Numadik is the professional name of an emerging independent hip-hop duo from Green Bay, Wisconsin. Singer/songwriter Jeffrey Strening (True Loudy) and singer/producer Jack Lewaren (Judah) first joined forces in college. A mutual appreciation for writing songs and making beats led them to start their own record label.
They made their professional recording debut in 2022 with the single “Roundabout”. The downtempo boom-bap freestyle about their hometown’s predilection for traffic circles, introduced a sound built on old-school hip-hop fidelity and lighthearted comedy. They followed with two singles in May, and have now dropped their debut LP.
Of Love & Ego is the brand new album from Numadik, released worldwide via all major streaming services on November 22, 2022. The fifteen-track collection is a concept album of sorts, loosely chronicling one young man’s tumultuous love life. They tell their tale in a series of comedy skits, old-school hip-hop and funk-infused soul.
From the infinitely relatable and funny boyfriend/girlfriend dialog of skits like “I Write Songs About You” and “Bitch O’Clock”, to the dark-pop introspection of tracks like “FTBD”, the record covers a lot of emotional ground. Both True Loudy and Judah effectively manage the balance between tongue-in-cheek comedy and sincere heartfelt emotion.
Musically the duo’s sound is born of classic hip-hop breakbeats, downtempo boom-bap grooves and deep r&b/soul vibes. They lay down smooth jazz-hop beats and old-school East Coast freestyle bars on the apologetic shout-out “The Right Words To Say” and then take it to the West Coast for the psychedelic introspection of “Find My Way”.
The eclectic duo continues their stylistic experimentation on tracks like the electro-pop/r&b jam “Leave Me Now” and the lo-fi chill-hop slow jam “Patience”. Whether dropping glitch-beat breakup slow jams (“Caution”) or boozy laments (“Pour Me Another Drink”), a consistent lyrical narrative, a decidedly old-school aesthetic and Numadik’s refusal to take themselves too seriously tie it all together into a cohesive whole.
Check out Of Love & Ego in its entirety below, or listen on your favorite streaming service. You can also hear the song “Spend Time With You” on the Deep Indie Beat playlist. Follow the links below to connect with Numadik. Get on their socials and get in the loop on all of the music to come from this diversely talented duo.
