Issa Gold and AK of The Underachievers have been building up to this moment, having begun their journey to debut since 2007. That year when the two first encountered each other’s presence in their Flatbush neighborhood, through to seven years later with the release of this first album, Cellar Door: Terminus Ut Exordium (with the aptly named translation “the end of the beginning”), it’s been a series of steps up the musical evolution staircase.
2012 saw single releases with video components, including “So Devilish,” “Gold Soul Theory,” and “Herb Shuttles,” tapping the ears of BBC Radio all the way to their record label destination, Flying Lotus’ Brainfeeder. But it was their reflective “Indigoism” mixtape, the tour with Joey Bada$$, Pro Era, and their compatriots Flatbush Zombies, married with the banger-filled “Lords of Flatbush” mixtape that set the stage for Cellar Door a year later.
The track list sparks titles liken to a college poetry reading list, with lyrical prose to match — “Incandescent” commanding ‘Elevated brains…Come and walk with me, join the infantry,” pulling back the covers of stay-in-line-society and religious hypocrisy on “Quiescent,” and snaked rhythm of “Metropolis” that calls out “All these fucking rappers acting actors…It’s human Nature to pursue this paper,” but in turn their path is to “lead the impoverished cause they struggle the hardest.”
The rapid-fire delivery, not unlike Chicago’s Spank Rock, but in style only, requires multiple listens to truly capture messages within each chapter, which fall deep into a cerebral canyon. That, unto itself, is the differentiator of The Underachievers, the thinking man/woman’s hip-hop, refreshingly void of stereotypical banters while still reeling in carnal, bouncing production.
Their messages have spread far and wide, not only across the States but within ventures to the U.K., including meet-and-greets at Hoxton Square and a sold-out show at XOYO in 2013, returning again this past July.
U.S. peeps can catch The Underachievers and Flatbush Zombies now on the current Electrik Koolade Experience tour, which makes its way through Colorado and other states and Canada until the first week of December. To hold you over, dive into the new Clockwork Indigo EP, a The Underachievers and Flatbush Zomies collaboration (Erick The Architect, Zombie Juice, Issa Gold, AK, Meechy Darko) EP.
Electrik Koolade Experience Tour Dates
Oct 24 – Aggie – Fort Collins
Oct 25 – Cervantes – Denver
Oct 26 – The Black Sheep – Colorado Springs
Oct 28 – The Complex -Salt Lake City
Oct 30 – Wonder Ballrom – Portland
Oct 31 – Wow Hall – Eugene
Nov 1 – Vogue Theatre – Vancouver
Nov 2 – Showbox – Seattle
Nov 4 – Metro – Oakland
Nov 5 – Catalyst – Santa Cruz
Nov 6 – Fonda Theater – Los Angeles
Nov 7 – Ventura Theatre – Ventura
Nov 8 – Soma – San Diego
Nov 9 – Observatory – Santa Ana
Nov 10 – Club Red – Mesa
Nov 13 – Scoot Inn – Austin
Nov 14 – Warehouse Live – Houston
Nov 15 – White Rabbit – San Antonio
Nov 16 – Trees – Dallas
Nov 19 – Firestone – Orlando
Nov 20 – Grand Central – Miami
Nov 21 – The Orpheum – Tampa
Nov 22 – Underbelly -Jacksonville
Nov 23 – Masquerade – Atlanta
Nov 25 – Lincoln Theatre – Raleigh
Nov 28 – Fillmore – Washington D.C.
Nov 30 – Higher Ground – South Burington
Dec 2 – Club Soda – Montreal
Dec 3 Guvernment – Toronto
Dec 6 – Paradise – Boston
Dec 7 – TLA – Philadelphia
http://www.clockwork-indigo.com/
http://THEGLORIOUSDEAD.COM/TOUR
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