Dmitry Kutsenko, known by his

stage name A stage name or professional name is a pseudonym used by performers, authors, and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. The equivalent concept among writers is called a ''nom de plume'' (pen name). Some performers ...

Your Old Droog, is a Ukrainian-born American rapper and producer from

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. He first gained public attention in June 2014 when online rumors were circulated that his self-published debut EP was actually recorded by veteran New York rapper

Nas Nas (born 1973) is the stage name of American rapper Nasir Jones. Nas, NaS, or NAS may also refer to: Aviation * Nasair, a low-cost airline carrier and subsidiary based in Eritrea * National Air Services, an airline in Saudi Arabia ** Nas Air (S ...

under an alter ego, before revealing himself in August of that year as a 25-year-old

Ukrainian American Ukrainian Americans are Americans who are of full or partial Ukrainians, Ukrainian ancestry. According to U.S. census estimates, in 2021 there were 1,017,586 Americans of Ukrainian descent representing 0.3% of the American population. The Ukr ...

. His self-titled debut album was released digitally on November 25, 2014. The name "Droog" comes from the Ukrainian and Russian word 'друг' meaning "friend".

Biography

Droog's family emigrated to the United States from

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

when he was four years old. His family was Jewish, and his first language was Russian. As a young rap enthusiast growing up in

, Droog first developed his craft in lunchroom

battles A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force c ...

in school. In April 2014, he released the song "Nutty Bars", which generated a significant amount of buzz due to comparisons to Nas and the otherwise lack of information about the artist. The speculation began after

Sacha Jenkins Sacha Sebastian Jenkins (August 22, 1971 – May 23, 2025) was an American television producer, filmmaker, writer, musician, artist, curator, and chronicler of hip-hop, graffiti, punk, and metal cultures. While still in his teens, Jenkins publi ...

, a longtime associate of Nas, made a short positive review of the rapper on Mass Appeal with the sub-heading "Who is this guy? None of your damn business! Just enjoy the music and stop asking questions." The 10-song ''Your Old Droog EP'' was released soon after in June on

SoundCloud SoundCloud is a German audio streaming service owned and operated by SoundCloud Global Limited & Co. KG. The service enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is ...

, produced by Droog and RTNC (later known as Mono En Stereo ). In August, Droog revealed himself in an interview with ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...

'' and soon showed his face for the first time in a video of him

freestyling Freestyle rap, also simply known as Freestyle, is a style of hip hop music where an artist normally improvises an unwritten verse from the head, with or without instrumental beats, in which lyrics are recited with no particular subject or structure ...

. At the time, he embraced the publicity and speculation regarding his identity, expressing that "This is like my street team, why would I stop free publicity?" He played his first concert on September 3 to a sold-out crowd at

Webster Hall Webster Hall is a nightclub and concert venue located at 125 East 11th Street, between Third and Fourth avenues, near Astor Place, in the East Village of Manhattan, New York City. It is one of New York City's most historically significant ...

. His debut self-titled album was released digitally on November 26, which included the 10 songs from the EP along with 8 new songs produced by EL RTNC. A limited edition of the album was released on vinyl shortly before the digital release. ''Kinison EP'', Your Old Droog's second EP, was released on February 4, 2015, again on SoundCloud. ''Kinisons lyrical theme is that of Droog's appreciation of

rock music Rock is a Music genre, genre of popular music that originated in the United States as "rock and roll" in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of styles from the mid-1960s, primarily in the United States and the United Kingdo ...

as a child, with songs named after

Rage Against the Machine Rage Against the Machine (often abbreviated as RATM or shortened to Rage) was an American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1991. It consisted of vocalist Zack de la Rocha, bassist and backing vocalist Tim ...

Porno for Pyros Porno for Pyros was an American alternative rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1992, following the first break-up of Jane's Addiction. The band currently consists of Jane's Addiction members Perry Farrell (vocals) and Stephen Perki ...

, and

Sonic Youth Sonic Youth were an American rock band formed in New York City in 1981. Founding members Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar), Thurston Moore (lead guitar, vocals) and Lee Ranaldo (rhythm guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of ...

. That February and March, Your Old Droog supported

DJ Premier Christopher Edward Martin (born March 21, 1966), known professionally as DJ Premier (also known as Preemo), is an American record producer and DJ. He has been frequently lauded as one of hip hop's greatest producers by publications such as '' ...

and

Royce da 5'9" Ryan Daniel Montgomery (born July 5, 1977), known professionally as Royce da 5'9" (or simply Royce 5'9"), is an American rapper. Best known for his association with fellow Detroit rapper Eminem, they became acquainted in 1997 and formed the hi ...

on their

PRhyme PRhyme is an American hip hop duo composed of Detroit-based rapper Royce da 5'9" and New York–based record producer DJ Premier. They created their own record label PRhyme Records and released their first album, '' PRhyme'', on December 9, 2014 ...

Tour. Your Old Droog's third EP, ''The Nicest'', was released on July 17, 2015. In February 2017, Your Old Droog released ''What Happened to Fire?'', an EP in collaboration with Ratking rapper

Wiki A wiki ( ) is a form of hypertext publication on the internet which is collaboratively edited and managed by its audience directly through a web browser. A typical wiki contains multiple pages that can either be edited by the public or l ...

. Later that month, '' Packs'', Droog's second full-length album, was announced to be released on March 10, 2017. To coincide with the announcement, a music video for the album's single "Help" was released, featuring Wiki and

Edan Idan or Edan may refers to: People Given name *Edan (musician) (born 1978), American alternative hip hop artist *Edan Everly (born 1968), American guitarist, musician, singer songwriter *Edan Gross (born 1978), American child actor *Edan Milton Hu ...

. Droog released three full-length albums in 2019, with ''It Wasn't Even Close'', ''Transportation'', and ''Jewelry''. ''It Wasn't Even Close'' was produced by

Mach-Hommy Mach-Hommy is an American rapper and record producer. He is known for concealing his real name and face in all public appearances, a practice that has led him to be described as "one of hip-hop's most elusive artists". Mach-Hommy has gained a ...

and came out on April 20, 2019, featuring appearances by

DOOM Doom is another name for damnation. Doom may also refer to: People * Doom (professional wrestling), the tag team of Ron Simmons and Butch Reed * Daniel Doom (1934–2020), Belgian cyclist * Debbie Doom (born 1963), American softball pitche ...

, and Wiki. ''Transportation'' was produced again by Mono En Stereo and was released in June. ''Jewelry'' was released on December 23, 2019, featuring collaborations with the album's executive producer Mach-Hommy as well as DOOM,

Matisyahu Matthew Paul Miller (born June 30, 1979), known by his stage name Matisyahu (; ), is an American singer, rapper, beatboxer, and musician. Known for blending spiritual themes with reggae, rock and hip hop beatboxing sounds, Matisyahu's 2005 sin ...

Quelle Chris Gavin Christopher Tennille (born October 19, 1984), known as Quelle Chris, is an American record producer, rapper and songwriter from Detroit, Michigan. He has released over 15 albums as a solo act and with his collaborative projects. Career Te ...

, and Cohen Beats. The album is a celebration of his Jewish heritage, labeled a "A Chanukah Celebration" with Your Old Droog stating "I'm no longer going to diminish my heritage for your comfort, some people hate simply for the sake of hating, let them crumble under the weight of that burden...we will celebrate light and life...I'm a Jew in America. This is my story. Shalom."

Artistry and influences

Your Old Droog has been extensively compared to fellow New York rapper Nas, to the point of theories being developed that his debut EP was actually recorded by Nas under an alter ego. Droog has appreciated the comparison and deemed it a compliment; he also named

Big Daddy Kane Antonio Hardy (born September 10, 1968), better known by his stage name Big Daddy Kane, is an American Rapping, rapper, producer and actor who began his career in 1986 as a member of the Juice Crew. He is widely regarded as one of the most influe ...

Big L Lamont Coleman (May 30, 1974February 15, 1999), known professionally as Big L, was an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Emerging from Harlem in New York City in 1992, Big L became known among underground hip-hop fans for his f ...

, and

Kool G Rap Nathaniel Thomas Wilson (born July 20, 1968), better known by his stage name Kool G Rap (or simply G Rap), is an American rapper. He began his career in the mid-1980s as one half of the group Kool G Rap & DJ Polo and as a member of the Juice Cr ...

as influences, as well as

Beanie Sigel Dwight Equan Grant (born March 6, 1974), better known by his stage name Beanie Sigel, is an American rapper from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is best known for his association with Jay-Z and his label Roc-A-Fella Records, to which Grant signed ...

Freeway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway, and expressway. Other similar terms ...

, Cassidy, and

Lloyd Banks Christopher Charles Lloyd (born April 30, 1982), better known by his stage name Lloyd Banks, is an American rapper. He began his career as a member of East Coast hip-hop, East Coast hip hop group G-Unit, which he formed with childhood friends ...

. He has named MF DOOM as one of his favorites, from whom he has learned his approach to privacy as a rapper in the public eye.

Discography

Studio albums

* ''Your Old Droog'' (2014) * '' Packs'' (2017) * ''It Wasn't Even Close'' (2019) * ''Transportation'' (2019) * ''Jewelry'' (2019) * ''Dump YOD: Krutoy Edition'' (2020) * ''Time'' (2021) * ''Space Bar'' (2021) * ''Movie'' (2024)

Collaboration albums

* ''Tha Wolf on Wall St.'' (with Tha God Fahim) (2021) * ''Tha YOD Fahim'' (with Tha God Fahim) (2021) * ''Tha Wolf on Wall St. 2: The American Dream'' (with Tha God Fahim) (2022)

Extended plays

* ''Your Old Droog EP'' (2014) * ''Kinison'' (2015) * ''The Nicest'' (2015) * ''What Happened to Fire?'' (with

) (2017) * ''Looseys'' (2017) * ''YOD Wave'' (2022) * ''Yod Stewart'' (2022) * ''Yodney Dangerfield'' (2022) * ''The Yodfather'' (2022) * ''YOD Presents: The Shining'' (2022)

Singles

As lead artist

Guest appearances

Other songs

References

{{Authority control 1989 births Living people Rappers from Brooklyn 20th-century American Jews American people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent Jewish rappers 21st-century American rappers 21st-century American Jews Ukrainian emigrants to the United States