Grandmother’s Lessons” is YOD’s dedication to his departed grandmother and her remarkable life. He describes how she fled the Holocaust to eventually settle in the United States, support her family, and impart wisdom and knowledge as he grew up. Droog has described the song as one of the best songs that he ever recorded.
Droog also excels when displaying his occasionally self-effacing sense of humor. He makes light of his anti-social tendencies on “Yodi Dodi,” explaining how he hates going out to the club. He relates whimsically on love lost with the Harry Fraud-produced “Damn Shame,” explaining his self-destructive tendencies cost him a shot at true love, as he drove away a woman who’s fully committed to him. “Wanted to see other women,” he laments. “Now when I look at other women, all I see is you.”
Droog also works with other emcees during the few times that they appear on Movie. He teams with longtime fan Yasiin Bey on “Care Plan,” each flipping a smooth verse on a jazzy Madlib treat that would have fit in on Black Star’s No Fear of Time (2022). He’s joined by Denzel Curry and Method Man on “DBZ,” also helmed by Madlib, who expertly chops a soulful sample. YOD holds his own sharing the spotlight with both exceptional emcees, especially Method Man, who’s been on a recent hot streak. Droog still shines, sneering at wack emcees that “you ain’t no villain, you’re Dillon Brooks.”
The album ends with the title track. Produced by London’s K-Nite 13, and Droog himself, It’s a dedication to his career journey, learning from the mistakes he made along the way, and still forging ahead. “Just because your life was fucked up, doesn’t mean that it has to end that way,” he asserts, encouraging all to take an active role in creating their own narrative.
Movie is simultaneously a victory lap and a new beginning for Droog, as his career really does feel like it’s hitting its next gear. He’s already promised that a project produced entirely by Madlib is forthcoming later this year. Like some of the best filmmakers around, he continues to peak as his career progresses. I’m content to have a seat to watch the plot continue to unfold.
Notable Tracks: “Grandmother’s Lessons” | “How Do You Di It?” | “Mantra” | “Mercury Thermometers | “Movie”
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