A few years ago, the Chicago rapper and producer Tree made a name for himself. His style sounded grizzled and hard-earned — thoughtful lyrics, ragged voice, seen-it-all delivery. And his production style, which he called “soul trap,” involved expertly chopped-up samples and bone-hard swells of bass and drums. This was potent stuff; I loved his 2013 mixtape Sunday School II: When Church Lets Out. But for a while, Tree has been relatively silent, and I haven’t seen a whole lot of people talking about him lately.

Expect that to change. Today, Tree came out with Nothing Is Something, a new collaborative project that he recorded with Vic Spencer, a similarly hardbitten veteran of Chicago’s underground. It’s a short record — 10 songs in half an hour — but it’s tough and intense, and it creates a mood. Listen to it below, via 2DopeBoyz.

The self-released Nothing Is Something is out now.