Stick closely to Chuck Strangers and you just might spy him in a vintage Coogi sweater. That is to say, the 26-year-old rapper and producer cares not one whit for modern trends, swaddling himself instead in the spirit of New York’s golden age hip-hop gods. Emerging as part of Pro Era, a clique of boom-bap beatniks too young to have truly experienced that era, he filed in behind Joey Bada$$ on his breakthrough 2012 mixtape, 1999. Chuck’s convincing retro beats and occasional stints on the mic made him a key lieutenant back then: Take “FromdaTomb$,” where he flips a jazz sample from the video game “L.A. Noire” into a bugged-out opus for him and Joey to pass the weed, talk shit about school, give thanks to Brooklyn, and big up their beer pong skills.
As his more famous friend has matured into a political headspace, Strangers has stayed put in that old-school lane. His solo debut, Consumers Park, drops enough dusty samples, quick-hand record scratches, and neighborhood corner rhymes to appease any historically-minded b-boy. It’s even got shots at mumble rap masters and new-age Soundcloud stars, in the form of the provocatively titled “Style Wars.” Over sentimental piano keys and a reverberating guitar line, Strangers namechecks 2Pac and summons the spirit of the God MC: “Niggas claiming they the best while Rakim still breathing.” Bada$$, meanwhile, chimes in to denounce showboat rappers who care little for the craft. It would be easy to dismiss the pair as salty old-timers in young men’s bodies hating on popular sounds, but the music here feels vital enough to at least make you want to hear them out.
A lot of that has to do with the front-to-back production. “Thoro Hall,” helmed by Los Angeles beatmaker Animoss, is a lavish piece of 1970s uptown cool. The lean soul sample of “Two Pit Bulls,” one of 11 Chuck beats, echoes early Kanye West. The Alchemist-produced “Fresh,” meanwhile, finds Strangers rapping over an old orchestral pop number that could have been snatched straight from a Scorsese flick.
Over these fresh throwback instrumentals, Strangers plumps for a nostalgic vibe. “Class Pictures” could have come off as a series of trite teen clichés, but Strangers personalizes the story in winning ways: Over a minimalist beat that sounds teased from a hacked Gameboy, he recalls getting thrown out of his parents’ house, selling his Jordans so he could take a girl out on a date, and feeling his head explode when he sees his first rent bill.
In these moments, Strangers reveals himself to be a writer with a skill for colorful detail. He’ll drop fun quotables, too. Take the catchy “1010 Wins Pt. 1 & 2,” where Chuck wryly updates classic rap hustlerdom: “Hopping out the Uber, I’m a new-school pimp.” Given how long it’s taken him to fully step from behind Pro Era’s boards, it’s a glorious surprise to find an emcee capable of following the cadences of the Notorious B.I.G., with a streetwise flow that honors Phife Dawg.
While he grew up in Flatbush, Strangers moved to L.A. five years ago. On “No Dice,” his hometown’s influence is at its most clear: You can almost hear the subway cars rumble as the rapper tries to pick up a few dollars shooting craps. As a Spike Lee-esque saxophone wanders in and out of the mix, Strangers links the spirit of Eazy-E to Capital STEEZ, his sadly departed Pro Era comrade. It’s a three-dimensional glimpse at the day-to-day movements and emotions of one man living on the block. That’s the album’s greatest victory: offering a dead-on recreation of old-fashioned sounds while still encapsulating one artist’s distinct personality.
