Producer crew Team Demo enlist the talents of NY rap vets G. Dep and Kurious for a tough new single, “Adaptive,” that’s low-key been in the works since 2012.

The story behind this track is that it began to take shape more than a decade ago when G. Dep and Kurious had met at one of Tony Touch’s Funkbox events in NYC. The two chopped it up, hit it off, and decided to collaborate on a track, which led to G. Dep sending over his verse. The problem was that this was shortly before he turned himself in for a botched robbery attempt that turned deadly in 1993, which would mark the start of an 11 year bid that was commuted in December 2023.

“I wasn’t sure about releasing it like that, when he was gone,” Kurious said about the verse. “So when he came back, we had to let it out!” This led to the emcee sharing the record with Team Demo, who linked with frequent collaborator Yogi to add a hook and flesh it out into a full song.

The result is a dope bit of hip-hop history—and a hell of a single as well. “Adaptive” is available now through all major digital retailers and streaming platforms. The track is a loosie and not affiliated with a larger body of work, but be sure to check out Team Demo’s 2023 release, It’s a Demo.