Deep Cutz - [[Uncutz]]: Sheefy and Scrummage

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Sheefy and Scrummage - The Air Up There

: Sheefy McFly X Lord Scrummage - "Smoking Trinalges"

Sheefy McFly's known for making raw, irreverent raps and somewhat bold statements. Bold--not merely through his licentious, quick-cutting rhymes or those swampy synths and bombastic beats he employs in his wavy-wayward jams, but, bold, also in self-assessment.

"This album is the epitome of unique and fearless creation."

Dig.

That's a tantalizing-enough tag line, right?

But then, consider that this sneered-spaced-out provocateur of a funked-with/fucked-with/dark-ishly, dirt-decorated rap is speaking about his on/off year's-long collaboration with an equally oddball bunch of eclectic and experimental music-types such: Lord Scrummage

That inevitably genre-defiant recipe, in itself, could be enough to entice -at-least- the avant-artsy-indie-camps over to the fire. Come, sit...and hear the surrealist stories of locally-bred far-out disco-funk and disarmingly keen (if downplayed) sensibilities for soulful R&B, bubbling under raps that take the snarky Sheefy into "another realm."

"Of course, I'm still talking about my regular 'drugs-and-women,'" says Sheefy, "but some tracks here, with Scrummage's instrumentals, lead me to get a lot of things off my chest that I always think about but haven't rapped about-yet; definitely a turning point for me as an artist."

Sheefy's hosted a monthly local hip hop showcase at Bob's Classic Kicks for three years now called The Air Up There. March 30th's TAUT edition will welcome Lord Scrummage to the stage to commemorate the release of their album Smoking Triangles.

The avant-garde art-pop collective has found a kindred spirit in the rapper, with a particular creative bond blossoming between Scrummage lead singer Alex Lauer and Mr. McFly.

"We definitely rubbed off on one another and that was another reason why we collaborated," says Sheefy. "We were each so intrigued by each others sounds and movements that we wanted to learn and grow with each other to make something that has never been done before."

And they "did it all in Corktown ! A good ole Detroit classic album!" Lauer and McFly met on the scene but got to know each other proper through their day-jobs at Nathan's Deli. "Mixing is being done by my engineer DonnieTAUT, who finalizes all of my music and I can say to the listeners out there, that they haven't heard anything like this before."

Again, bold. Yes. But still...

"We set the creative and unique bar with this one. It is absolutely more than a album."

Kinda makes you wanna at least hear some of it though, right? Psychedelic synth-centric scribblers getting down to a beautifully-trashy funk groove under quintessentially raw, underground-reverent rap globs.

If anything - swing over to The Air Up There, something our bold hero is hoping to build towards being "the most prominent hip-hop/music-summit in Detroit," or maybe in "all of Michigan...(probably the world!)."

Scrummage will perform, along with the rock-outfit that backs Sheefy -known as The Delorean.

The adhoc album art featured above is just another facet of McFly & Scrummage's collaboration - featuring the latter (band's) "mascot" (a cartoon image of Lauer's real-life pet) Clyde Moop. You could see a potential art show / exhibition come of this, with Sheefy illustrating the mad visions of Scrummage's Lauer and Conor Edwards.

So then... This young rapper (think Danny Brown by way of Rick James, with a penchant for Too Short) is set to host yet another fine hip-hop showcase. Introduce yourself.

Here's his latest single (collaborating with Crack Killz Da G.O.D.