Jay Royale featuring Havoc - "The Wise & Lakid"

For his latest single, Jay Royale has teamed with Havoc of the legendary Mobb Deep. "The Wise & Lakid" is as old school as it could possibly be. Sure, the production has a the modern slick sound, but this sounds like it could have been released anytime between 1991 and 1996. The track has a sense of depth to it despite it consisting of just beats and piano. Hip hop doesn't typically have this sense of darkness to it these days, but "The Wise & Lakid" brings that back heavily. This is perfect for those of us who grew up on rap in the 80's and 90's.

You can watch the video for "The Wise & Lakid" below. For more on Jay Royale, check out his Twitter and Instagram.

Jay Royale featuring Kool G Rapp - "Carlito and Kleinfeld"

East Baltimore's Jay Royale brought in hip hop royalty for his latest single. "Carlito and Kleinfeld," named after Al Pacino and Sean Penn's characters in the 1993 film Carlito's Way, features legendary MC Kool G Rapp. Kool G Rapp started out in 1986 and was a member of Juice Crew, so you don't get much more classic than him. "Carlito and Kleinfeld" may not sound like a hip hop song from the 80's, but it still has a distinct old school feel. The production feels like the mid-90's, when hip hop started to lose a little bit of its early DIY grit and got a little but more polished, but with a modern smoothness to its production. Plus, there are actual record scratches in the song, and I can't remember the last time I heard those.

You can watch the video for "Carlito and Kleinfeld" below. The single can be purchased here. For more on Jay Royale, check out the artist's Instagram.