PremRock and Willie Green are now artists that have become mainstays of the indie rap scene over the past decade, but back in 2011, they were still establishing their names. Fresh off of a European tour that pushed them to take things to the next level, Green started sending PremRock beat packs to write to, which eventually became their self-titled album. However, due to some label snafus, the album never got promoted and made available widely in the way that the release deserved. While both artists have grown a lot and made a lot of different projects since then, they felt that this was the right time to go back and give this album the love it deserved, now packaged with some remixes and instrumentals.

It’s funny how an album can both feel like it came out yesterday and ages ago at the same time. I say that because PremRock & Willie Green is still fun to listen to, and the memories of first coming across their music feels pretty fresh, but in revisiting this album, I couldn’t believe how young they sounded. PremRock is a little easier to explain, since his lyricism literally sounds like a much younger man who’s still figuring things out about women and his career and what exactly his style is, but there’s also a very young energy to the brash funk that Willie Green is throwing down with the production of the album as well. Of course, I’m talking in sweeping generalizations, and it’s not like this is some crazy, wild, immature album. Far from it. There are more than a couple moments of mutarity, instrospection, and nuance. In fact, one of the best things about going back and revisiting this album is that you can pick apart the album and catch all of these pieces and see how they would both expand upon these ideas and take them to the next level over the coming years. As far as the bonus material goes, my favorite remix has to go to Dig Dug, who takes “Kill Your Idols,” and pushes it to this really intriguing soundscape that sounds like a secret underground level on an old 8-bit video game.

PremRock & Willie Green isn’t perfect, but it’s still plenty enjoyable, with some smart lyricism and inventive production, even if both artists have eclipsed this album several times over. Maybe someday things will finally align for a second album from these two. I’d love to see what they’d come up with all these years later.