Gangstagrass’ ascent to the top of the Billboard bluegrass charts has disproved assumptions about pigeonholing artists.
Gangstagrass, a band blending bluegrass and hip-hop, has CraigsList and New Jersey to partially thank for its success.At first glimpse, combining bluegrass and rap might seem funny, but Gangstagrass drawls and rhymes about racism, class struggle and busting your ass for too little money.“Anytime you’re learning something,” said Gangstagrass’ R-Son, “the more fun it is, the more you’re getting from it.
The storytelling and themes in a Gangstagrass song such as “Nickel and Dime Blues” seem like they could be from either genre, both of which arose from hardscrabble living. In it, they sing: “I went down to the bodega/just to get a little Mountain Dew/When I opened up my wallet/there was nothing but an IOU.”
Gangstagrass was created by Brooklyn-based producer and musician Rench, who worked in bluegrass and hip-hop. He started to blend the genres in the studio and posted free downloads. The FX Network approached him to write a theme song for its series “Justified.” The resulting “Long Hard Times To Come,” propelled the nascent Gangstagrass concept to national attention, and so Rench decided to create a live band.
“There are lasting effects of these separations,” Whitener said. “So that’s the really profound opportunity of what we get to do.” The learning process has extended to the performers as well. Though they had some familiarity with both genres, they have come to appreciate them — and each other — more as they worked together.
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