After a 35-plus-year career, Kool G Rap is gearing up for a statement album. On October 14, 2022, the Queens, New York lyrical legend will release Last Of A Dying Breed. The upcoming album features contributions from Sean Price, AZ, 38 Spesh, NEMS, Royal Flush, and Vado. Domingo, a producer who has worked with G Rap for over 20 years, is behind the beats. Today, six weeks before the arrival of Last Of A Dying Breed, Ambrosia For Heads premieres the debut single, “Fly Till I Die,” featuring G Rap’s Juice Crew brother Big Daddy Kane.

“Fly Till I Die” embraces legacy and compares two of New York City’s most famed boroughs, in Hip-Hop and otherwise—Queens and Brooklyn. After the beat drops, G Rap spits about sexy women and expensive habits. “We poppin’ Louis XIII corks / Some mean cloths, clean Porsch’ / Knockin’ b*tches of your dreams off / Money in washing machines, boss / Little ni**a, come around when you finally climb up the beanstalk,” raps one of the MCs who coined the mafiaso style. DJ RBI punctuates the verse with some scratches about kings from Queens, coming from G Rap’s homies Mobb Deep and others.

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In the second verse, G Rap takes listeners to his borough. “Where it’s drug-influenced, the blood floweth, so fluent / Homes ruined, funeral home viewings / Caught up in the shootin’, usually own doings,” he spits, combining an inventive cadence with vivid imagery.

RBI then scratches in lyrics about Brooklyn, using lines from Gang Starr, Boogie Down Productions, JAY-Z, Biggie, and more. The pivot creates a strong entrance for Big Daddy Kane. He spits about a BK underbelly: “We all saw a path that was lucrative, sorta / Even though that’s how we know you usually get caught up / Trying to make a bird fly and move from his corner / And running with the rockets like the Houston kid Porter / Brooklyn sh*t, but y’all talkin’ Big / Nah, dawg, I’m talkin’ about hawk, dog, and pig / We don’t seek approval, we just keep it crucial / Jesus-piece removal / F*ck that, run it, I’m talkin’ about the home of me, Big, and Jay / Brooklyn do sh*t a whole complete different way.”

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In related news, Kool G Rap is part of this year’s National Hip-Hop Museum’s induction class. That also includes Whodini, Slick Rick, U.T.F.O., Diamond D, and Chubb Rock. Notably, Diamond released THE REAR VIEW this month, and spoke about it with AFH. The induction ceremony takes place tomorrow (August 26) win Atlanta, Georgia, with “Fly Till I Die” planned to begin the affair taking place at Alantucky (owned by members of The Nappy Roots). The event will be hosted by Cold Crush Brothers’ Grandmaster Caz and The Sugarhill Gang’s Master Gee

Years before Verzuz, G Rap and Kane have done concerts going song-for-song. From the lyrics to the “showdown” artwork, this track celebrates competition from two artists have raised the skill envelope for more than 35 years a piece.

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“Fly Till I Die” will be available on DSPs at midnight tonight (August 26). It is releasing through DMG Entertainment.

Press photograph provided by Kool G Rap.

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#BonusBeat: Kool G Rap is among those who listed a Top 5 as well as appeared on many peers’ Top 5 MC lists, as covered on a recent episode of AFH‘s What’s The Headline podcast: