Those hungry for another tasty dose of Emmy-nominated Gangstagrass’ delicious blend of genre-destroying hip-hop and bluegrass don’t have long to wait. The group will be releasing a full-length album, Rappalachia, on June 5. Rappalachia takes Urban Twang to a whole new level with Rench and company laying down furious bluegrass licks and beats for old friends and new to fling scorching rhymes to.
Rappalachia shows off the style that made Kool Keith (Ultramagnetic MCs) legendary on “Western,” ripping cowboy rhymes to a bouncing beat, augmented by banjo and dobro pyrotechnics. “Shoot Dem,” featuring T.O.N.E-z, suggests a hoedown at a Jamaican dance hall, with T.O.N.E-z laying down his usual tougher than tough flow over a big stomping beat. If Jimmy Rodgers could have rapped as well as he yodeled, he might have cut something like “Gunslinging Rambler” which features rapping by R-SON. Rench fills in for Rodgers as R-SON spits out his heavy-duty ranch hand poetry.
