Cloonee, Nice & Smooth – I Rhyme Quick [Def Jam]

At this point, Cloonee records don’t wait for release day to take on a life of their own. By the time ‘I Rhyme Quick’ officially arrives, the track has already spent a year and a half circulating through clips, fan pages, festival videos, and ID requests, growing from an unreleased favourite into one of the most talked-about unreleased cuts in his catalogue. Built around the unmistakable vocal from Nice & Smooth’s iconic ‘Sometimes I Rhyme Slow’, the record has generated spiralling hype online while becoming a firm fixture in sets from Cloonee and a growing list of DJs including Prospa, SOSA, and Jamie Jones.

Rather than leaning heavily on the original, ‘I Rhyme Quick’ keeps the sample moving inside Cloonee’s own sound: heavy low-end that stays in motion, tight drums that pack a punch, and just enough room for the vocal to keep reintroducing itself and tunnelling back into the groove. The result is a record that feels instantly familiar while still carrying the kind of tension and drivel that has pushed his sound far beyond the underground rooms where it first took shape.