A classic thirty years in the making. From the duo of Buffalo, New York emcee Cav Johnson and Dallas, Texas beatsmith The Kid Flames (collectively known as Draper Calloway) comes Welcome to Hubbs, their debut full-length album…and it’s one for the ages. Springboarding off of the momentum created by their EP Draper Calloway and it’s opener “Blowin’ Like Hubbs” (2022), the two set out soon after to create a record that epitomizes the Golden Era, bringing the sound and feeling of 1995 back into the zeitgeist. A time before smartphones, before streaming media, before a time when Hip-Hop truly began to take hold and burn itself into the hearts and collective consciousness of people the world over. As the groove of the tone-setter “New York Design” declares, carrying the torch passed by artists like Gang Starr, Pete Rock & CL Smooth, Black Moon, Jay, Nas, The Native Tongues, Black Sheep, Digable Planets and beyond, Cav and The Kid have meticulously crafted a record filled with purpose while managing to capture the sound and magic of perhaps the greatest age known by any musical genre in a bottle. Cav’s pen and presence have never been sharper or more felt, while Flames lays a canvas of twinkling keys, gritty drums, chops and warped vinyl on the knocking title track “Welcome to Hubbs” and the single “Just That Nice” to the smooth and lush “Land Locked” and “Professional Services” through to heartfelt odes to Hip-Hop on “Retrofitted” and “Never Ever Compromise” and on to the shameless, utterly confident “Rotisserie (Biz As Usual)” and “This Is What We Do”, the two leave zero room for any fat or filler on a tight, seamless love letter to an era that brims with fire and energy. With their measured intent comes a timeless record, an immediate classic that cannot and should not be ignored. One that embraces all that informed it and shows a new generation of artists and fans how to truly carry on tradition. credits released January 31, 2025 Executive Producers: Rich Panaro Jr & Nate Smith Written + Performed by Cav Johnson for OOR 310 Beats + Artwork by The Kid Flames for Off the Baseline / Back Roads to Eastland Mixed by The Kid Flames + Cav Johnson Mastered by The Kid Flames at Backdraft Studios • Dallas, TX Photography by Artist’s Own, New York Watch on YouTube at youtube.com/@thekidflames © 2025 Old Oak Recordings 310 & The Paper Label. All rights reserved for those who are ill. NY TO TX WE GET IT IN.
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