BandCamp Artist – Gajah

As a full-fledged member of the Los Angeles underground hip hop family and card carrying member of Project Blowed, Gajah has consistently released some of the most creative and lyrically dexterous music to emerge from the otherwise, "Fuck the cops," "I smoke weed," "I'm so much harder than you," sentiment that dominates a lot of post-gangster rap. As one-half of the group, Acid Reign with Beond, Gajah gigs relentlessly, and is about as down-to-earth and humble as an emcee can be – sometimes to his disadvantage. No matter his disposition, it is impossible to deny his lyrical chops, impressive lung capacity, creative phrasing, and impressively diverse content.

On Man the Ship, a free 4-track EP, Gajah teams up with production from "nerds extraordinaire" Herrmutt Lobby, Senegalese producer Portformat, duo Bornegen Baldwin out of Nashville, and German mystery-man Neo.Judas. The result is a varied, yet cohesive electronic romp, highlighted by "Sponge" featuring Ellul, and another nice guy hometown hero, Open Mike Eagle.

I encourage you to nerd the Fuck out to this music. Put on some headphones, do some hardcore nude calisthenics, and then nerd the Fuck out. I was nerding and nodding (nording?) the entire time, and "Sponge" comes on there at the end like some kind of climax to the cyberfunk flick that was playing on the back of my eyelids. Another highlight are the hauntingly soulful vocals lent by Shaunise to "See in You". This is some seriously good creative and forward-thinking music, for fucking FREE! Open Mike Eagle said Gajah was giving away Man the Ship like a crazy person, but I like to think he's just that nice! Egitty-enjoy!