The Falling Season: Masta Ace's Your Old Droog cosign is both unexpected and validating. Kind of

In Hiphop, it's all about the cosign. Rarely can a rapper come out with a hit song without a reputed affiliation with a respected figure. From Das EFX and EPMD to Em and Dre to Jay and Kanye, the list of Hiphop hat-tips resulting in lengthy, quality careers is a hearty one.

But the following example is not that. Kind of.

Your Old Droog, sometimes known as the fake Nas, has an eerily similar voice, cadence and flow(s) to one Nasir Jones. It's a comparison that Droog says isn't accurate. Kind of.

According to The New Yorker's Jay Caspian King, who wrote what appeared to be Droog's first formal interview with the mainstream press, the Brooklyn rapper says he's of a different mold. Kind of.

Though he respects Nas, he sees himself more in the lineage of Big L and Kool G Rap, rappers who shared his love of punch lines.

Not withstanding the fact that Nas is among the nicest with wordplay, Droog can rap with the best of them. His punch lines are ridiculously witty to the point that most are rewind-worthy to see if your ears were fooling you the first time around. But with the rise of other talented, new rappers who have seemingly based their entire careers' very existences on those of legendary and established emcees, Droog was instantly guilty by association. Kind of.

Video: Nice & Smooth -- No Delayin'

Yes, you read correctly.

This is the official music video for a song from Nice & Smooth's 21 year old self-titled debut album, which has more than a few classic tracks on it.

In fact, in my opinion, No Delayin' was the best song on the album. An instant classic that stayed on repeat in my tape deck.

The duo never released the song as a single but it was a radio mix show mainstay just off of its simple looped piano and drums, and of course Teddy Ted's scratching section. You know what I'm sayin? (Only true Nice & Smooth fans will understand that one...)

The song sampled Big Daddy Kane's legendary "awww yeah" from the intro to Ain't No Half Steppin, so it's a pleasant surprise to see Kane get his proper respect via a cameo in the video.



More groups that are classified as old school should take a page from Nice & Smooth's book and release official videos for their classic album cuts that were overshadowed by more popular [and arguably not as good] singles.

Can you imagine if Big Daddy Kane in 2011 released an official video for Young Gifted and Black. Everybody else has jacked that song, so why shouldn't Kane bring it back too?

Or what if Doug E. Fresh and Slick Rick finally shot a video for La Di Da Di?

Or if EPMD could put aside their differences long enough to shoot a video for one or all of the signature "Jane" installments.

The possibilities are limitless, but so is the doubt I have that this concept will ever catch on with so-called old school rappers. Too bad.

Bilingual Rap Quietly Makes Its Return

It's been a long while since Hiphop has been treated to a quality song that featured an artist rhyming in something other than their native language.

Two songs immediately come to mind when weighing the contenders for best bilingual rap songs of all time performed by non-bilingual rappers.

The summer of 1991 was responsible for tons of hits that are now classics, but the Hiphop nation stood at attention when Nice & Smooth flipped their already hot single Hip-Hop Junkies for its Spanish Fly remix, paying tribute to their Spanish-speaking fans as well as their Bronx brethren:



Nine long years later to a much less publicized degree, Mos Def and De La Soul were featured on the bilingual jewel What's That (?Que Eso?) from Tony Touch's The Piece Maker album.

De La was great, and of course Tony Toca excelled, but Mos Def stole the show by closing his impressive and memorable verse with the following line (ironically delivered in English): "Understand that when I shine all your light is through, y'all n*ggas wack in one language, son, I'm nice in two."

But now these two songs get some quality [and surprising] company from Compton rapper Game, who is featured on French rapper La Fouine's song Caillra For Life.

Game has generally improved as a rapper since his debut, but his verse on this song shatters all preconceptions we may have had of his rhyming prowess by flowing effortlessly in both French and English. (Editor's note: criteria for this list does not include subject matter...)

Not only does it show that Game is willing to step outside of his comfort zone (for which he should be commended), it also displays a growth that was never expected from a rapper of his ilk (when is the last time a gangsta rapper emceed in another language?).

This brief but substantial list leaves out Cypress Hill, The Beatnuts and other pioneering Latino rappers and rap groups who have always infused their native language into their mostly English rhymes, and their contributions shouldn't be ignored. But rare is it when a rapper goes out of his element to showcase his rhyming ability in another language.

Honorable Mention: GURU featured French rapper MC Solaar on Jazzmatazz, but GURU himself never rapped in another language, making him ineligible to appear this list.

I'm sure there are other notable bilingual songs from non-bilingual rappers. Who am I missing?