Native Strangers

Native Strangers is a rap duo that hails from Texas and they’re doing some interesting shit that you PROLLY need to check out. Their album “Heroes Eventually Die” which was released yesterday on bandcamp and posted today on Gold Sweatshirt, is a concept album with Inception-like layers that I feel fairly & adequately introduces them into the game. I say adequately because, perhaps there was too much concept when all I really thirsted for was a full glass of their unadulterated signature sound. That being said, the fact that these guys had a concept and fully executed it.. says a lot about their potential as artists. So, I’m in.

As far as the production goes, it frickin’ goes! And I was glad to learn that they handmade all the beats, outsourcing the mixing & mastering to producer Chris Cline who has worked with many artists and bands including And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead. *eyebrow raise* Yes. Plus/also, you can expect to hear samples from the electronic/synth-pop world. Yes, squared.

After just one listen, you can tell they have many varying influences attempting to converge. Their challenge will be to effectively fuse those sounds together into something that is fresh and makes sense. For me, they successfully did that on these standout tracks: Spazzin’, Henry Rollins and Fantasize. See for yourself.

Native Strangers // Heroes Eventually Die

Follow these dudes on the twitternet:

@OwdaBounds @TheRyanSilva
- Blood Orange Suarez

Native Strangers Feat. Aly Alonzo - "Heroes Eventually Die"

Hip hop group out of Texas just released debut album "Heroes Eventually Die". Check out the single "Heroes Eventually Die" and featuring Aly Alonzo. Mixed and mastered by Chris Cline.

#itsPrettyDope
@TheRyanSilva
@OwdaBounds
- It's Pretty Dope

Shouts to OutKast on the tape title, here’s a really cool project that dropped in my inbox by way of Ryan Silva, 19, 1/2 of the rap duo Native Strangers from Texas. You know a lot of good tunes come out of Texas, think H-Town, Austin etc. One of the biggest names to come outta there Explosions in the Sky, this shit was mixed & mastered by Chris Cline, the same dude doing those big names.

This shit is refreshing, beautifully mixed, sample heavy, young, that brand nu nu for your walkman, stereo, iPad, phone, mp3 player, you know…

Hit up their band camp, they have a lot of information on there. I’m working on catching up on some posts. Check back soon for more, drop a comment, tell’em what you think. ~~~Mahalo
- GoldSweatshirt

Inspired by the Austin Hip-Hop Scene Monthly mixtape that just dropped today, I decided to highlight a few of the local hip-hop artists that have left an impression on me. I have featured some of them before, but a few of them are recent discoveries thanks to AHHS. Their first installment of the free monthly series contains tracks from Marcus Agrippa, The Triggermen, Mickey Damn, Kato Dox, Clemits, Tee Double, Marvelous Mike D, Flea Circus, Bavu Blakes and Kydd. Check out my entry on the Do512 Blog for more on that.




Tee-Double is Terrany Johnson, 2010 Austin Music Award Winner for Best Hip-Hop. He's even got his own day, as September 30, 2010 was proclaimed Tee-Double Day in Austin by the Austin City Council and Mayor Lee Leffingwell. Tee-Double has been a trail blazer in the Texas music scene for many years.




http://www.facebook.com/terranyjohnson
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I've mentioned Kydd once before. Born Randell Jones, he was nicknamed "Kid" by his older brother for being the youngest in a group which performed at local talent shows. In 2009 he received an Austin Hip-Hop Award for Best Lyricist Of The Year. He's been an official SXSW performer multiple times, and Kydd has also done collaborations some of the heavy hitters in the new movement of hip-hop, from GLC to Pac Div to The Cool Kids to Yelawolf.






http://www.simh2.com/
http://www.facebook.com/KyddMusic1
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Flea Circus is a genre-bending hip-hop group from Austin, TX. Fronted by MC Frank Lofty and backed by DJ Fresco and drummer Marco Alonzo, Flea Circus offers up a style of hip-hop as if grown in a garden on Mars. The result is a head-nodding, danceable experience that bridges the gap between conventional hip-hop and a range of styles, from soul-pop and post-punk to electro and contemporary R&B




http://fleacircus.co/
http://www.facebook.com/fleacircusmusic
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Mickey Damn is a youngster out of Temple, Texas. He was included on the AHHS mixtape and I like his style.


Mickey Damn - "Microphone Wrecka"
http://soundcloud.com/est-90one
https://twitter.com/MickeyDamn


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Phranchyze made a name for himself through underground rap battles, a talent that has taken him around the country to represent in all sorts of competitions. The Nigerian-American born Jason Herman Alan-Jamal Shaw-Ogunro, JJ, has been curating his combative inflections in Austin since junior high. He’s been consistently voted one of the best in Austin Hip-Hop for years, and has been a Rap Olympics Champion and Freestyle Battle Champion multiple times over.







http://www.phranchyze.com/
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Mirage gets bonus points for shooting his music video in front of our office:




MIRAGE - "DOIT DOIT"
http://www.mirage512.com
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Zeale and I go way back. Here's a recent collaboration he did with AWOLNATION. They are going on a big tour together this Fall.

Awolnation - "Sail" (Remix ft. Zeale)
http://www.facebook.com/zeale.rapz
http://zealerapz.bandcamp.com
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Native Strangers are a hip-hop duo originally from Abilene. The duo's members, OwdaBounds and Plato The Third, both studied at The University of Texas at San Antonio where they hooked up with engineer Chris Cline (Explosions In The Sky, Trail Of Dead) who mixed and mastered their debut album "Heroes Eventually Die." The album samples artists such as Bon Iver, Crystal Castles, Deerhoof, The Smiths, Journey, and Holy Ghost. One half of the duo now lives in Austin, so here they are.
- Covert Curiosity

I probably don’t listen to the most traditional rap songs. That being said, over the past few years there has been a steady shift in rap music into the realm of weird. The purpose of this post isn’t to say a new school of weird rap is better than the good ol’ traditional hip-hop. The purpose of this post is to show that weird can be good. These artists take risks–whether it be in beat selection, rapping style, or chorus delivery–that set them apart from your standard hip-hop act, and in most of these songs the risk pays off. If anything, these songs are interesting. C’mon, hip-hop heads, at least give me “interesting.”
1.



Eighty4 Fly – Kush High
2.



Shad – it aint over.
3.



TiRon & Ayomari – Lot On Your Mind (ft. beatnich)
4.



Flying Lotus – Between Friends (ft. Earl Sweatshirt & Captain Murphy)
5.



Native Strangers – Take Me Out
6.



Polar Infinite – Beach Hit
7.



Polar Infinite – Let Me Know
8.



wunderjax – Touchdown (ft. misterthumbs)
9.



Angel Haze – New York
10.



Danny Brown – Molly Ringwald (Prod. Araabmuzik)
- Sunset In The Rearview