Today, Los Angeles singer/songwriter Nite Jewel and Bay Area rapper/producer Droop-E announce their joining of forces as AMTHST, along with the announcement of their debut Euphoria EP, out February 17 on E-40’s Sick Wid It Records. Listen to AMTHST’s first offering, “Thug Passion”, here.

Though not the first collaboration between Nite Jewel and Droop-E—the two teamed up for “N the Traffic” from the latter’s 2013 Hungry and Humble EP, which also featured Kendrick Lamar— AMTHST is an undoubtedly fresh idea.
Euphoria isn’t revivalist, or even reverent. The production, handled by Droop-E, Nite Jewel, and Toronto’s rising star BatmanOnTheBeatz, skews spacey and psychedelic, with more grit than most of its competition but more layers than it would seem on first pass. Songs like “Thug Passion” are deceptive, hiding an existential bite underneath the deliberate pace. Many of the arrangements came together live and on the fly. From the shimmering “Let It Go” to “I Wonder”’s metallic rabbit hole, Euphoria should stand as one of 2016’s most daring debuts, a spot between two powerful musical traditions that you’ve never explored before, but feels like home all the same.