Gangstagrass hip-hop/bluegrass hybrid sensation sparks with release of new single “Nickel and Dime Blues” May 15th in advance of their new album “No Time For Enemies”, due July 24, 2020. You can stream it here: Nickel and Dime Blues
Keeping with The Gangstagrass Ethos
The new single speaks on issues such as financial insecurity and healthcare. Keeping with the Gangstagrass ethos, the group carries on their social justice messages threaded into each song.
“We believe in talking about the economic struggle. These are things folks across the country can relate to – rural and urban, black and white – despite thinking that they’re so different. We have to unlock solidarity.” – Rench
“Nickel and Dime Blues” showcases the band’s Bluegrass side, with the pickers grooving against a funky clap track. Dan Whitener sings lead and follows a poor worker into a pharmacy where he is unable to afford medicine, a liquor store to discover he can’t afford to buy a bottle to sooth his worries and ultimately to prison . Fiddle, banjo and scratching fill the space between country crooning and raps describing widely shared hardships.
The brainchild behind the group’s beloved groove is Gangstagrass producer and leading man — singer/guitarist/activist Rench — who back in 2006 conceived of the blending of these two distinct musical genres. In 2017, Rolling Stone named him one of the top new country artists to know. And in December 2017, Rench revealed his top 3 Socially Sparked Moments (what inspired and influenced him).
New Album Marks First Studio Album in 11 Years
The band has been writing and producing music during the COVID-19 lock down to bring the world upbeat and inspiring messages of solidarity and struggle. No Time For Enemies marks the first studio album for the group in 11 years and will be recorded in isolation.
The new album grapples with the dual crises of race relations and politics in modern day America. In an era when the social, racial, musical and economic divisions between Americans have become more strained, Gangstagrass continues to provide a glimpse of the kind of conversations about race and power that we could be having if we were ready to listen.
Music heals, especially at a time when the world is facing together it’s most invisible enemy in COVID-19. Gangstagrass’ new single “Nickel and Dime Blues” is a perfect antidote to the world’s angst. Wouldn’t it be marvelous if there’s a medical antidote soon to accompany the music and their upcoming Album. This hip-hop/bluegrass band has Socially Sparked® our lives and continues to do so with their new single! — Forever #SociallySparked Tweet us @sosparkednews & @asparks01