Released on February 20, 2026,
on KNOCKOUT MGMT and Nicholas Craven Productions.
For several years now, Nicholas Craven has established himself as a key producer in the drumless style. It is through his very well-received collaborations with Detroit rapper Boldy James – most notably the first one, Fair Exchange No Robbery – that he has generated the most buzz. But he has also put out numerous projects with Tha God Fahim and Ransom, and has rubbed shoulders with everyone more or less associated with this trend: Mach-Hommy, Billy Woods, and Conway, for example, as well as Your Old Droog, and many others. In 2022, he even collaborated with France’s Akhenaton. Yet the Gatineau, Quebec native has not forgotten the scene he comes from: Montreal.
Back in 2024, alongside Mike Shabb, he released 1st Coming, an album with Mathis Jadotte, aka Trapmat Savior, a rapper originally from Port-au-Prince but based in the same city, who had previously authored under-the-radar EPs. This year, he does it again, with Scottie Trippin. Here, when he talks about his grind and hustle (and occasionally women) with his understated humor, when he adopts a weary tone and a haunting voice, and declaims his pained rap in a lethargic mode, Trapmat Savior asserts his style. The knockout argument, however, is actually brought by Nicholas Craven.
Whether, in keeping with the teachings of his model Roc Marciano, the Montreal producer’s tracks dispense with percussion altogether (the opening “Last Night Soda”), or more often feature a slow boom bap (the interlude “Cherry Garcia”), the production is of high quality. Whether he bets on synthetic compositions (“Grin,” “Bittersweet Taste”), a sampled female voice (“Close Enough”), or the warmth of an organ (“Scouts”) – whether he delivers old-school jazz rap (“Bitch,” with a returning Mike Shabb), plays with deft dissonances (“Space Jam”), or finds a heartbreakingly sad piano (“Otis”) – this ardent champion of the well-crafted loops that is Nicholas Craven produces, alongside his hometown collaborator, one of his finest bodies of work.
