You knew Cool Nutz wouldn’t step away from the game for long. Sure, he’s been working in radio and promotions a lot as of late and keeping a relatively low profile with his own music, but the longtime Portland MC often strikes without warning. Luckily, we got a little heads-up from him today.

Turns out that Nutz has a new disc, Incredible, dropping February 16. And he’s been kind enough to preview a track from that disc with us today. “Lov Iz” is, as its title suggests, a hip-hop ballad. The backing track, from Portland’s own Terminill, sounds like something you might hear bumping off a bootlegged Korean karaoke disc until the bass chimes in. It’s kind of a sleepy beat that rolls around in circles like a baby’s mobile as Nutz drops bars about his love for the game, the streets and the women in his life (including a shout-out to mom!). Bosko sweeps in with an excellent, soulful hook a la D’Angelo before piping in for a few verses of his own. Terminill and Portland’s first cousins of hip-hop have put together a really unconventional track here that alternates between cheesy, pretty and gritty. That’s a lot of “y,” I realize, but there’s a lot of quirk to sum up. Enough talk, check it out (the clean version, mind you) for yourself:

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Links:
Cool NutzSpace
BoskoSpace
TerminillSpace

Image courtesy of Cool Nutz

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