Excited to announce that I’ll be performing at Eaux Claires this year. Specifically, I’ll be participating as a writer/poet, doing a series of micro-readings throughout the festival. Musicians this year include Chance the Rapper, Wilco, Feist, Danny Brown, and many more, and everyone I’ve talked to about Eaux Claires has told me that it’s a very unique, community-oriented concert/festival experience.
Guante & Katrah-Quey’s “Our Relationship is a Slowly Gentrifying Neighborhood” features singer (and constant presence at Twin Cities rallies and marches) Jayanthi Kyle lamenting the deeply personal loss of something that used to mean something. While using the standard structure of a love song, the track attempts to explore the human side of an issue that, for too many, is an abstraction, or “someone else’s problem,” if it’s considered a problem at all.
The song exemplifies the philosophy of “Post-Post-Race,” an album attempting to grapple with issues of race, racism and solidarity by pushing beyond platitudes and asking deeper, more challenging questions. Over Katrah-Quey’s lush, vibrant production, Guante (along with an impressive roster of guests) reaches for root causes, explores his own complicity in the system, and tries to find pathways to action.
The video is directed by E.G. Bailey, fresh off appearances at the Tampere Film Festival, Riga International Film Festival, and Sundance Film Festival, where his short film, “New Neighbors,” was selected from tens of thousands of entries. Bailey (along with co-producer Sha Cage) was also responsible for Guante’s move to Minneapolis back in 2007, so this video represents coming full-circle, and affirming that community comes first. Full credits:
Director: E.G. Bailey
Cinematographer: Anton Shavlik
Producers: E.G.Bailey & Sha Cage
Editors: E.G. Bailey & Anton Shavlik
Costume Design: Trevor Bowen
First Assistant Director: Sha Cage
First Assistant Camera: Casey Bargsten
Production Assistant: Autumn Compton
Colorist: Anton Shavlik
Storyboard Artist: Cecilia Hsu
Titles: Eroll Bilibani
a Freeztyle film
FULL LYRICS: Our Relationship is a Slowly Gentrifying Neighborhood (words by Guante; music by Katrah-Quey; guest vocals by Jayanthi Kyle)
I don’t recognize this place anymore Grew up around the corner, before these lines and borders but I don’t recognize this place anymore
I ain’t afraid of ghosts I grew up in a place where they’re takin’ over slow like death isn’t always the fading of a soul progress isn’t always related to growth The first step in building a skyscraper is digging up a very deep hole… you ever seen a city melt into a shadow of itself? you ever feel like there’s a lack of all the magic that we felt split an atom or a cell like it’s progress like destruction and creation are the same process yeah, and our relationship just ain’t been the same since the chains moved in I still remember when I felt like a million bucks, wasn’t worth a cent your heart is still the only place I want to live I just can’t afford the rent
I don’t recognize this place anymore it’s just a big blank canvas, after all this color’s been banished I don’t recognize this place anymore
I ain’t afraid of ghosts a house can’t be haunted if it never had a soul but tell me what happens when that house gets sold? does a spirit shiver stuck out in the cold? so this is how the world ends? a casual exorcism the closing of a story dressed up as the beginning, what’s the limit? here’s to the history we lived in here’s to the years we were able to resist this here’s to acid rain as it falls enveloped in each other as umbrellas dissolve you’ll caress my skin and I’ll peel it off until we’re nothin’ but our hearts underneath it all and then we’ll sell ‘em to developers for cheap and fall deeply asleep as the concrete just crawls over the whole earth ‘til all of a sudden you got this look like a cop sayin’ “you lost or something?”
I don’t recognize this place anymore so I’ll leave for the last time, and treat every memory as a landmine ‘cause I don’t recognize this place anymore
A 2016 wrap-up post, featuring some of the stuff I created or released that you may have missed:
1. I Wrote a Book I’ve been working on this for a long time, so thanks so much to everyone who has already picked up a copy, and to Button Poetry for the signal boost. Here’s the official blurb: One part mixtape, one part disorientation guide, and one part career retrospective, this book brings together spoken word poems, song lyrics, and essays from the past decade of Guante’s work. From the exploration of toxic masculinity in “Ten Responses to the Phrase ‘Man Up’,” to the throwback humanist hip hop of “Matches,” to a one-act play on the racial and cultural politics of Eminem, “A Love Song, A Death Rattle, A Battle Cry” is a practitioners eye-view of the intersections of hip hop, poetry, and social justice.Get it in-person or online here.
2. New Album: Guante & Katrah-Quey: “Post-Post-Race” Katrah-Quey and I released an album all about race, racism, and solidarity, featuring a bunch of my favorite local voices. You can get the whole thing here, but here are a few highlights:
3. Sifu Hotman’s “Matches” on Vinyl (Plus a B-Side with Tall Paul) I’m very glad that we got to do a vinyl release for this song, which is both my most successful song (thanks to its being featured on Welcome to Night Vale) and one of my most personal, meaningful songs. Get it here. I’m also proud of the b-side, a remix of “Embrace the Sun” featuring Tall Paul:
4. 8 Million Views for “Ten Responses to the Phrase ‘Man Up'” on Facebook This was a great surprise to close out the year with: Button Poetry posted my poem (which is a few years old now) as Facebook video, and it took off. It’s nice to see that the message of that particular piece is still resonating with so many people, especially this year. See the video, and read more about the poem, here.
5. A Handful of New Videos Between my own page and Button Poetry’s, we released a few new poems and a few updated versions of older ones, plus a couple of songs:
6. Some Writing and a New Zine Project While most of my writing focus this year was on my book (and finishing grad school), I did post a couple of pieces:
8. TruArtSpeaks Contines to Grow Under the leadership of Executive Director Tish Jones, it was another great year for TruArtSpeaks; I’m both honored to have been able to be part of that and excited about this coming year. The Be Heard MN Youth Poetry Slam Series starts up again in January!
9. Shows, Connections, and Reasons to Be Excited About 2017 This year was bad in a lot of ways, for a lot of people. I’m grateful for the opportunity to travel, to perform, and to work with people from so many different communities on issues that matter– from the ArtChangeUS Design for Equity Conference, to the MN Campus Sexual Violence Prevention Summit, to opening for Marc Lamont Hill at the UMN, to Brave New Voices, to a bunch of college/university visits all over the country– it’s clear to me that as dire as the situation in this country might be, there are still a whole lot of bold, brilliant people doing the work. As I think about 2017, I’m trying to figure out how best to use whatever resources I have to support those people.
I’m excited about local politics– 2017 is going to be a huge year in Minneapolis with regards to city council races. I’m excited about Jillia, Jeremiah, Andrea, Erica, Phillipe, and all of the sharp, community-minded people running for seats; I’ll be posting more about this as the caucuses approach. But even if you’re not in Minneapolis– this is going to be a BIG year for local politics in general– that’s the level at which so many battles are going to be fought, and we can win them. Get involved.
Related to that, I’m excited about the potential for artists to meaningfully plug into movement-building work, now more than ever. Will be sharing thoughts and resources (beyond what I’ve already written) very soon.
My excitement is not to say that things aren’t scary, or that people aren’t going to be hurt by what’s going on in this country. Our fear is valid. But so is our courage. I’m excited to see more and more people start to realize that there is no “neutral,” that change starts with us, that plugging into activist organizations and getting involved is a key first step in creating the world in which we want to live, no matter who is in office. It’s going to be a tough year, but I believe in the power of this movement.
Finally, as for me, I’ve got a new music video coming out right away this January. I’m also booking for both Spring and Fall 2017. Also working on some new projects. Just want to say thank you for reading and connecting. Let’s keep building.
The new album is here. Thanks so much to everyone who pre-ordered it, came to the release show, and had a hand in putting the project together. I will likely do a follow-up post with some more notes and thoughts on specific songs, but for now, just wanted to get this out there (although I will share a few more general reflections below).
As always, the only real way people will hear this is if you share it– on social media, in real life, however. All of those RTs, re-posts, and emails make a real difference– and me and Katrah-Quey really, truly appreciate it. I’m not really expecting this one to blow up on the rap blogs, haha. Word-of-mouth is everything.
Also, because you can’t release an album without some kind of video too these days, here’s a video of me performing the last two verses on the album (which work as a pretty good encapsulation of the whole primary theme of the album, as does this video I released last week) a capella:
Finally, I’d like to share a couple of thoughts and reflections, especially since this album is attempting to do some pretty specific things. 1. First of all, huge thanks to all of our guests: Tony the Scribe, Jayanthi Kyle, GP Jacob, Tish Jones, Lucien Parker, See More Perspective, and Laresa Avent. We knew going into this project that because of the subject matter, it had to be a collaborative album. We had to feature more than just my voice and perspective. And all of the guests we got are not only phenomenal artists, but also people who walk the walk too– as organizers, educators, and advocates in many different spheres. If I can give myself a compliment, it’s that I’ve always been very good at choosing people to work with, and this album might be the best example of that yet.
2. I’ll leave it up to you to decide whether or not we succeeded, but there were three kind of “guiding principles” for this project. One was collaboration, which I mentioned in the last point; one extension of that idea, though, might be that we wanted to have an intersectional lens. “Venom,” for example, is as much about class as it is about race. Throughout the album, we talk about oppression both along racial lines and more generally– the goal is to make POWER visible, to see how it flows and functions (which relates to the next point too).
Two was criticality— the idea that if we were going to do a hip hop album about race, it had to push further than saying stuff like “racism is bad” or “privilege is a thing that exists” or whatever. If the album has a theme beyond “songs about race and racism,” it’s pushing back against the narrative that race doesn’t matter, that we live in a “post-racial” society. But on an even deeper level, it’s exploring the idea of racism as something bigger than interpersonal dislike or even hate– it’s about history, it’s about trends and patterns, and it’s about systems of power. This might be the single biggest thing that a lot of people don’t *get* about race and racism, and a bunch of the tracks explicitly tackle that.
The third point here is communication— as mean as this album can be, and as radical as it might be to some listeners, it was important that the album “let people in,” so to speak. The very first track might piss some people off, but it’s also about immediately attempting to let people in on the “joke” (while affirming that the joke isn’t funny). Winning an argument isn’t about the other person immediately, explicitly saying “oh I get it now;” it’s about presenting a new frame of understanding that might impact how they think weeks, months, or years later. Almost every song on this album is attempting to present deeper, more critical frames of understanding– not to indoctrinate anyone or make them think exactly like I think, but to encourage questioning and critical thinking.
This will likely be a longer post later, but I also want to state that it was important to me to make the points I wanted to make. That might sound weird; I just think that sometimes in art, we sometimes over-value a kind of detached, above-it-all, hyper-metaphorical or imagistic subtlety. So yeah, this album is pretty damn direct, sometimes blunt; but neither “blunt” nor “subtle” are universally good or bad. They’re tools. Subtle art can be brilliant, but it can also be empty. Blunt art can be boring, but it can also be transformative. It all depends on what work you want your art to do. Again, I’ll try to expand on this later, because I’ve been thinking about it a lot.
3. My half of the profit from this album goes to TruArtSpeaks; if you follow me here or on social media, you probably already know about them (full disclosure: I’m currently the managing director of the organization while Tish Jones is on a fellowship in Oakland), but if not, check them out. This video is a fantastic introduction to the work that we do.
I could keep writing. A lot went into this project. Thanks again for listening.
And don’t forget: our release show is coming up on Thursday, 3/3 at the Whole Music Club, and it’s going to be something really special. All of the performers are also guests on the album, and they’re all people I have endless respect for both as artists and as people who “walk the walk” when it comes to the issues that the album is tackling. Check out the Facebook event page here. It’s free and all-ages too!
This would normally be a separate post because getting a poem up on Button’s channel is a pretty big deal, but like I said, these are tumultuous times so I’m just going to put this here. They got footage of my poem “Small Talk” from Sierra DeMulder’s book release show. This is a very personal poem I wrote about art, identity, and profound introversion.
Finally, a reminder that the Be Heard MN Youth Poetry Slam series is heading into semifinals this month— 3/5 at the Loft Literary Center, and 3/12 at the MacPhail Center for Music. Finals are coming up too– 3/26 at the Walker Art Center. All three of these shows are going to be amazing; I’ve said it before but it bears repeating: these young artists (all between 13 and 19) are mind-bogglingly talented, and deserve our support!
The brand new album features beats by Katrah-Quey and vocals by me and a bunch of my favorite artists (including Jayanthi Kyle, Lucien Parker, G.P. Jacob, Tish Jones, Tony the Scribe, See More Perspective, and Laresa Avent– who are all performing at the show), all talking about race, racism, and solidarity.
Exciting news: you can get “Matches” on vinyl now!
If you don’t know, SIFU HOTMAN is a side project featuring me, Dem Atlas, and Rube. We put out an album in 2014, while I was between projects and also kind of right before Dem signed to Rhymesayers. Luckily, it didn’t fall between the cracks; our song “Matches” got featured on BBC Radio 6, and then as the “weather” on an episode of the wildly popular podcast Welcome to Night Vale, leading a whole bunch of people to discover the project.
Incidentally, “Matches” might also be my favorite song I’ve ever been part of, so it’s been really beautiful to see so many people from around the world connect to it. The Sifu Hotman album is general just turned out so fresh; we’re all known for doing weirder, outside-the-box stuff, so a whole project of boom bap throwback hip hop and punchlines is something I’m really proud of and happy we got to put out. And Rube, our producer and DJ, ALSO screen-printed all of the sleeves. They’re gorgeous.
You can get the vinyl through our Bandcamp page. If you’re in Europe, it might be cheaper to buy it through the UK label that’s putting it out: AE Productions. Quick note– it is the radio edit on the single, in case that impacts whether or not you want it.
The single also features an exclusive remix of our song “Embrace the Sun” produced by MR. FANTASTIC and featuring a knockout guest verse from TALL PAUL. Been wanting to work with him for a minute, and his verse on this song is just bonkers. Even if you’re not a vinyl head, you can still download this track (plus the instrumentals, and an a capella for any DJs out there)! Here’s the new remix: Matches Vinyl Single b/w Embrace the Sun (Mr. Fantastic Remix) featuring Tall Paul by SIFU HOTMAN
AKA “stuff I did while not writing papers or being in class this year.” Check out previous years here: 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014
1. Performances: United Nations, Big Shows, College Gigs
Thought I’d kick this year-in-review off with my brand new booking reel, courtesy of PCP. That was the major theme this year, after all: I performed and/or spoke at 25 different colleges and universities all over the country, and 2016 should see even more of that. I also got a chance to perform at the United Nations (read the recap here), co-keynote the Building Bridges Conference with Jessica Valenti, and perform at the Equilibrium SuperShow with Patricia Smith (and two dozen other incredible poets). As for stuff I had more of a hand in organizing, we sold out the U of MN’s Whole Music Club for the second year in a row with our “Page.Stage.Engage” event, and kicked off a brand new concert series: #YesYesYes: a show devoted to consent and healthy sexuality. Endless thanks to the people who show up to these things.
2. Sifu Hotman’s “Matches” Featured on Welcome to Night Vale
This was unexpected, but also very cool. I actually hadn’t heard of what I now know is the biggest podcast in the world until a friend suggested I submit music. They picked up the song, and the result was a deluge of people checking out our music who would have otherwise probably never heard of us. If you don’t know Sifu Hotman, it’s a hip hop trio featuring me, Dem Atlas, and producer/DJ Rube. Check out our album here.
3. A Love Song, A Death Rattle, A Battle Cry
A compilation album of new songs, remixes, remastered tracks, and basically what I think is all of my best material up until this point, the idea of this album is that it’s an entry point for anyone interested in my work. Drawing from Guante & Big Cats, A Loud Heart, Sifu Hotman, and random solo songs, it collects a ton of songs that I’m really proud of.
It also features guest appearances from Dem Atlas, Chastity Brown, Kristoff Krane and more. On top of that, it’s a promo, so you can download it for FREE.
4. New Poem Videos
I actually recorded a ton of new videos this year, but most of them are slated for a 2016 release. Still, here are a few new ones courtesy of Button Poetry. The first one is a new poem about consent; I shared a few further thoughts on this one here.
First, one of my favorite new tracks; produced by Ganzobean; video by Adam J. Dunn:
Longtime friend and collaborator See More Perspective let me hop on this Star Wars-themed song. We actually performed a version of this at Soundset way back in ’09, so it’s great to finally be releasing something, especially right as Ep.7 is hitting theaters.
Two singles from the upcoming Guante & Katrah-Quey album, “Post-Post-Race.”
A guest verse: me, Crescent Moon (of Kill the Vultures, Mixed Blood Majority), & Judah Boi:
Finally, another guest verse: here’s Jared Paul, me and Ceschi on a song from Jared’s album:
5. TruArtSpeaks, New Writing, and Other Stuff
A huge part of my schedule this year was working with TruArtSpeaks— in-school residencies, hosting the open mic, helping to facilitate the Youth Advisory Board and various workshops, etc. If you’re into hip hop, spoken word, youth power and social justice, you should know about that organization (including two things on the immediate horizon: the “Write to Be Heard” youth spoken word workshops over winter break, and the start of the 2016 Be Heard MN Youth Poetry Slam series in January).
Here are a few things I wrote this year. It isn’t all here, but I wrote a lot this year… actually wrote a whole book, but I’m not thinking about a release for that until 2016. Stay tuned. In the meantime:
I have one semester of grad school left. Will be hitting the road this spring anyway, but then hitting it doubly hard in the Fall. If you want to bring me to your school or city, get in touch.
We’ll be releasing a VINYL SINGLE of the Sifu Hotman song “Matches” pretty soon too. It’s maybe my favorite song I’ve ever written, so I’m glad it’s getting the vinyl treatment. Also, the b-side is a Mr. Fantastic remix of our song “Embrace the Sun” featuring a new guest verse from Tall Paul, and he blacks out on it. Really excited for people to hear it.
The new album, Guante & Katrah-Quey’s “POST-POST-RACE” is being mixed now and should be released in early 2016. It’s all songs about race and racism. Yeah. More on that soon.
Hoping to release the book in 2016 too. It’s done; just figuring out the timing/logistics.
Finally, I have a lot of new videos scheduled for 2016 release, including some of my own work (brand new poems plus re-recordings of some old ones) and some other people’s work that I’ll be hosting on my YouTube page. As always, the shares, the re-posts, the word-of-mouth– all of that is greatly appreciated. Thanks again for the support.
If you don’t know, See More Perspective is the best. We’ve been working together for years, and actually wrote and recorded this song a pretty long time ago. I remember performing some version of it at Soundset way back in ’09.
His brother Nye produced it (one of my favorite beats ever, by the way), and I knew that he had been working on a video for it as well. I just never thought the video would just happen to be done the same week as the premier of Episode 7. Good timing.
Check out everything on See More’s bandcamp page as well; his last album in particular is pretty incredible, and he has a new one coming soon.
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