In an era of boundary-pushing musical innovation, the Beast Coast thrives on tradition. Comprised of Pro Era, Flatbush Zombies, and The Underachievers, the New York supergroup initially broke bread over breakbeats in the early 2010s with a style which harkens back to rap luminaries of the '90s, but separately, they have each garnered critical acclaim and loyal fan bases, all while maintaining collective energy to keep their Beast Coast Voltron running smoothly.

In other words, Beast Coast is the type of group to announce their long-awaited album Escape From New York by staging an earnest revival of the classic BET series Rap City—complete with host Big Tigger and grainy cypher footage. The video is goofy and nostalgic in all the right ways, but it also made one thing clear: Beast Coast wants to introduce an entirely new generation of listeners to the essence of hip-hop.

While each group’s legacy has been etched in blacktop over the past 10 years, it’s time to finally see if the bigger monster will debut with the roar of The Hulk or an Ant-Man sized whimper.

In typical 1-Listen fashion, the rules are the same: no fast-forwarding, no rewinding, and no stopping. Each song will receive my gut reaction from start to finish. Beast Coast szn has begun.