The Dunnas Have Been Doing This “Since Nintendo”
Some rappers use nostalgia because it photographs well. The Dunnas use it because they actually have history.
Oak Lonetree and Big Dese reconnect as The Dunnas for “Since Nintendo,” a J Patz-produced single built around exactly what has kept the Massachusetts duo interesting over the years: personality, chemistry, and bars that never have to announce how clever they are. The references come quickly, the humor stays intact, and underneath it all is the sound of two emcees completely comfortable with the kind of Hip-Hop they make.
That comfort is earned. The Dunnas are hardly a newly assembled underground pairing. Oak Lonetree and Big Dese were being identified together as The Dunnas in Boston Hip-Hop coverage as far back as 2009, and their catalog has continued developing across projects including Reinventing the Real, One & Dunn, WHODUNNIT?! and Dunn Dee.
“Since Nintendo” sounds like two veterans who have no interest in pretending otherwise.
J Patz gives them exactly the right environment. The production is hard without becoming oversized, leaving plenty of room for Oak and Dese to work. The drums knock with the kind of straightforward impact that rewards turning the volume up, while the sample-driven texture carries enough grit to keep the record rooted in underground Hip-Hop. The supplied recording runs roughly two minutes and forty seconds, which works in the song’s favor. Nothing hangs around longer than necessary.
The Dunnas attack that space with their usual combination of punchlines, left-field observations, and the kind of back-and-forth energy that only develops when emcees understand each other’s timing. Rather than treating lyricism like an academic exercise, Oak Lonetree and Big Dese make it entertaining. There is humor in the writing, but there is also precision behind it.
Listen to Spit Fire Radio: www.spitfireradio.com
That distinction matters. Plenty of rappers can write a clever line. The Dunnas understand how to make the line land.
The title “Since Nintendo” becomes part of that personality. It is more than an easy retro reference. In the hands of two emcees with an established history together, it functions almost like a timestamp, a playful way of emphasizing longevity without turning the record into a speech about longevity. The cover art pushes the idea even further, reworking the visual language of Donkey Kong into “Dunnkey Kong” and connecting the record’s throwback sensibility directly to The Dunnas’ identity.
And there is another layer emerging around that artwork. DUNNKEY KONG appeared online as a new Dunnas release dated September 22, 2026, making “Since Nintendo” feel less like an isolated nostalgia exercise and more like the opening move into the duo’s latest chapter.
One of the better things about hearing The Dunnas together is that neither emcee has to disappear for the partnership to work.
Oak Lonetree has continued building his own catalog, including his work with Boston producer Chairman Chow, while Big Dese has remained similarly active through solo records and collaborations. Big Dese’s recent work includes the Confidence-produced Kool Moe Dese material, while Oak’s catalog includes F.E.T.A. and numerous collaborations.
Bring them back together, however, and something changes.
The Dunnas have a conversational looseness that makes the music feel less manufactured. Neither sounds like he is waiting politely for his turn. The performances feel connected, as though one line is setting up the next even when the voices switch. That chemistry gives “Since Nintendo” much of its replay value.
The official video reinforces the record rather than distracting from it. The presentation fits the song’s personality: direct, irreverent, and centered on the emcees instead of attempting to inflate a relatively compact underground record into something it isn’t.
And the record is already finding its way into underground programming. WUSB’s Trim Mix Party included “Since Nintendo” in its September 21 playlist alongside records from Rakim, Bub Styles, YL and Starker, Pretty Bulli and Castle Money Beats, and others, an appropriate environment for a Dunnas record built around bars and drums.
“Since Nintendo” doesn’t need to reinvent The Dunnas. That’s the point.
Oak Lonetree and Big Dese have spent years developing a style in which sharp writing, humor, regional character, and rugged production can coexist without any of those elements feeling forced. J Patz understands the assignment and gives them a beat that lets those characteristics breathe.
The result sounds less like two artists chasing the current moment and more like two emcees reminding listeners why their chemistry has survived multiple eras of underground Hip-Hop.
They’ve been at this for a minute. Or, as The Dunnas would put it, since Nintendo.
