Papaholic, Vol. 1

Papo2oo4’s discography sounds like an old DJ Whoo Kid tape unearthed inside the case for a NBA Street video game. Since the late 2010s, the New Jersey rapper has revisited a bygone era of East Coast mixtape rap that younger generations are more likely to encounter in a Dipset-themed Instagram moodboard than on DatPiff. Perhaps that’s why Papaholic, Vol. 1 slid perfectly into an algorithm already serving me a steady drip of 2000s streetwear “newstalgia”—a marketing trend that seeks to put a fresh twist on nostalgic styles without alienating purists. One such drop, a newly minted Supreme tee featuring a photo of Harlem rapper Max B, appeared on a post by Hidden.NY soundtracked by Papaholic, Vol. 1 highlight “Counter Strike,” where Papo raps over a bouncy chipmunk soul beat like he earned his first Roc-A-Fella chain while wearing a pair of Dinosaur Jr. Dunks.

The blurriness of newstalgia, both a point of reference and discovery, makes Papaholic, Vol.1 a refreshing take on a brand of hip-hop revivalism previously explored by New Jersey rappers like Retch and reshaped by contemporaries across the Hudson such as Chelsea’s YL. Arranged like an aughts-era DJ-hosted mixtape, Papaholic, Vol.1 pays its respects without aiming for a meticulous recreation in the manner of Joey Bada$$’s 1999. It’s more akin to the work of East Coast experimentalists such as Ratking: breaking just enough rules to make old sounds radically new. Your brain might believe it heard nearly all of Papaholics, Vol.1 as a tween cruising to DJ Green Lantern’s radio station in Grand Theft Auto IV—at least until Subjxct 5 breaks any traditionalist expectations by delivering head-knocking beats that could be heard in a From the Block performance today.

Trap-A-Holics and Evil Empire tags dress up the 24-track tape in Y2K aesthetics, but it’s got none of the awkwardness of Timothée Chalamet in True Religion. “Pap need the dollas/I ain’t vote for Trump or Kamala/My bitch wear Celine and the devil wear Prada,” Papo raps gruffly on opener “Beast Mode,” riffing on present-day politics with the same cheeky nihilism found on South Park in 2004. Papo shines when he raps about his love for 2000s Lil Wayne mixtapes and vintage Helmut Lang pickups over Subjxct 5 beats like “Chopper City” and “Sosua Beach” that spiritually channel aughts hitmakers like Timbaland, Just Blaze, and Swizz Beatz.

The dizzying array of projects Papo2oo4 and Subjxct 5 have released since 2017 could soundtrack an entire day of streetball at Rucker Park. Papaholics Vol.1 shapes up as one of their most distinctive plays yet by going outside of their comfort zone. Papo bars out over 808 drill slides on “Rap 4 Sale,” slides into “Kyrie at St. Pats” to explore flows that feel more indebted to the late Pop Smoke, and circles back to deliver his best 50 Cent impression on “By the Garden.” One of the most delightful detours crops up on “Triple Black” and “Plug World x Double O,” where Papo glides over tinny keys suitable for a contemporary Michigan rap record.

The 48-minute tape could be tighter; a few songs, like “Rlly Love” and “Shorty Goin,” suffer from weaker hooks and less ambitious beats. And while Papo always sounds revved up to rap like he’s filming a Smack DVD freestyle, it sometimes feels like the bars on Papaholics, Vol.1 don’t add up to anything more memorable than a few quotables. On the duo’s older releases, such as 2023 PAP on P.E.D’s standout “Onna Westside,” Papo’s rhymes were more deft. Still, Papaholic, Vol. 1 stands out: It hits the same vein of hip-hop newstalgia that A$AP Rocky explored when he mixed Max B’s Harlem swagger with Screwed Up Click revivalism on Live.Love.A$AP. The online appetite for hip-hop history has only grown since. Instead of copy-and-pasting like nostalgia-pilled Instagram farmers, Papo2oo4 and Subjxct 5 are bouncing off the aesthetic to create something familiar yet entirely new.