Back in 2014, former Pharcyde emcee Slimkid3 teamed up with Jurassic 5 producer/deejay DJ Nu-Mark to release a self-titled album on Delicious Vinyl, which was everything you wanted from a veteran pairing like that. Now they’ve come back together and added a new voice in Austin Antoine, releasing their first EP under the name of TRDMRK.

First things first – this EP bangs. Over the years, DJ Nu-Mark has been able to develop a good balance between making pop tracks that bump and making some off-kilter weirdo rap. There are just enough elements to his beats that make you pause and appreciate some unusual sounds or rhythms, but you get a nice spoonful of sugar in the form of some huge hooks and big drum hits to wash it all down. Slimkid3 is a veteran emcee who has already demonstrated a good chemistry with Nu-Mark, and he finds plenty of moments across these seven songs to show off his full tool set – rocking the crowd with hooks that will have you singing along with the record, switching up his flow multiple times, and burying all sorts of lyrical treasures throughout that will have you rewinding, pausing, and catching new lines the second, third, and fourth time you listen to it. The real X factor to the whole EP was the addition of Antoine, but the truth is that he slides in and fits so naturally with these two West Coast legends, you’ll be running to learn more about him. Seriously, it sounds like these guys have been making music together for years. Add in some guest spots from Dillon Cooper and Guilty Simpson, and you’ve got an EP that is just packed from start to finish.

It’s only February, and it’s still pretty chilly while I write this, but TRDMRK are bringing the heat and starting a West Coast summer party in the middle of winter with this self-titled EP. These three have great chemistry together, and they sound like they’re having so much fun making music together that you can’t help but turn this shit up and let loose when you press play.