Brothers from Another

Comprised of Goonstar and Breez, two 18 year-old, Seattle-raised MCs currently in their first year of college down in California, Brothers From Another offer their latest EP of super smooth, fun hip-hop that is laidback yet never boring. Their playful boasts and youthful demeanor fall nicely alongside hometown crew The Physics as well as influential mid 90s groups such as The Pharcyde, Souls of Mischief, and A Tribe Called Quest. Free download at http://brothersfromanother.wordpress.com. 1/7/201 - KEXP

Every Monday through Friday, we deliver a different song as part our Song of the Day podcast subscription. This podcast features exclusive KEXP in-studio performances, unreleased songs, and recordings from independent artists that our DJs think you should hear. Each and every Friday we offer songs by local artists. Today’s selection, featured on the Morning Show with John Richards, is “O Yep” by Brothers from Another from their self-released EP Two Weeks Vacation (available for free here).


Brothers from Another – O Yep (MP3)
We head out into the wild blue (hopefully) yonder of this weekend with the contagious stylings of two Seattle hip hop’s newer MCs, Goonstar and Breez, who perform as Brothers from Another and are part of the Members Only collective, part record label and part underground music promoter. Brothers from Another have an easy-going style and youth on their side. Their sound, the way they play with lyrics, and their melodies are reminiscent of A Tribe Called Quest, but Seattle’s State of the Artist might be a better context for them. Today’s song, “O Yep,” is a light-hearted ode to livin’ and lovin’ in Seattle. They name drop local establishments (Molly Moons, Mad Pizza, etc.) as they make weekend plans and there’s a big part of you that wants to head out with them. While Macklemore might bring a tear to your eye, BFA will definitely bring a smile to your face.
- KEXP

Every Monday through Friday, we deliver a different song as part our Song of the Day podcast subscription. This podcast features exclusive KEXP in-studio performances, unreleased songs, and recordings from independent artists that our DJs think you should hear. Each and every Friday we offer songs by local artists. Today’s selection, featured on the Morning Show with John Richards, is “O Yep” by Brothers from Another from their self-released EP Two Weeks Vacation (available for free here).


Brothers from Another – O Yep (MP3)
We head out into the wild blue (hopefully) yonder of this weekend with the contagious stylings of two Seattle hip hop’s newer MCs, Goonstar and Breez, who perform as Brothers from Another and are part of the Members Only collective, part record label and part underground music promoter. Brothers from Another have an easy-going style and youth on their side. Their sound, the way they play with lyrics, and their melodies are reminiscent of A Tribe Called Quest, but Seattle’s State of the Artist might be a better context for them. Today’s song, “O Yep,” is a light-hearted ode to livin’ and lovin’ in Seattle. They name drop local establishments (Molly Moons, Mad Pizza, etc.) as they make weekend plans and there’s a big part of you that wants to head out with them. While Macklemore might bring a tear to your eye, BFA will definitely bring a smile to your face.
- KEXP

Seattle teenage rap duo Brothers from Another (not the hard rock band) released a freely downloadable EP on Christmas Day, "Two Weeks Vacation."

The seven-song bundle is the sound of bros/not-bros Goonstar and Breez trying to get high/drunk/laid, and sounding refreshingly un-macho about it. They're able rap technicians, but "Two Weeks" is not about tongue-twisters. They sound like smart kids, good students if you could tell a good student by the way he/she raps, but neither makes a big deal about being smart.

The beats are chill, guest stars well chosen (Seattleites Sol, JusMoni, Vitamin D), and typical forms of overreaching avoided. Nothing huge happening here, just good music packed with excitement for the near future.
- The Seattle Times via. Andrew Matson

Happy New Year. Hope you did it right. Maybe you drank champagne like a bitch, chiefed a zip, pounded brews, blew through a fifth of Beam, or drowned 2010 in the last of your illicit Four Loko stash. Or... not. Whatever the case, here we are. Now what you gon' do?
If you're a fan of the local raps (odds are, yes) and aren't yet up on it, I'd suggest downloading that new Brothers from Another. Released on Bandcamp (www .brothersfromanother.bandcamp.com) for free (and promoted by the Members Only collective) right before the anniversary of Jesus's fake birthday, aka Consumerism/Awkward Family Day, the seven-track Two Weeks Vacation is the first fully realized release from the young duo, after a sprinkling of singles and a couple of EPs (2009's Roots. Seeds. Stems. and 2010's Too Soon?) that found real charm in their figure-it-out-as-we-go amateurishness. MCs Goonstar and Breez (not MC Breeze or Breezly Brewin, mind you) have easy chemistry (not long ago, they might've even had Chemistry together, third period). And their voices sound cool together—stoned, stoked, and dedicated to "the movement of love" (aka drinking Rainiers by the water, smoking tough, and chasing tail), but not quite in the corny suburban frat-boyish way that some other groups/MCs (young and slightly older) have been in the last couple years.
I've written before that Brothers from Another evoke just a touch of that essential Seatown germ, the jazzy Ghetto Children spirit, perhaps thirdhand via older gods the Physics (who now create literally down the hall from the Pharmacy). There couldn't be a stronger testament to this than the rollicking presence of Vitamin D on "Midnight Special," a song that Goonstar hilariously starts out on some '92 blobbity-bloo-blah shit, name-checking Lords of the Underground. It's not breaking new ground, it's not saying anything that hasn't been said before—it's just fun, if you're open to that sort of thing. (I say: Whenever you find yourself overly salty at something the kids are loving, take a moment to remember when that was you. Then get over yourself.) No reservations, I'm a fan of what I hear: an upbeat, unpretentious approach; a laid-back enthusiasm for life; a strong outing of distinctly town bidness.
It's bigger than the town of course, so you got to get out of here if you want to play with the big kids, and we all know that, even if the demands of real life don't always leave time for your relentless careerism. (God help you if you see this shit as anything more than the people telling their stories—if you still believe in the fairy tales and money-porn, good luck.) At the same time, it's great to have such a strong scene because, like I heard Sean Nelson say last night, "One day, gas will be too expensive and it'll be illegal to drive and you'll have to play in Seattle - The Stranger via Larry Mizell Jr.

?Though they spent the last semester at Whittier College outside Los Angeles, the duo of 18-year-old Seattle MCs Goonstar and Breez wasted no time dropping new material. The seven-track FreeEP, called Two Weeks Vacation in tribute to their time off that allowed for the drop, stays true to BFA's organic Seattle vibe--and stands as an example of some young heads putting in major work that's drawn respect from the veterans, evidenced by the verse contributed by Vitamin D and production from The Physics' Justo.
Though not always accompanied by 100 percent feel-good lyrics, the undeniably feel-good tunes sport their share of stoner rhymes to balance out tales of puppy-love-lost and the ever-present challenge of proving themselves. Sounding plenty young but not unpolished, BFA have the ability to rhyme beyond their years; joined by Sol and JusMoni on standout track "New Easy Lift," Goonstar speaks on how "being in rap's a quick get-broke scheme," and while they might be at a liberal arts school for now chasing their dreams just feels right.
- The Seattle Weekly