When was the last time a bar made you rewind a track? Defying rap’s pop sanitization, The Classifieds being a grit to the genre that grips even the most passive listener by the throat. After meeting online in the summer of 2021, rappers Denver and 724x linked up with the production duo Brasco and Doozy to form a supergroup of unknowns. The rappers play off of each other’s strengths: 724x’s coldly calculated flow provides stability to Denver’s madcap delivery, but one talent the duo shares is the ability to pen bars to turn heads. The Classifieds revel in the outlandish, pushing boundaries and spitting with a gleeful ignorance that’s lost among many of today’s superstars. Blending elements of modern trap with an old school dedication to punchlines and chemistry, the group’s appeal can’t be limited to a single audience. They subscribe to the philosophy that rap should sting like a hook to the jaw, complementing glitchy melodies with walloping 808s to create a soundscape at once futuristic and primal. “Drifting” gives a glimpse into the haze of their self-titled debut album, as they carefully weave bars between a dizzying hook that begs to be chanted in an underground club deep in the heart of NYC. If you’re playing the Classifieds at anything but the highest volume, you’re missing the point.