“People talk about us bringing the Nineties back, but if anything we’re trying to bring the Sixties back.”
So explains Issa Gold, formerly Issa Dash, one half of Brooklyn rap duo the Underachievers alongside partner AK. The Flatbush crew’s debut mixtape, Indigoism, comes coated with a thick resin of East Coast grime.
“I love psychedelic music and we definitely try to tailor our music to affect people’s ears the way psychedelic music did,” he affirms. “That’s why a lot of the songs on Indigoism sound mystical.”
The more recent Lords of Flatbush mixtape rolls less heady, but still packs bars about psilocybin and bad acid trips.
“I don’t really, really trip anymore, but me and my friend from the [Flatbush] Zombies spent like four years straight on psychedelics and going on adventures. You outgrow things. I’m not at home every day tripping on LSD and writing raps and shit, nah. I’m definitely high as fuck though. I definitely smoke a lot of pot.”
To wit: “Herb Shuttles,” their best known cloud rap. They may be blazed, but Underachievers represent the Beast Coast movement alongside fellow Brooklyn up-and-comers Pro Era and Flatbush Zombies.
“It’s a huge family. We’ve known all those kids since we were younger. From the outside it might look like all these crews are teaming up to be a powerhouse, but in actuality it’s little links that make it the real deal, way beyond the music.”
This article appears in November 8 • 2013.
