(AfterLyfe Music, CD, digital)
Current Events, the debut LP from rapper, producer, recording engineer and industry mogul Nastee, could be the single most long-awaited album in the history of Vermont hip-hop. It’s a follow-up to his mixtape The Album B4 the Album, which dropped in … 2009. That’s back when VT Union, his collective with Dakota and the late DJ A_Dog, were dominating the scene with their powerhouse live shows and a trilogy of classic mixtapes.
Nastee has been around from the very beginning of the Vermont hip-hop scene and has never stopped hustling. He put in work with the legendary New York City collective Pro Era and then used that experience to start his own Vermont label, AfterLyfe Music. But Nastee’s story has been told many times over in these pages, and his music ultimately has to stand on its own.
Boy howdy, does it ever. Current Events is wall-to-wall bangers, a distinctly ’90s, extremely NYC throwback that still sounds brand-new. Part of that is due to cyclical trends. “Real hip-hop” is cool again, which is great news for dinosaurs such as me who are fans of things like song structure and comprehensible lyrics.
What really brings this album to life, though, is how hungry Nastee sounds on every song. This is not a victory lap but an urgent manifesto from a man on fire. The helpfully named “1st Album Intro” kicks it off with Nastee and Konflik in the studio. “This is my Illmatic,” Nastee says, referring to Nas’ 1994 solo album, before launching into a verse that name-checks dozens of other iconic debuts.
Befitting the Illmatic comparisons, all the guests throughout Current Events give 110 percent. Termanology drops a burner on “No Funny,” CJ Fly pours his heart out on “Horizons,” REKS channels classic AZ on “Free,” and Konflik’s distinctive baritone is an essential ingredient throughout.
As a rapper, Nastee has never been better. Whether he’s asserting his place in the game (“We Here”), dropping vivid storytelling (“Knowhere”) or offering his streetwise take on media brainwashing (“Evening News”), his pen game is on point, and his vocal takes are perfectly calibrated.
As a producer, what really sets Nastee apart is his musical ear for fleshing out boom-bap compositions. He is a disciple of the Pete Rock approach: Melodic, carefully layered samples are not merely chopped and looped but reharmonized into new songs of their own.
2025 has been a high-water mark for great Vermont rap albums. Joint Manipulation gave us an all-time hardcore classic with The One You Feed; Devon Dutchmaster put the entire state on notice with his debut, Puzzle Pieces; and Asterisk (aka Burlington scene fixture Greg Davis) teamed up with legends from around the world on his kaleidoscopic No School.
With Current Events, Nastee has staked his claim for the top spot and once again proved himself a master craftsman of the genre. Every detail is honed to perfection. This is not just a personal statement; it’s a template for doing it right. Pay attention.
Current Events is available at nasteeluvzyou.bandcamp.com.